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| <TITLE>Apache Server Frequently Asked Questions</TITLE> |
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| <H1 ALIGN="CENTER">Apache Server Frequently Asked Questions</H1> |
| <P> |
| $Revision: 1.4 $ ($Date: 2000/04/04 17:06:14 $) |
| </P> |
| <P> |
| The latest version of this FAQ is always available from the main |
| Apache web site, at |
| <<A |
| HREF="http://www.apache.org/docs/misc/FAQ.html" |
| REL="Help" |
| ><SAMP>http://www.apache.org/docs/misc/FAQ.html</SAMP></A>>. |
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| <P> |
| If you are reading a text-only version of this FAQ, you may find numbers |
| enclosed in brackets (such as "[12]"). These refer to the list of |
| reference URLs to be found at the end of the document. These references |
| do not appear, and are not needed, for the hypertext version. |
| </P> |
| <H2>The Questions</H2> |
| <OL TYPE="A"> |
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| <LI VALUE="1"><STRONG>Background</STRONG> |
| <OL> |
| <LI><A HREF="#what">What is Apache?</A> |
| </LI> |
| <LI><A HREF="#why">How and why was Apache created?</A> |
| </LI> |
| <LI><A HREF="#name">Why the name "Apache"?</A> |
| </LI> |
| <LI><A HREF="#compare">OK, so how does Apache compare to other servers?</A> |
| </LI> |
| <LI><A HREF="#tested">How thoroughly tested is Apache?</A> |
| </LI> |
| <LI><A HREF="#future">What are the future plans for Apache?</A> |
| </LI> |
| <LI><A HREF="#support">Whom do I contact for support?</A> |
| </LI> |
| <LI><A HREF="#more">Is there any more information on Apache?</A> |
| </LI> |
| <LI><A HREF="#where">Where can I get Apache?</A> |
| </LI> |
| </OL> |
| </LI> |
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| </OL> |
| |
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| |
| <H2>The Answers</H2> |
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| <H3>A. Background</H3> |
| <OL> |
| <LI><A NAME="what"> |
| <STRONG>What is Apache?</STRONG> |
| </A> |
| <P>The Apache httpd server |
| <UL> |
| <LI>is a powerful, flexible, HTTP/1.1 compliant web server |
| <LI>implements the latest protocols, including HTTP/1.1 (RFC2616) |
| <LI>is highly configurable and extensible with third-party modules |
| <LI>can be customised by writing 'modules' using the Apache module API |
| <LI>provides full source code and comes with an unrestrictive license |
| <LI>runs on Windows NT/9x, Netware 5.x, OS/2, and most versions of Unix, |
| as well as several other operating systems |
| <LI>is actively being developed |
| <LI>encourages user feedback through new ideas, bug reports and patches |
| <LI>implements many frequently requested features, including:<BR><BR> |
| <DL> |
| <DT>DBM databases for authentication</DT> |
| <DD>allows you to easily set up password-protected pages with |
| enormous numbers of authorized users, without bogging down the server. |
| <DT>Customized responses to errors and problems</DT> |
| <DD>Allows you to set up files, or even CGI scripts, which are |
| returned by the server in response |
| to errors and problems, e.g. setup a script to intercept |
| <STRONG>500 Server Error</STRONG>s and perform on-the-fly diagnostics for |
| both users and yourself. </DD> |
| <DT> Multiple DirectoryIndex directives </DT> |
| <DD> Allows you to say <CODE>DirectoryIndex index.html |
| index.cgi</CODE>, which instructs the server to either send |
| back <CODE>index.html</CODE> or run <CODE>index.cgi</CODE> |
| when a directory URL is requested, whichever it finds in the |
| directory. |
| <DT> Unlimited flexible URL rewriting and aliasing </DT> |
| <DD> Apache has no fixed limit on the numbers of Aliases and |
| Redirects which may be declared in the config files. In addition, |
| a powerful rewriting engine can be used to solve most URL |
| manipulation problems. |
| <DT>Content negotiation</DT> |
| <DD>i.e. the ability to automatically serve clients of varying |
| sophistication and HTML level compliance, with documents which |
| offer the best representation of information that the client is |
| capable of accepting.</DD> |
| <DT>Virtual Hosts</DT> |
| <DD>A much requested feature, sometimes known as multi-homed servers. |
| This allows the server to distinguish between requests made to |
| different IP addresses or names (mapped to the same machine). Apache |
| also offers dynamically configurable mass-virtual hosting. |
| </DD> |
| <DT>Configurable Reliable Piped Logs</DT> |
| <DD>You can configure |
| Apache to generate logs in the format that you want. In addition, on |
| most Unix architectures, Apache can send log files to a pipe, allowing |
| for log rotation, hit filtering, real-time splitting of multiple vhosts |
| into separate logs, and asynchronous DNS resolving on the fly. |
| </DL> |
| </UL> |
| |
| </P> |
| <HR> |
| </LI> |
| |
| <LI><A NAME="why"> |
| <STRONG>How and why was Apache created?</STRONG> |
| </A> |
| <P> |
| The <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/ABOUT_APACHE.html">About Apache</A> |
| document explains how the Apache project evolved from its beginnings |
| as an outgrowth of the NCSA httpd project to its current status as |
| one of the fastest, most efficient, and most functional web servers |
| in existence. |
| </P> |
| <HR> |
| </LI> |
| |
| <LI><A NAME="name"> |
| <STRONG>Why the name "Apache"?</STRONG> |
| </A> |
| <P> |
| A cute name which stuck. Apache is "<STRONG>A |
| PA</STRONG>t<STRONG>CH</STRONG>y server". It was |
| based on some existing code and a series of "patch files". |
| </P> |
| |
| <P> |
| For many developers it is also a reverent connotation to the Native |
| American Indian tribe of Apache, <A |
| HREF="http://www.indians.org/welker/apache.htm">well-known for their |
| superior skills in warfare strategy and inexhaustible endurance</A>. |
| Online information about the Apache Nation is tough to locate; we |
| suggest searching |
| <A HREF="http://www.google.com/search?q=Apache+Nation">Google</A>, |
| <A HREF="http://www.northernlight.com/nlquery.fcg?qr=Apache+Nation">Northernlight</A>, |
| <A HREF="http://infoseek.go.com/Titles?qt=Apache+Nation">Infoseek</A>, or |
| <A HREF="http://www.alltheweb.com/cgi-bin/asearch?query=Apache+Nation">AllTheWeb</A>. |
| </P> |
| <P> |
| In addition, <A |
| HREF="http://www.indian.org/">http://www.indian.org/</A> and <A |
| HREF="http://www.nativeweb.com/">http://www.nativeweb.com/</A> are |
| two excellent resources for Native American information. |
| </P> |
| <HR> |
| </LI> |
| |
| <LI><A NAME="compare"> |
| <STRONG>OK, so how does Apache compare to other servers?</STRONG> |
| </A> |
| <P> |
| For an independent assessment, see |
| <A HREF="http://webcompare.internet.com/chart.html">Web Compare</A>'s |
| comparison chart. |
| </P> |
| <P> |
| Apache has been shown to be substantially faster, more stable, and |
| more feature-full than many other web servers. Although certain |
| commercial servers have claimed to surpass Apache's speed (it has |
| not been demonstrated that any of these "benchmarks" are a |
| good way of measuring WWW server speed at any rate), we feel that it |
| is better to have a mostly-fast free server than an extremely-fast |
| server that costs thousands of dollars. Apache is run on sites that |
| get millions of hits per day, and they have experienced no |
| performance difficulties. |
| </P> |
| <HR> |
| </LI> |
| |
| <LI><A NAME="tested"> |
| <STRONG>How thoroughly tested is Apache?</STRONG> |
| </A> |
| <P> |
| Apache is run on over 6 million Internet servers (as of February |
| 2000). It has been tested thoroughly by both developers and |
| users. The Apache Group maintains rigorous standards before |
| releasing new versions of their server, and our server runs without |
| a hitch on over one half of all WWW servers available on the |
| Internet. When bugs do show up, we release patches and new versions |
| as soon as they are available. |
| </P> |
| <HR> |
| </LI> |
| |
| <LI><A NAME="future"> |
| <STRONG>What are the future plans for Apache?</STRONG> |
| </A> |
| <P> |
| <UL> |
| <LI>to continue to be an "open source" no-charge-for-use HTTP server, |
| </LI> |
| <LI>to keep up with advances in HTTP protocol and web developments in |
| general, |
| </LI> |
| <LI>to collect suggestions for fixes/improvements from its users, |
| </LI> |
| <LI>to respond to needs of large volume providers as well as |
| occasional users. |
| </LI> |
| </UL> |
| <P></P> |
| <HR> |
| </LI> |
| |
| <LI><A NAME="support"> |
| <STRONG>Whom do I contact for support?</STRONG> |
| </A> |
| <P> |
| There is no official support for Apache. None of the developers want to |
| be swamped by a flood of trivial questions that can be resolved elsewhere. |
| Bug reports and suggestions should be sent <EM>via</EM> |
| <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/bug_report.html">the bug report page</A>. |
| Other questions should be directed to the |
| <A HREF="news:comp.infosystems.www.servers.unix" |
| >comp.infosystems.www.servers.unix</A> or <A HREF= |
| "news:comp.infosystems.www.servers.ms-windows" |
| >comp.infosystems.www.servers.ms-windows</A> |
| newsgroup (as appropriate for the platform you use), where some of the |
| Apache team lurk, in the company of many other httpd gurus who |
| should be able to help. |
| </P> |
| <P> |
| Commercial support for Apache is, however, available from a number |
| of third parties. |
| </P> |
| <HR> |
| </LI> |
| |
| <LI><A NAME="more"> |
| <STRONG>Is there any more information available on |
| Apache?</STRONG> |
| </A> |
| <P> |
| Indeed there is. See the main |
| <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/httpd">Apache web site</A>. |
| There is also a regular electronic publication called |
| <A HREF="http://www.apacheweek.com/" REL="Help"><CITE>Apache Week</CITE></A> |
| available. Links to relevant <CITE>Apache Week</CITE> articles are |
| included below where appropriate. There are also some |
| <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/info/apache_books.html" |
| >Apache-specific books</A> available. |
| </P> |
| <HR> |
| </LI> |
| |
| <LI><A NAME="where"> |
| <STRONG>Where can I get Apache?</STRONG> |
| </A> |
| <P> |
| You can find out how to download the source for Apache at the |
| project's |
| <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/httpd">main web page</A>. |
| </P> |
| <HR> |
| </LI> |
| </OL> |
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