What is Apache Web Server?
Apache is the most widely used web server software. Developed and maintained by Apache Software Foundation, Apache is an open source software available for free. It runs on 67% of all webservers in the world. It is fast, reliable, and secure. It can be highly customized to meet the needs of many different environments by using extensions and modules.
Apache HTTP Server is a free and open-source web server that delivers web content through the internet. It is commonly referred to as Apache and after development, it quickly became the most popular HTTP client on the web. It’s widely thought that Apache gets its name from its development history and process of improvement through applied patches and modules but that was corrected back in 2000. It was revealed that the name originated from the respect of the Native American tribe for its resiliency and durability.
Apache Web Server Windows 10
Jul 01, 2020 Apache Web Server is a mature and reliable web server that allows a site to serve web pages to the users. You can install WordPress site on Apache. Not only WordPress, but Apache is also compatible with all the popular CMSs like Joomla or Drupal. Compatibility is also a significant reason that Apache is so popular among web developers. Mar 04, 2021 A virtual machine instance on Google Compute Engine can be controlled like any standard Linux server. Deploy a simple Apache web server to learn the basics of running a server on a virtual machine. Apache Web Server is a mature and reliable web server that allows a site to serve web pages to the users. You can install WordPress site on Apache. Not only WordPress, but Apache is also compatible with all the popular CMSs like Joomla or Drupal. Compatibility is also a significant reason that Apache is so popular among web developers. The Apache HTTP server is the most widely-used web server in the world. It provides many powerful features including dynamically loadable modules, robust media support, and extensive integration with other popular software. In this guide, we’ll explain how to install an Apache web server on your Ubuntu 20.04 server.
Now, before we get too in depth on Apache, we should first go over what a web application is and the standard architecture usually found in web apps.
Apache Web Application Architecture
Apache is just one component that is needed in a web application stack to deliver web content. One of the most common web application stacks involves LAMP, or Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP.
Linux is the operating system that handles the operations of the application. Apache is the web server that processes requests and serves web assets and content via HTTP. MySQL is the database that stores all your information in an easily queried format. PHP is the programming language that works with apache to help create dynamic web content.
While actual statistics may vary, it’s fair to say a large portion of web applications run on some form of the LAMP stack because it is easy to build and also free to use. For the most part, web applications tend to generally have similar architecture and structure even though they serve many different functions and purposes. Most web applications also benefit from Firewalls, Load Balancers, Web Servers, Content Delivery Networks, and Database Servers.
Firewalls help protect the web application from both external threats and internal vulnerabilities depending on where the firewalls are configured. Load Balancers help distribute traffic across the web servers which handle the HTTP(S) requests (this is where Apache comes in) and application servers (servers that handle the functionality and workload of the web app.) We also have Database Servers, which handle asset storage and backups. Depending on your infrastructure, your database and application can both live on the same server although it’s recommended to keep those separate.
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Web Server Landscape
The internet is comprised of many different technologies and not all of them are the same. While Apache is arguably one of the most popular web servers out there on the net, there are many other players and the landscape is always changing. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, Apache’s dominance was very strong, serving over 50% of the internet's active websites. Microsoft's IIS (Internet Information Services) was also an option but not nearly as popular.
Today, Apache still serves a large portion of the active websites but their share of the field has shrunk from 50% to just under 40% as of 2018 and NGINX, a relatively new player to the web server playing field, is in second place with roughly 35% and Microsoft IIS hovering around 8-10%. Every year there’s a new crop of web applications with new stacks and servers so the landscape is always changing.
Why Apache Web Servers?
Apache is considered open source software, which means the original source code is freely available for viewing and collaboration. Being open source has made Apache very popular with developers who have built and configured their own modules to apply specific functionality and improve on its core features. Apache has been around since 1995 and is responsible as a core technology that helped spur the initial growth of the internet in its infancy.
One of the pros of Apache is its ability to handle large amounts of traffic with minimal configuration. It scales with ease and with its modular functionality at its core, you can configure Apache to do what you want, how you want it. You can also remove unwanted modules to make Apache more lightweight and efficient.
Some of the most popular modules that can be added are SSL, Server Side Programming Support (PHP), and Load Balancing configs to handle large amounts of traffic. Apache can also be deployed on Linux, MacOS, and Windows. If you learn how to configure Apache on Linux, you can administer Apache on Windows and Mac. The only difference would be directory paths and installation processes.
Features of Apache Web Server
- Handling of static files
- Loadable dynamic modules
- Auto-indexing
- .htaccess
- Compatible with IPv6
- Supports HTTP/2
- FTP connections
- Gzip compression and decompression
- Bandwidth throttling
- Perl, PHP, Lua scripts
- Load balancing
- Session tracking
- URL rewriting
- Geolocation based on IP address
How does Apache Web Server Work?
Apache functions as a way to communicate over networks from client to server using the TCP/IP protocol. Apache can be used for a wide variety of protocols, but the most common is HTTP/S. HTTP/S or Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (S stands for Secure) is one of the main protocols on the web, and the one protocol Apache is most known for.
HTTP/S is used to define how messages are formatted and transmitted across the web, with instructions for browsers and servers on how to respond to various requests and commands. Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure is usually through port 443 with the unsecured protocol being through port 80.
The Apache server is configured via config files in which modules are used to control its behavior. Indesign pour mac os catalina. Indesign 2018 portable. By default, Apache listens to the IP addresses configured in its config files that are being requested. This is where one of Apaches many strengths come into play.
With the Listen directive, Apache can accept and route specific traffic to certain ports and domains based on specific address-port combination requests. By default, Listen runs on port 80 but Apache can be bound to different ports for different domains, allowing for many different websites and domains to be hosted and a single server. You can have domain1.com listening on port 80, domain2.com on port 8080 and domain3.com on port 443 using HTTPS all on Apache.
Once a message reaches its destination or recipient, it sends a notice, or ACK message, basically giving acknowledgment to the original sender that their data has successfully arrived. If there’s an error in receiving data, or some packets were lost in transit, the destination host or client sends a Not Acknowledged, or NAK message, to inform the sender that the data needs to be retransmitted.
Who Uses Apache Web Server?
Battle chess game of kings free download. Apache HTTP web servers are used by over 67% of all web servers in the world. Apache web servers are easy to customize environments, they’re fast, reliable, and highly secure. This makes Apache web servers a common choice by best-in-class companies.
Alternatives for Apache HTTP Server
While Apache web servers are very popular, they’re not the only web servers on the market. Below are a number of alternatives for Apache HTTP servers.
- Nginx
- Apache Tomcat
- Node.js
- Lighttpd
- Cherokee
- Microsoft IIS
- Appweb
- Hiawatha
Apache Web Server Tutorial
Apache HTTP Server vs Tomcat
Simply put, Apache HTTP server is a web server designed to serve static web pages. Whereas, Apache Tomcat is an application server built to serve java applications. Web pages can still be served through Apache Tomcat, but it will be less efficient than using an Apache HTTP server.
Conclusion: Apache Web Server
Throughout the last few decades, Apache has proven to be a staple in many popular stacks and the backbone of the early internet year. While it’s popularity is declining and the options of web server choices are increasing, Apache still plays a pivotal role in many technology stacks and companies system infrastructure. Even with new technologies and servers coming out nonstop, Apache is still a technology every developer should learn how to handle and configure.
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The Apache HTTP Server—known as Apache web server or simply Apache—is considered the standard for general-purpose HTTP activities and services. It offers a wide range of modules to deliver optimum flexibility in support of URL rewriting, proxy servers, and granular access management and control. Apache is a popular choice among web developers because it uses CGI, embedded interpreters, and FastCGI to support server-side scripting. This allows for the rapid and effective execution and implementation of highly dynamic coding.
There are plenty of well-known Apache alternatives—nginx, XAMPP, Caddy, and Microsoft IIS, among many others—but none of them offer the same breadth of usage provided by Apache. Apache is so widely used it has more than a 50% share in the commercial web server marketplace. It’s especially popular for use with Unix-like operating systems, although it supports most platforms. This includes Windows, OS X, OS/2, and others.
A Simple Definition of Apache
How to Set Up Apache Server
How to Set Up Apache Server in Linux
How to Set Up Apache Virtual Servers
The Best Apache Server Monitoring Tool
However, Apache’s flexibility and breadth of usage come at the expense of simplicity in many cases. The configuration structure is complex, and many of the advanced functionalities are difficult to use. This Apache server tutorial will explain the basics of Apache, providing instructions for Apache web server configuration in Linux, step by step. The aim is to help you not only set up Apache server, but also monitor it. My recommended tool for this purpose is SolarWinds® Server & Application Monitor for Apache.
A Simple Definition of Apache
Apache is a process-based, modular, open-source web server application designed to establish a new thread for each connection occurring simultaneously. Apache supports a range of functionalities, covering everything from authentication mechanisms to server-side programming languages. It also supports virtual hosting, allowing you to use one Apache web server to serve multiple websites. Most Apache capabilities are delivered as individual modules, allowing you to extend and enhance Apache’s core utilities.
How to Set Up Apache Server
You may find yourself becoming overwhelmed as you start to set up Apache server. As an open source, advanced application capable of a wide range of functions, Apache web server configuration and setup is fairly complex.
You can install and set up Apache server in two ways.
- Vendor-based installation. As it’s an open source web application, anyone can make an installer to suit their individual environment. Vendors like Red Hat, SUSE, and Debian have used this capability to customize Apache server configuration and file location by taking the base operating system and other installed programs into account.
- Source code installation. The alternative to using a vendor-based installer is to set up Apache server by building and installing directly from the source code. This approach enables you to set up Apache server in platform-independent manner available for all operating systems.
With both installation options, modules can be compiled in the form of a dynamic shared object, or DSO. A DSO is an object file capable of being shared and utilized by numerous applications. DSO modules are separate from the core Apache file. The DSO approach to compiling modules is popular because it makes adding, updating, and removing modules easy.
How to Set Up Apache Server in Linux
This Apache server tutorial will now provide instructions for Apache web server configuration in Linux, step by step.
- Update your system repositories. This involves downloading the most recent version of a software by updating the Ubuntu repositories’ local package index. To do this, go to the terminal and enter the command “$ sudo apt update” into it.
- Install Apache by using the “apt” command. For this example, let’s use Apache2. Just input the following command— “$ sudo apt install apache2” —as sudo, which will install Apache2 and all necessary dependencies. At this stage, you may be asked whether you want to continue the installation process. Enter “Y” to indicate you would like to, and installation will begin.
- Verify Apache has been successfully installed. When the installation procedure has finished, check the version number to confirm Apache2 is now installed on your system. Enter “$ apache2 -version” to do this. The server version will appear, hopefully confirming Apache2 has been installed.
Restart The Apache Web Server
How to Set Up Apache Virtual Servers
When using virtual hosts, it’s important to undertake virtual server Apache configuration. Modifying configuration settings will ensure they reflect the domain specifics, which will allow Apache to respond to domain requests correctly and successfully. The process for completing virtual server Apache configuration is simple:
- First, input “$ sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf” to open your virtual host configuration file.
- Replace “example.com” appropriately. Next, you’ll be able to modify the following:
ServerName example.com
ServerAdmin admin@example.com
ServerAlias www.example.com
DocumentRoot /var/www/example.com/public_htmlAgain, be sure to replace all example components with the appropriate information. When modified, the end result should resemble the following:
<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName example.com
ServerAdmin admin@example.com
ServerAlias www.example.com
DocumentRoot /var/www/example.com/public_html
ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost> - If an error occurs, reference these instructions to ensure nothing has been mistyped or inputted incorrectly.
Best Apache Server Monitoring Tool
After setting up Apache web server, I highly recommend the use of a monitoring tool to help you test Apache server and monitor it effectively. There are several such tools on the market, but SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (SAM) tops my list. This tool allows you to easily define specific performance metrics to facilitate proactive monitoring of Apache Cassandra, Apache Geronimo, and Apache Tomcat. The single application is capable of monitoring and managing your entire Apache environment, and the underlying infrastructure of the server.
With SAM, monitoring uptime and performance is easy, as is diagnosing the root of performance issues. The application facilitates proactive monitoring of all web server supporting components contributing to the Apache web server, including Linux and MySQL. Application monitoring covers the virtual layer, servers, and applications like Microsoft SQL Server, Exchange, and Active Directory. The system benefits from customizable alerts, reports, and easy-to-navigate dashboards ready to use out of the box. This means you can get up and running when SAM is installed, without having to create or modify dashboards.
The dashboards themselves have been cleverly designed, with data represented in the form of graphs and charts whenever appropriate, to give you immediate insight into key metrics and information without overloading or cluttering the interface.
SAM is a scalable and highly feature-rich application, requiring zero training or experience to start using, and is suitable for extensive enterprise-grade requirements. The user-friendly interface is one of SAM’s best features, as it makes data interpretation dynamic and accurate. This program simplifies the Apache monitoring experience, allowing you to test and interrogate it in a few simple clicks. The implementation process is simple, and SolarWinds support technicians are available on a 24/7 basis.
With the unified, centralized dashboard and ample support offered by SolarWinds, using this application couldn’t be easier. SolarWinds SAM also serves as a wider application and server monitoring solution, with its monitoring capabilities extending to Active Directory, agentless servers, application dependency, AWS, Azure IaaS, and much more. What’s great is you can download a no-risk 30-day free trial to try out the fully featured software before making a commitment.