2. INTRODUCTION he Apache project started out to build a commercial grade, open source web server. As open source projects go, this one has done fantastically well, powering over 61% of the web servers on the Internet with Microsoft's IIS a distant second at 19%. Why would you want to choose Apache? This article will try to answer that and also take you through the installation and basic configuration of this great web server.

3. It was a cold morning in New York City, early 1996 when I entered the office and rushed to the kitchen for that hot mug of coffee to warm myself. I met with my boss to discuss the tasks for the day, one of which was, "Install and configure Apache". Hmmm, I thought to myself. What is this Apache? I had heard about the Native American tribe, the Indian who sings ragamuffin reggae and the 1957 Chevrolet classic truck but I did not know that it was something that could be installed and configured on my Solaris 2.5.1 box. I then embarked on a trip that took me through history, technology, philosophy, and statistics. In this article I will share stories of my trip with you and hope that it inspires you to take a journey to meet the ruler of the web, Apache.

4. What is Apache? Apache is a web server. In fact Apache is the worlds most popular and dominating web server with over 61% of all Internet web servers running Apache. A far second is Microsoft IIS, with a measly 19% of market share. This is a true testament to Apache's popularity. (Statistics courtesy of http://www.netcraft.com) Apache actually stands for "A patchy server". Since the original Apache was built from "patching" the original NCSA HTTP daemon in early 1995. Apache is not owned by a single commercial entity (like IIS is owned by Microsoft, iPlanet is owned by Sun/Netscape Alliance) but rather, is developed by a loose knit team of voluntary programmers scattered across the globe, collaborating through the Internet. Today, development of Apache is coordinated by a non-profit organization called the Apache Foundation.

5. But where can I get Apache if I don't have it? Apache is available for download on the Internet, free of charge and is bundled with all (??) Linux distributions. In fact, most (or maybe all) Linux distributions install and configure Apache for you by default. In other words when you install Linux, you are also installing Apache. So to obtain Apache you have two choices, either just get it off the Linux distribution or download the latest and greatest from www.apache.org

6. Now that I have it, how do I install it? Apache distributions come in various forms. Each of these are described below: 1. Source distribution: This consists of the source code and no pre-built binaries. Once you download a source distribution, you must compile it and run the scripts bundled with the distribution to install it. This gives the user maximum flexibility to custom configure and install Apache. The user even has the liberty of extending or modifying the source code and installing other functional modules as well. The install procedure is built directly into the Makefile to build the source and simply issuing the command 'make install' will install Apache with it's defaults on your system.

7. 2. Binary distribution: This consists of pre-built binaries for the various supported operating environments and platforms. These distributions come with installation scripts that allow you to install Apache on your system. 3. Packaged distributions: These distributions come in packaged formats like RPM (for RedHat and derivative systems). These distributions are installed via the standard installation management program called rpm. This allows the software installation of Apache to be tracked by the Operating System. At the end of this article there is a more detailed explanation of how to actually compile and install an Apache source distribution.

8. Ok, now it's all installed, but how do I configure it? An Apache use a single configuration file called httpd.conf to manage its operating characteristics. In this file, you can configure Apache server characteristics like Server name, port on which to run the server, the threading and process spawn limits, the modules that it loads, the handlers for various types of files, virtual directories and hosts, mime-types, access control etc. etc. phew! For default installations you need not touch this file. Only when you need non-standard options for configuring Apache you will have to open this file. This file is well commented and pretty much self-explanatory, so editing it is a breeze.

9. Well it works, but what are its features? Apache is a full-featured web server that offers a full suite of functionality from basic web serving to highly advanced server configurations. Since Apache is open source, developers can even extend it beyond the basics, thereby making Apache's feature set infinite. Apache is secure. The Apache security controls are very flexible and very powerful. You can specify access control on a particular directory or a particular file, for a particular user, for a group of users, for a particular IP address or a group of IP addresses. All of these settings can be made in the Apache configuration file httpd.conf. In other words you can restrict access of a particular file to a particular user coming from a particular IP address, at the lowest level.

10. Well it works, but what are its features? Apache is a full-featured web server that offers a full suite of functionality from basic web serving to highly advanced server configurations. Since Apache is open source, developers can even extend it beyond the basics, thereby making Apache's feature set infinite. Apache is secure . The Apache security controls are very flexible and very powerful. You can specify access control on a particular directory or a particular file, for a particular user, for a group of users, for a particular IP address or a group of IP addresses. All of these settings can be made in the Apache configuration file httpd.conf. In other words you can restrict access of a particular file to a particular user coming from a particular IP address, at the lowest level.

11. Quick start guide If you are now anxious to get started with Apache, here is how you go about compiling the Apache source code and configuring your installation. 1. Download the latest Apache source distribution from www.apache.org 2. Unpack the source distribution. The source distribution comes as a compressed archive. Let's say that we are installing Apache 1.3.12 (apache_1.3.12.tar.gz). Uncompress and untar the archive with the following command: $ tar -zxvf apache_1.3.12.tar.gz This will create a directory named apache_1.3.12 in your current working directory. We'll call this the Apache source directory.

12. 3. RTFM. RTFM. RTFM. Please read the README file in the Apache source directory. 4. Configuring your environment to compile Apache. The source distribution comes with a script called configure, which checks your environment for the necessary support files (like headers, shared libraries and utility programs) that are required to successfully compile Apache. To configure, change directory to the Apache source directory and type $ ./configure --prefix=/usr/local/apache The prefix argument indicates where we wish to install Apache. This command will output several lines on the screen. Essentially this command creates the Makefiles for the build according to your system configuration. If there are errors in configure, you may be missing some header files or utility programs which you must install before proceeding.

13. 5. Compile Apache. Once configure runs successfully you can compile Apache using the make command $ make This will output several lines on the screen indicating that it is compiling and linking Apache. This should normally conclude with no errors, however if any errors occur, they will usually be caused due to missing utility programs or libraries. The Apache FAQ has some pointers if you get stuck (http://www.apache.org/docs/misc/FAQ.html) 6. Install Apache Apache installs itself in /usr/local/apache by issuing the command $ make install If this concludes successfully your system now has Apache installed. You should see Apache's installation files in /usr/local/apache and the main configuration file in /usr/local/apache/conf called httpd.conf

14. 8. Starting Apache Apache comes with a script named apachectl that facilitates starting, stopping, restarting apache. $ /usr/local/apache/bin/apachectl start /usr/local/apache/bin/apachectl start: httpd started To stop apache use /usr/local/apache/bin/apachectl stop 9. Test your installation Once Apache is running, fire up your web browser and access http://localhost/. If your installation was successful and Apache is running, you should see a test page saying something like "If you can see this, it means that the installation of the Apache web server software on this system was successful". CONGRATULATIONS! You now have a successful installation of Apache running on your system!