LIS 525 - Apache
The Apache project
aims to develop and maintain a secure, efficient, and extensible
open-source HTTP server
for various server operating systems,
such as UNIX and Windows.
Apache (A PAtCHy server)
was based on some existing code
and a series of "patch" files.
Some Major Features of Apache
- HTTP/1.1 compliance.
- Third-party modules can be written using a module API.
- Full source code.
- Unrestrictive license
(you just have to keep the copyright information).
- It runs under most versions of Windows and Unix,
and some other operating systems.
- Active development,
with user feedback encouraged.
- Database support for password-protected pages
with large numbers of authorized users.
- Files or CGI scripts
may be specified as responses to errors and problems.
- Each directory can have its own default file.
- Unlimited URL aliases and redirects.
- Clients of varying sophistication and HTML level compliance
can be automatically served
with documents which offer the best representation of
information.
- Virtual hosts.
- Logs can be generated in various formats specified
by the administrator,
and, on most Unix systems, can be piped,
allowing for log rotation, hit filtering,
and real-time splitting of multiple virtual hosts into separate
logs.
Advantages
- Generally better speed
- Stability.
- Array of features.
- Price (free).
- Capability of handling millions of hits per day.
Disadvantages
- No official support.
- May require tweaking of operating environment
(e.g.,
installation of Service Pack 1
in Windows XP)
- Possible difficulty in setup: no GUI;
may have to be compiled
(a compiled version is available for Windows).
- Inferior speed on some benchmarks.
Running Apache
In Windows,
Apache can be run
either as a "service",
in which case it starts running when the machine boots
and stays running even when no one is logged in,
or as a console application.
On Unix,
the httpd program is run as a "daemon"
which executes continuously in the background to handle
requests.
When httpd starts up,
it reads the configuration file
httpd.conf,
the location of which
either was set at installation
or may be specified with a command line option.
To start Apache automatically when the computer boots up,
a call to httpd can be included in the system startup
files.
Each line in the configuration file contains a directive;
for example,
the following directive adds a MIME
type:
AddType image/gif .gif
While Apache is running,
the administrator can make changes or get status reports
with the apachectl script.
For example,
the following command can be used to get Apache
to recheck the configuration file
without terminating existing connections:
apachectl graceful
For More Information
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Last updated October 31, 2007.
This page maintained by
Prof. Tim Craven
E-mail (text/plain only): craven@uwo.ca
Faculty of Information and
Media Studies
University of Western
Ontario,
London, Ontario
Canada, N6A 5B7