What is our primary use case?
I have been using LAMP Stack Debian for approximately ten years. I use LAMP Stack Debian for projects that require PHP with a connection to MySQL. Additionally, I use LAMP Stack Debian when I need to deploy websites such as WordPress, PrestaShop, or projects that are already running on PHP and MySQL or MariaDB.
The website of my company and the website of my product run on WordPress and are hosted in an Azure container, where Debian is installed with LAMP. At the domestic level, I set up my personal website when I used WordPress; although I currently use Grav, I previously used LAMP. Since Debian is an extremely stable distribution, it seems to me to be a very sound solution.
I decided to migrate and standardize my production environment to Debian seeking predictability. The benefit is significant because it has resulted in a drastic reduction in downtime and maintenance costs, knowing that a routine security update will not break anything and that the PHP runtime environments and Apache configuration provide me with enormous peace of mind in my daily work. I use LAMP Stack Debian in a public cloud that runs on Azure Cloud.
What is most valuable?
What I highlight most about LAMP Stack Debian is the absolute stability and consistency of the environment. When managing standard websites such as WordPress or PrestaShop, up to critical enterprise applications in production, I need an underlying operating system that does not introduce abrupt changes. Debian offers exactly that.
The integration of the traditional LAMP architecture, Linux, Apache, MySQL, MariaDB, and PHP, in Debian is impeccable. The APT package management system handles dependencies cleanly, and Debian's security patch policy ensures that the server remains protected without breaking compatibility with existing applications. Additionally, the resource consumption of this stack on Debian is extremely optimized compared to other distributions.
The minimalism in the base installation of Debian, with no bloatware, is outstanding. I install directly with APT; I install .deb packages, which means that Apache, PHP, MariaDB, or MySQL communicate directly. There is no abstraction layer between them, eliminating all translation layers and reducing latency. Another aspect I appreciate about Debian is the restrictive policies for background services in systemd, which keeps these services to a minimum and mitigates unjustified spikes, leaving computing power available to process PHP code.
What needs improvement?
One of its virtues is also one of its problems. The main drawback is the old age of the packages; in the stable branch, I do not get the latest versions of PHP, Apache, or similar software. Therefore, if I want something, I have to go to trusted external repositories or compile something manually to be on the cutting edge. That is the only downside I see.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working in my current field for twelve years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
LAMP Stack Debian is exceptionally stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have had to scale up or down resources at various points. I have vertical and horizontal scaling available at the Azure layer, which is straightforward to apply, and on Debian, it is applied almost automatically, requiring only a few commands. The fine-tuning of LAMP is quite simple.
How are customer service and support?
I have not used official support so far. I have always turned to the community. There is a large community in Debian where I can find solutions to any problem because it has probably happened to someone else before. The community is excellent, and I do not have any concerns regarding support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS, and many other solutions, but I moved to Debian precisely because of the support, long-term support, stability of the packages, and community maintenance.
How was the initial setup?
The installation process is quite simple because, with the APT tool, it is easy to install LAMP. It is true that the default configuration that comes out of the box is somewhat sparse, and I have to do some manual tuning by editing clean configuration files, but it is nothing complicated if I have handled PHP, MySQL, or Apache before.
What about the implementation team?
The Debian Wiki is my central reference. I do not need to go to any blog because it has a lot of reliable documentation, and I also find the right documentation for the distribution I am using. This documentation could be improved because the Wiki looks outdated, but it is very good. The system manuals and man pages are perfect because they are included with everything. If there are still things missing, the ecosystem and the global community are excellent. There is a large community where, if I have any problem, I will find a solution quickly and accurately.
What was our ROI?
There have been time savings in terms of configuration. There have been time savings in terms of vulnerabilities or fixes, and there has also been a return on investment in terms of resources since I do not need large resources for the projects I have.
It has drastically reduced reactive maintenance. In my department, infrastructure updates usually generate friction because we are afraid that something will break. The impact it has had is that LAMP Stack Debian stable's policy, by not introducing major version changes in security packages, has transformed maintenance from something stressful into something predictable. The infrastructure team no longer spends the weekend stressed out, fixing incompatibilities or worrying that nothing critical would come up in the next few hours. The return on investment is significant; since hardware and cloud efficiency is quite high, I need less hardware to handle more traffic. With a much smaller machine in Azure, I can deploy many more sites than before, when I had to oversize with other solutions. In the end, there is also the guarantee of business continuity; I know that Debian distributions have great long-term support, so I am confident that I have guarantees for business continuity for quite a long time. The savings come from the fact that since the machine is very optimized, I need fewer machine resources to launch the same sites, and therefore I run more solutions on smaller machines. This translates into lower cloud costs. Regarding business continuity, the fact that updates or distributions have long-term support implies that the distribution will remain supported for much longer.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
LAMP Stack Debian has no license cost. By choosing a free solution, 100% Apache 2.0 licensed, I do not have any concerns of any kind.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I evaluated Ubuntu, but Ubuntu's LTS versions are shorter than those of Debian. That was the main reason why I chose Debian.
What other advice do I have?
I use LAMP Stack Debian as a central infrastructure to deploy and host internal developments and commercial e-commerce or CMS platforms.
LAMP Stack Debian is a very good choice for stable projects that have little variability, especially for websites made in WordPress, PrestaShop, and projects that require high stability. I rate this solution an 8 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure