Installing AWStats on Ubuntu 18.04

AWStats is a powerful and feature-rich log analyzer tool that generates advanced web, streaming, FTP, or mail server statistics graphically. It allows you to analyze who is visiting your website, what pages they are visiting, and other important information.

Installation

To install AWStats on Ubuntu 18.04, follow these steps:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

sudo apt install awstats

sudo nano /etc/awstats/awstats.conf

Inside the configuration file, you will find various settings that you can modify to match your specific setup. Pay attention to the following:

sudo /usr/lib/cgi-bin/awstats.pl -config=awstats.conf -update

sudo nano /etc/apache2/conf-available/awstats.conf

Add the following lines to the configuration file, replacing "example.com" with your domain name:

Alias /awstatsclasses "/usr/share/awstats/lib/"
Alias /awstats-icon/ "/usr/share/awstats/icon/"
Alias /awstatscss "/usr/share/doc/awstats/examples/css"
ScriptAlias /awstats/ /usr/lib/cgi-bin/
Options ExecCGI -MultiViews +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch

sudo a2enconf awstats
sudo systemctl reload apache2

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/awstats.conf

Add the following content to the file:

  ServerName awstats.example.com
  DocumentRoot /usr/lib/cgi-bin/
  
    Options None
    AllowOverride None
    Order allow,deny
    Allow from all
    
      AuthName "Restricted Area"
      AuthType Basic
      AuthUserFile /etc/awstats/.htpasswd
      require valid-user
    
  

sudo a2ensite awstats.conf
sudo systemctl reload apache2

sudo htpasswd -c /etc/awstats/.htpasswd your_username

http://awstats.example.com/awstats.pl?config=awstats

1. Make sure your system is up to date:
2. Install AWStats:
3. Configure AWStats:
   • LogFile: Set the path to your web server's access log file. For example:
     LogFile="/var/log/apache2/access.log"
   • LogFormat: Set the log format of your web server. For Apache's default format, use:
     LogFormat=1
   • SiteDomain: Set the domain name of your website:
     SiteDomain="example.com"
   • HostsAliases: Set the aliases for your web server. For example:
     HostAliases="localhost 127.0.0.1 REGEX[^.*$]"
4. Generate initial statistics:
5. Configure Apache to serve AWStats:
6. Enable the new configuration:
7. Create a virtual host file for AWStats:
8. Enable the new virtual host:
9. Add a user for accessing AWStats:
10. Access AWStats in your web browser:

Remember to replace "example.com" with your actual domain name. You should see the AWStats interface and be able to navigate through your website's statistics.

Conclusion

AWStats is a valuable tool for analyzing website traffic and gaining insights into your visitors' behavior. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can easily install AWStats on your Ubuntu 18.04 server and start monitoring your website's statistics.