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Installation/Uninstallation


Minimum system requirements


Supported operating systems

OpenLiteSpeed supports current and non-EOL versions of the following Linux distributions:

  • CentOS* 8, 9, 10
  • Debian 11, 12, 13
  • Ubuntu 20 (EOL May 31, 2025), 22, 24

* Includes RedHat Enterprise Linux and derivatives, AlmaLinux, CloudLinux, Oracle Linux, RockyLinux, VzLinux, etc.


CPU

  • Intel: x86-64
  • ARM: aarch64 (Linux only)

Memory

512MB and up


Disk

  • Installation: 200MB
  • Runtime: 300MB and up, swapping space depends on usage.

Installation

Installation must be performed in a command line terminal. For testing purposes, OpenLiteSpeed can be installed into a home directory by a non-privileged user. For production use, it should be installed into a system directory.


Installation steps

Visit the OpenLiteSpeed documentation for a list of installation methods.


Getting Started

  1. For detailed information on controlling the server processes, please see the Administration Guide.

    To start the server, simply run [your_install_dir]/bin/lswsctrl start. (To stop it, run [your_install_dir]/bin/lswsctrl stop.)

  2. A sample site should be running on the server.

    To access your site, point your browser to http://[address]:8088/, [address] being the IP address or domain name of your web server machine. Use "localhost" if the server is on the machine you are using. "8088" is the default port. If you chose another port for OpenLiteSpeed during installation, use the port you designated.

    A congratulations page linked to other testing pages should load into the browser when pointed to the above address. If not, try the WebAdmin Console.

  3. The default port for the WebAdmin Console is 7080.

    Plug https://[address]:7080/ into your browser to go to the WebAdmin Console. (If you changed the port for WebAdmin during installation, use that port instead.)

    Remember that for [address] you can use "localhost" if you're currently using the machine the server is on.

    The WebAdmin Console welcome page should now load. Click the "Log on" link and use the administrator's username and password specified during installation to log on.

    For detailed information regarding configuration, please refer to our Configuration Guide, or click the "Help" link at the top of any page.

  4. If your server uses a firewall, please make sure that localhost is trusted.

    For instance, Linux with IPTables should include a rule ALLOW INPUT from LO.

  5. If your web site and the WebAdmin Console are inaccessible, please take a look at the error log [your_install_dir]/logs/error.log.

    If there is a TCP port conflict with other server applications, the web server should be reinstalled with an available port. The following command can be used to find an available port: netstat -an | grep XXXX XXXX is a port number. If the port is available, the command will produce no output.

    If the swapping directory is not writable, you can either grant writing permission for the swapping directory to the user whom the web server is running as, or change the swapping directory's configurations manually. The swapping directory is configured in the server's XML configuration file: [your_install_dir]/conf/httpd_config.xml. Search the XML file for swappingDir. The default location for the swapping directory is /tmp/lshttpd/swap.

    If you still have problems with installation, please see the documentation or post your problem on our support forum.


Note

  • OpenLiteSpeed supports both native LiteSpeed XML configuration files and plain text configuration files (for those used to editing Apache's httpd.conf). Run [your_install_dir]/conf/switch_config.sh to switch between these formats.

Uninstallation steps

  1. Stop OpenLiteSpeed if it is running: [your_install_dir]/bin/lswsctrl stop
  2. Remove the install directory: rm -rf [your_install_dir]