How to Setup & Operate an Apache Web Server

Web browser

Apache web server is one of the most popular web servers running on the Internet. The only real competition to Apache is IIS, which only runs on the Microsoft Windows platform. Apache web server has been ported to all major operating systems, but the way it works is basically the same no matter what platform it is running on. In only a few minutes, anyone can have an Apache web server installed and operating smoothly.

Things You'll Need

• Apache web server software
• Computer server to run Apache on

Instructions

1. Acquire Apache web server software from Apache's website. When acquiring Apache web server, a choice needs to be made between installing a pre-compiled binary version of Apache and compiling Apache's source code with a C compiler. Most people should pick the the pre-compiled binary unless there is a reason otherwise.

2. Install the Apache web server's pre-compiled binaries. If compiling from source code, compile Apache's web server's source code with a C compiler then install the resulting binaries.

3. Look at the httpd.conf file, which is the main configuration file for Apache. On the Windows environment, there is a menu option in Apache's program group for this. On Unix based platforms, navigate to Apache's conf directory then open the httpd.conf file. To have a functioning Apache server, make sure the fields for server domain name and ports are correct.

4. Start up Apache web server. This step varies depending on the operating system. On Windows, the Apache web server needs to be restarted via the Services feature under Administrative Tools. On Unix based platforms, Apache web server needs to be started from the operating system's services framework or manually via the "apachectl start" command.

5. Open up a web browser and point it to your Apache web server's domain name. There should be a default Apache web page shown.

6. After the default Apache web page is visible, make any additional changes to Apache web server such as adding dynamic modules or additional HTML directories in httpd.conf. Once the customizations to Apache web server have been completed, restart and test with a browser again.

Tips & Warnings

• On some Linux installations, Apache comes pre-installed and running. On those installations, many of these steps can be skipped.

• Do not install Apache version 1. Version 1 is obsolete and has security issues that are resolved by going to Apache version 2.

Resources

• Home Page for Apache HTTP Server Project