Install

First, we install the need packages :

apt-get install lighttpd libterm-readline-gnu-perl php5-cgi

By default, on Debian 4.0 Etch, Lighttpd is installed with a configuration using php4-cgi. In the case where this is the distribution we use, we apply the needed patch :

if [ ! -z "$(/bin/grep '/usr/bin/php4-cgi' /etc/lighttpd/conf-available/10-fastcgi.conf)" ]; then
  /bin/cp /etc/lighttpd/conf-available/10-fastcgi.conf /etc/lighttpd/conf-available/10-fastcgi-php5.conf 
  /bin/sed -i -e 's/php4/php/g' /etc/lighttpd/conf-available/10-fastcgi-php5.conf
fi

We enable the correct configuration depending if we use Debian 4.0 Etch or Debian 5.0 Lenny :

if [ -e /etc/lighttpd/conf-available/10-fastcgi-php5.conf ]; then
  /usr/sbin/lighty-enable-mod fastcgi-php5
else
  /usr/sbin/lighty-enable-mod fastcgi
fi

And we reload the LigHTTPd configuration :

/etc/init.d/lighttpd force-reload

Going deeper

Enhancing PHP performances

If you want, you can install a PHP accelerator by following my guide Install XCache on Debian 4.0 Etch.

Creating a Virtual Host with Lighttpd

Like Apache, Lighttpd can manage several web sites on one server. Here is a way to quickly create a virtual host serving a folder.

First,  please specify the hostname for your virtual host (replace the bold value):

SITE_HOSTNAME=www.my-domain.com

Now, specify the folder that you want to assign to this hostname (replace the bold value):

SITE_PATH=/var/www/www.my-domain.com/

Once this done, download the virtual host configuration template:

SITE_CONF=$(/bin/echo ${SITE_HOSTNAME} | /bin/sed -e 's/\./-/g')
/usr/bin/wget http://howto.landure.fr/gnu-linux/debian-4-0-etch/installer-lighttpd-et-php-sur-debian-4-0-etch/lighttpd-vhost.conf \
    --output-document=/etc/lighttpd/conf-available/20-${SITE_CONF}.conf

Apply your settings to this template:

/bin/sed -i -e "s/SITE_HOSTNAME/${SITE_HOSTNAME}/g" \
            -e "s|SITE_PATH|${SITE_PATH}|g" \
         /etc/lighttpd/conf-available/20-${SITE_CONF}.conf

Enable the configuration you have just created:

/usr/sbin/lighty-enable-mod ${SITE_CONF}

Test the new configuration:

/usr/sbin/lighttpd -t -f /etc/lighttpd/lighttpd.conf

If you see no error, reload the Lighttpd configuration:

/etc/init.d/lighttpd force-reload

You should now be able to visit your website.

Note : Using virtual host with Lighttpd is usefull, even if you use Lighttpd behind a Apache reverse proxy. If you are doubtfull, take a look at the ProxyPreserveHost option of the Apache mod_proxy.

URL Rewriting with Lighttpd

Unlike Apache 2, Lighttpd is no able to make complex URL rewrites. However, there is a way to do simple URL rewriting with some web applications like Wordpress or Symfony projects. You only need to configure the index.php file of these web applications to handle the 404 errors.

In order to do this, simply add the following line to the configuration file of the virtual host serving your web application, and change the path to the index.php file to fit the application location:

server.error-handler-404 = "/index.php"

See also

• Make the download of large files with PHP (and lighty) very easy.