LiteSpeed Web Server Enterprise Installation

LiteSpeed Web Server Enterprise Installation (Without cPanel)

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Here’s how to install and configure LSWS Enterprise manually on a Linux server.

LiteSpeed Web Server Enterprise (often abbreviated as LSWS Enterprise) is a commercial, high-performance HTTP server developed by LiteSpeed Technologies. It is a drop-in replacement for Apache but significantly faster and more resource-efficient.

Unlike Apache, which uses a process/thread model, LiteSpeed uses an event-driven architecture — making it much better at handling high traffic with fewer resources.

LSWS Enterprise is used primarily to:

  1. Serve Websites
  2. Improve Performance
  3. Replace Apache Seamlessly
  4. Serve Secure HTTPS Traffic

Step 1: Download and Run the Installer

[root@web ~]# wget https://www.litespeedtech.com/packages/5.0/lsws-*-ent-x86_64-linux.tar.gz
[root@web ~]# tar -zxvf lsws-*-ent-x86_64-linux.tar.gz
[root@web ~]# cd lsws-*-ent
[root@web ~]# sudo ./install.sh

You will be prompted to enter:

  • Admin username/password
  • Admin port (default is 7080)
  • Web server port (default is 80)
  • PHP options
  • License (either trial or full license key)

If you don’t have a license yet, request a 15-day trial license:
https://www.litespeedtech.com/trial/license

Step 2: Start and Enable LiteSpeed

[root@web ~]# sudo /usr/local/lsws/bin/lswsctrl start
[root@web ~]# sudo ln -s /usr/local/lsws/bin/lswsctrl /usr/bin/lswsctrl

(Optional auto-start on reboot)

[root@web ~]# sudo ln -s /usr/local/lsws/bin/lswsctrl /etc/init.d/lsws
[root@web ~]# sudo chkconfig --add lsws

Step 3: Access the Admin Console

  • Go to: http://<your-server-ip>:7080
  • Log in with the credentials you set during installation
  • From here, configure virtual hosts, SSL, PHP handlers, and performance settings

Step 4: Replace Apache (Optional)

If you want LSWS Enterprise to replace Apache:

Stop Apache:

[root@web ~]# sudo systemctl stop apache2      # Debian/Ubuntu
[root@web ~]# sudo systemctl stop httpd        # CentOS/RHEL

Run LiteSpeed on port 80:

[root@web ~]# sudo /usr/local/lsws/bin/lswsctrl start

Disable Apache auto-start:

[root@web ~]# sudo systemctl disable apache2   # or httpd

Download a matching LSAPI PHP binary or compile PHP with LSAPI. Or install from LiteSpeed repo:

[root@web ~]# sudo apt install lsphp81 lsphp81-common lsphp81-mysql

📁Virtual Host Configuration (Manual)

LiteSpeed can use either:

  • Apache-style config files
  • Or its native configuration via Admin GUI

You can configure vhosts under:

[root@web ~]# /usr/local/lsws/conf/httpd_config.conf

🔒SSL Certificate Setup

[root@web ~]# sudo apt install certbot
[root@web ~]# sudo certbot certonly --standalone -d example.com

🧪Test & Reload Server

[root@web ~]# sudo /usr/local/lsws/bin/lswsctrl restart
LiteSpeed Web Server Enterprise Installation
LiteSpeed Web Server Enterprise Installation