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How To Install Apache with Let’s Encrypt on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

Install Apache with Let's Encrypt on Ubuntu 22.04

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Apache with Let’s Encrypt on Ubuntu 22.04 on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. For those of you who didn’t know, Let’s Encrypt is a nonprofit Certificate Authority providing certificates so that your websites can use secure connections. Certbot is an open-source software tool for integrating and managing Let’s Encrypt certificates on the web to enable a secure HTTPS protocol. It will automatically manage the Let’s Encrypt certificate for you.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the Apache with Let’s Encrypt on Ubuntu 22.04 on Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish). You can follow the same instructions for Ubuntu 22.04 and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint, Elementary OS, Pop!_OS, and more as well.

Prerequisites

  • A server running one of the following operating systems: Ubuntu 22.04, 20.04, and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint.
  • It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
  • SSH access to the server (or just open Terminal if you’re on a desktop).
  • A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Install Apache with Let’s Encrypt on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish

Step 1. First, make sure that all your system packages are up-to-date by running the following apt commands in the terminal.

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Step 2. Installing Apache HTTP Server on Ubuntu 22.04.

By default, the Apache is available on Ubuntu 22.04 base repository. Now run the following command below to install the latest version of Apache to your Ubuntu system:

sudo apt install apache2

After successfully installation, enable Apache (to start automatically upon system boot), start, and verify the status using the commands below:

sudo systemctl enable apache2
sudo systemctl start apache2
sudo systemctl status apache2

You can confirm the Apache2 version with the below command:

apache2 -v

Step 3. Configure Firewall.

Now we set up an Uncomplicated Firewall (UFW) with Apache to allow public access on default web ports for HTTP and HTTPS:

sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw allow 'Apache Full'
sudo ufw enable

Step 4. Accessing Apache Web Server.

Once successfully installed, open a web browser on your system and type the server’s IP in the address bar. You will get the default Apache server page:

Install Apache with Let's Encrypt on Ubuntu 22.04

Step 5. Create Apache Virtualhost.

First, create a root directory to hold your website’s files:

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/html/domain.com/

Then, change the ownership and group of the directory:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/domain.com/

After that, we create an Apache virtual host to serve the HTTP version of the website:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/www.domain.com.conf

Add the following file:

<VirtualHost *:80>

   ServerName domain.com
   ServerAlias www.domain.com
   ServerAdmin admin@domain.com
   DocumentRoot /var/www/html/www.domain.com

   ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/www.domain.com_error.log
   CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/www.domain.com_access.log combined

   <Directory /var/www/html/www.domain.com>
      Options FollowSymlinks
      AllowOverride All
      Require all granted
   </Directory>

</VirtualHost>

Save and close the file, then restart the Apache webserver so that the changes take place:

sudo a2ensite www.domain.com.conf
sudo a2enmod ssl rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 6. Secure Apache with Let’s Encrypt on Ubuntu 22.04.

First of all, you need to install Certbot to get an SSL certificate with Let’s Encrypt:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache

Next, get your SSL certificate with Let’s Encrypt by following these steps:

sudo certbot --apache

You will need to follow the interactive prompt and install the certificate. Since I have two domains, I will install SSL certificates for both domains:

Saving debug log to /var/log/letsencrypt/letsencrypt.log
Enter email address (used for urgent renewal and security notices)
 (Enter 'c' to cancel): admin@domain.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Please read the Terms of Service at
https://letsencrypt.org/documents/LE-SA-v1.2-November-15-2017.pdf. You must
agree in order to register with the ACME server. Do you agree?
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(Y)es/(N)o: Y 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Would you be willing, once your first certificate is successfully issued, to
share your email address with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a founding
partner of the Let's Encrypt project and the non-profit organization that
develops Certbot? We'd like to send you email about our work encrypting the web,
EFF news, campaigns, and ways to support digital freedom.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(Y)es/(N)o: N
Account registered.

Which names would you like to activate HTTPS for?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1: domain.com
2: www.domain.com
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Select the appropriate numbers separated by commas and/or spaces, or leave input
blank to select all options shown (Enter 'c' to cancel): 1,2
Requesting a certificate for domain.com and www.domain.com

Successfully received certificate.
Certificate is saved at: /etc/letsencrypt/live/domain.com/fullchain.pem
Key is saved at:         /etc/letsencrypt/live/domain.com/privkey.pem
This certificate expires on 2022-12-10.
These files will be updated when the certificate renews.
Certbot has set up a scheduled task to automatically renew this certificate in the background.

Deploying certificate
Successfully deployed certificate for domain.com to /etc/apache2/sites-available/www.domain.com-le-ssl.conf
Successfully deployed certificate for www.domain.com to /etc/apache2/sites-available/www.domain.com-le-ssl.conf
Congratulations! You have successfully enabled HTTPS on https://domain.com and https://www.domain.com

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If you like Certbot, please consider supporting our work by:
 * Donating to ISRG / Let's Encrypt:   https://letsencrypt.org/donate
 * Donating to EFF:                    https://eff.org/donate-le
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Step 7. Auto-Renewal SSL.

Let’s Encrypt certificates have 90 days of validity, and it is highly advisable to renew the certificates before they expire. You can test automatic renewal for your certificates by running this command:

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Output:

Saving debug log to /var/log/letsencrypt/letsencrypt.log

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Processing /etc/letsencrypt/renewal/domain.com.conf
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Account registered.
Simulating renewal of an existing certificate for domain.com and www.domain.com

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Congratulations, all simulated renewals succeeded: 
  /etc/letsencrypt/live/domain.com/fullchain.pem (success)
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Step 8. Test SSL.

Once successfully completed secure Apache with Let’s Encrypt  SSL, now go to ssllabs.com/ssltest/, and run an SSL test on your domain:

Install Apache with Let's Encrypt on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish

Congratulations! You have successfully set up Apache with Let’s Encrypt on Ubuntu 22.04. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing the Apache with Let’s Encrypt TLS/SSL on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish system. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official Apache website.

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r00t

r00t is a seasoned Linux system administrator with a wealth of experience in the field. Known for his contributions to idroot.us, r00t has authored numerous tutorials and guides, helping users navigate the complexities of Linux systems. His expertise spans across various Linux distributions, including Ubuntu, CentOS, and Debian. r00t's work is characterized by his ability to simplify complex concepts, making Linux more accessible to users of all skill levels. His dedication to the Linux community and his commitment to sharing knowledge makes him a respected figure in the field.
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