WordPress on my IBM-i Power System!

What is WordPress? WordPress is an open-source Content Management System written in PHP and paired with a MySQL or MariaDB database. Features include a comprehensive plugin architecture and a visual theme system. WordPress is powered by a webserver – what options do we have?

This lesson provides a clear, end‑to‑end walkthrough of the entire process of bringing WordPress to life on an IBM i system. It ties together the key concepts and technical steps covered throughout the module, giving learners a visual, practical recap they can follow at their own pace. Who This Lesson Is For? This video is ideal for IBM i developers, administrators, and technical enthusiasts who want a practical, modern introduction to running open‑source web technologies on the platform.

Bootstrapping the IBM i open‑source environment means setting up the foundational pieces that allow IBM i to install, manage, and run modern open‑source software. On IBM i, none of the open‑source tools (PHP, Python, Node.js, Git, MariaDB, etc.) can run until this base layer is in place, so “bootstrapping” refers to preparing the system so everything else can be built on top of it.

An IBM i PHP server is needed because PHP is the runtime engine that executes all the logic inside a PHP application. On IBM i, that runtime must be installed, configured, and connected to the web server so PHP code can actually run. Without a PHP server, PHP applications, including WordPress, custom web apps, APIs, dashboards, and admin tools cannot execute at all.

I’ve opted for the Seiden CommunityPlus+ PHP Server To install Seiden CommunityPlus+ PHP, follow these steps: STEP 1: Make sure your IBM i Open Source environment is properly set up. STEP 2: Install CommmunityPlus+ PHP RPMs. (The document password is seidenrpms) STEP 3: Set up an Apache web server instance: automatically with our siteadd utility or manually STEP 4: Configure common settings such as PHP error logging and mail(), if needed.

With CommunityPlus+ PHP installed, spinning up a PHP web server has never been easier siteadd from Seiden Group is the ultimate tool for the job. It streamlines the creation of Apache HTTP instances with FastCGI, ideal for running multiple sites each with their own configurations on your Power Systems box. This lesson covers installing siteadd, adding and removing sites, checking site details, managing multiple PHP versions with chroots, and using templates for custom setups. The approach stays hands-on and centered on IBM i commands and paths, enabling your AS/400 heritage system to serve PHP apps swiftly and efficiently for a more agile web environment.

Wordpress is powered by MySQL Database. On our IBM-i System MariaDB is a replacement for MySQL MariaDB is a fast, open-source, community developed branch of MySQL. Internal commands use the MySQL Naming convention. It’s a nice IBM-i friendly alternative to MySQL, and the bonus is that installing MariaDB Using Access Client Solutions is super easy.

Wordpress is powered by MySQL Database. On our IBM-i System MariaDB is a replacement for MySQL MariaDB is a fast, open-source, community developed branch of MySQL. Internal commands use the MySQL Naming convention. It’s a nice IBM-i friendly alternative to MySQL, and the bonus is that installing MariaDB Using Access Client Solutions is super easy.

Zend DBi is the MySQL/MariaDB database distribution built specifically for IBM i, packaged and delivered as part of the Zend ecosystem. It appears directly on the Zend downloads page you’re viewing, where Zend DBi IBM i 10.1.21 is listed as one of the downloadable IBM i components. Zend DBi is deprecated and now part of the modern COMMERCIAL Zend Server - MariaDB from IBM’s RPM repo is the modern replacement.

One of the coolest aspects of MySQL, especially in the IBM i ecosystem, is its pluggable storage engine architecture. This flexibility lets you swap out how data is stored and managed under the hood, tailoring it to your environment's strengths. Enter the IBMDB2i storage engine: a powerhouse that bridges MySQL with the native DB2 database on IBM i. Instead of storing data in MySQL's typical files, it leverages DB2's robust, enterprise-grade capabilities, meaning you can run open-source LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) apps like WordPress or Joomla while accessing the same data via familiar DB2 SQL queries, or even browsing it as traditional physical and logical files in the IFS or via DDS.

Add to System Startup Program - Add commands to your system startup CL program (often QSTRUP or a custom startup program). We will look at a couple of different options.

Today, we're focusing on setting the root user password MariaDB - that's the MySQL-compatible layer for IBM i systems. This is crucial because out of the box, the root user often has no password, leaving your setup vulnerable to unauthorized access, especially in shared or production environments. Why bother? Without a password, anyone with access to the PASE environment could log in as root and wreak havoc. Think data breaches, accidental deletions, or compliance nightmares (e.g., GDPR or PCI-DSS). Plus, many apps like WordPress require secure DB connections, and troubleshooting errors like "Error establishing a database connection" often circles back to credential issues.

In this lesson, we’ll walk through the process of creating a MariaDB database and testing our first connection. Whether you’re using Zend DBi, MariaDB for IBM i, or another MySQL‑compatible engine, the goal is the same: establish a clean, secure, properly configured database that WordPress can connect to without errors.

Running WordPress on IBM i opens the door to a modern, flexible web platform powered by the reliability and performance of the IBM i environment. Before WordPress can come to life, however, it needs a place to store its content posts, pages, settings, users, plugins, and everything else that makes a site tick. That’s where MariaDB (MySQL) comes in.

If you are looking to bring modern web content management to your Power Systems setup, installing WordPress on IBM i is a straightforward way to blend open-source PHP power with your reliable IBM-i system and it's AS400 heritage. WordPress runs on Apache and PHP, which IBM i supports natively through CommunityPlus PHP Server, and it pairs perfectly with MariaDB (MySQL) for database needs. This setup lets you host dynamic sites, blogs, or even integrate with RPG programs and DB2 data for custom apps. In this guide, we will walk through the prerequisites like enabling the HTTP server, installing PHP, setting up the database, and configuring WordPress itself, all while keeping things secure and performant on your IBM i box. Let's get your system serving up WordPress goodness in no time.

Here is a list of the common problems I discovered while trying to get WordPress up and running on my IBM-i System