# Drupal

Drupal is an open-source content management system for content-heavy websites and applications. Its entity model, taxonomy, and module ecosystem let teams build custom content types, editorial workflows, and multilingual sites without writing the underlying code themselves.

PHP’s `mail()` function and the local mail transfer agent deliver mail directly over port 25, which is blocked by default. Use an SMTP plugin or authenticated relay on port 587, or see [SMTP Port 25](https://docs.zcp.zsoftly.ca/public-cloud/networking/public-network/smtp-port-25) to request access.

## Software included

| Component | Version |
| --- | --- |
| Drupal | 11.4.1 |
| PHP | 8.3 |
| Apache | Latest |
| MariaDB | Latest |
| Drush | 13 |
| Ubuntu | 24.04 LTS |

Drupal runs on a native LAMP stack (Apache, MariaDB, PHP). The site is pre-installed with the Standard profile, so it is ready to use as soon as the VM boots.

## Requirements

| Resource | Minimum | Recommended |
| --- | --- | --- |
| vCPU | 2 | 4 |
| RAM | 2 GB | 4 GB |
| Storage | 20 GB | 40 GB |

The storage figure is your root disk size. Choose it on the OS Disk Offering step when you create the instance. You pay for it per GB, separate from the plan.

Storage needs grow with media uploads and the number of installed modules.

## Getting started

### 1. Connect to your VM

```bash
ssh ubuntu@<your-vm-ip>
```

### 2. Wait for first-boot configuration

On the first boot, a setup script creates the database, installs the Drupal site with Drush, and generates the admin and database passwords. This takes 1-2 minutes. Track progress:

```bash
journalctl -u drupal-first-boot.service -f
```

The login message (MOTD) confirms when Drupal is ready.

### 3. Retrieve the admin credentials

The admin password, along with the database credentials, is written to a root-only file:

```bash
sudo cat /root/.credentials/drupal.txt
```

### 4. Sign in to the admin area

Open the site in a browser:

```text
http://<your-vm-ip>/
```

Sign in at the admin login page:

```text
http://<your-vm-ip>/user/login
```

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Username | `admin` |
| Password | From `/root/.credentials/drupal.txt` |

## Managing Drupal

Drupal is served by Apache with MariaDB, both managed by systemd.

```bash
# Service status
systemctl status apache2
systemctl status mariadb


# Restart the web server
sudo systemctl restart apache2


# Run Drush commands from the project root
cd /var/www/drupal && vendor/bin/drush status
cd /var/www/drupal && vendor/bin/drush cache:rebuild
```

| Path | Purpose |
| --- | --- |
| `/var/www/drupal` | Project root |
| `/var/www/drupal/web` | Web docroot |
| `/var/www/drupal/web/sites/default/settings.php` | Site configuration |
| `/var/www/drupal/web/sites/default/files` | Uploaded files and media |

## Security

Port 80 is open on the VM’s network interface. UFW is enabled and allows SSH (port 22) and HTTP (port 80). The image serves plain HTTP only.

The site ships with `$settings['trusted_host_patterns']` set to allow any host (`^.+$`). Before putting the site on a public domain, tighten this in `/var/www/drupal/web/sites/default/settings.php` to match your hostname.

For production use, put the instance behind a reverse proxy with TLS (for example Nginx or Caddy) so the site is served over HTTPS, and update `trusted_host_patterns` accordingly.

## Next steps

- [Drupal documentation](https://www.drupal.org/docs)
- [Drush documentation](https://www.drush.org/)