Here are the requirements for setting up a server to run CakePHP:
An HTTP server (like Apache) with the following enabled: sessions, mod_rewrite (not absolutely necessary but preferred)
PHP 4.3.2 or greater. Yes, CakePHP works great in either PHP 4 or 5.
A database engine (right now, there is support for MySQL 4+, PostgreSQL and a wrapper for ADODB)