Installing WordPress on Rackspace Cloud Server with Cloud Database can give you a good performance with scalable and economically best solution. Simple Guide. The previous guide on installing WordPress on Rackspace Cloud Server was also with CentOS, but at that time, the Cloud Database Service was not for the Public but for only those who have almost all the services, the Control Panel was of Old Generation and there are complains that the previous guide was not suitable to the readers who has no idea about server.
Installing WordPress on Rackspace Cloud Server with Cloud Database : Preface
There are various articles in this website which can help you to upgrade after Installing WordPress on Rackspace Cloud Server with Cloud Database. You can provision multiple servers, add load balancers etc. Simply search within the website if you need. But, this Installing WordPress on Rackspace Cloud Server with Cloud Database is a basic article intended for all who can afford very little for a cloud server.
Softwares and resources needed for Installing WordPress on Rackspace Cloud Server
If you are using Windows PC, you will need PuTY, its a free SSH/Telnet Client. Other is any text editor like notepad. For Mac OS X and Linux OS, you will only need to run the Terminal, nothing needed to be installed.
---
Specifically for this guide, Installing WordPress on Rackspace Cloud Server with Cloud Database, you will need a Rackspace Cloud account requesting for Unmanaged Cloud Server Account and Cloud Database. If you feel difficulty, you can point towards this article.
Steps for Installing WordPress on Rackspace Cloud Server with Cloud Database
The basic point is that, in the screen shots on this guide on Installing WordPress on Rackspace Cloud Server with Cloud Database, you will see some extra services, in fact all the services of Rackspace Cloud. You will not see those options on your account.
We are using the new generation Open Cloud Servers in this guide on Installing WordPress on Rackspace Cloud Server with Cloud Database. This is the big difference between the new and OLD GUIDE plus we will not need to create MySQL database.
Commands for Installing WordPress on Rackspace Cloud Server with Cloud Database
We are taking that you will use one server and one database setup. Login to your Rackspace Cloud account, which will be probably like this for the new customers :
1 | https://mycloud.rackspace.com/ |
You will see a control panel like this :

Click the Server and then the Create Server button (can not be seen in the screenshot but its obvious). Give your server a name, name does not matter and Select the Node you want and use the latest version of CentOS :

Scroll down and Select the size of RAM :

Click the create server button and the next page will load. Do not click anything unless you are :

Getting the Green boxed “Running” message. Click the notification for getting the password and copy paste it to any text editor like notepad. Then copy paste the IP address of your server too.
Commands for Mac OS X
iTerm will be in your Applications folder in Mac OS X, open it and use this parameter to login, replace with your copy pasted data in text editor :
1 | ssh root@IPaddress |
Commands for Linux
Open Terminal and the command is same like Mac OS X.
For Windows PC
Double click to launch PuTTY. Only Copy Paste the IP address and click the Open button :

In all three cases, the username is root and password is the copy pasted password on your Notepad. The rest of the commands are same for all three Operating Systems for Installing WordPress on Rackspace Cloud Server.
There is nothing to fear with this black window. Just type the commands and Hit Enter or Return Key from keyboard and wait for responses.
First, update it :
1 | yum update |
Keep an eye what is happening, you have to accept the next step by typing y (and hitting Enter key). You will understand its complete by the message :

Tips : For the beginners, the hashed condition means its doing noting, you can type the next command.
Its better if you restart your server from Rackspace Cloud Control panel. Its not mandatory but I personally think, a reboot is better idea after updating it.
Now, install the needed components :
1 | yum -y install httpd php |
Now create the public folders :
1 | mkdir -p /var/www/html |
Go to the html folder by changing the directory :
1 | CD /var/www/html |
Download WordPress :
1 | wget http://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz |
Uncompress the full folder :
1 | tar -xzvf latest.tar.gz |
But actually it is in the wordpress directory, as we have uncompressed the wordpress tar file. We will do the best trick for any level of user. Just use any FTP software. Like for Windows PC use WinSCP. The needed info to login through SFTP are :
port : 22
host : the ip address you copied
username : root
password : the password you have copied
You will go to :
1 | ./var/www/html/ |
And what you were unable to see you have done is graphically visible here :

And go to the wordpress directory and select all the folders, with right click you will get the option to move, you will move to the html folder :

These are actually components of MySQL, to run the server rightly, install them :
1 | yum -y install mysql mysql-server php-mysql |
Restart httpd :
1 | /etc/init.d/httpd restart |
Start mysqld although we do not need MySQL :
1 | service mysqld start |
This is done as some components throws error.
Basically we need not to configure Apache virtual host. Go to the DNS option in control panel and add a domain. So pointing to :
1 | http://your-domain-for-this-server/wp-admin/install.php |
Should show the prompt to create a configuration file to install WordpPess. Now we need a Cloud Database. That is quite easy as you can access with a GUI. Read this Using Rackspace Database as a Service to Boost WordPress guide to create a Cloud Database and complete Installing WordPress on Rackspace Cloud Server with Cloud Database.