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 <H1 ALIGN="CENTER">Starting Apache</H1>

 <H2>Invoking Apache</H2>
 The <CODE>httpd</CODE> program is usually run as a daemon which executes
 continuously, handling requests.  It is possible to invoke Apache by
 the Internet daemon <CODE>inetd</CODE> each time a connection to the HTTP
 service is made (use the
 <A HREF="mod/core.html#servertype">ServerType</A> directive)
 but this is not recommended.

 <H2>Command line options</H2>
 The following options are recognized on the httpd command line:
 <DL>
 <DT><CODE>-d</CODE> <EM>serverroot</EM>
 <DD>Set the initial value for the
 <A HREF="mod/core.html#serverroot">ServerRoot</A> variable to
 <EM>serverroot</EM>. This can be overridden by the ServerRoot command in the
 configuration file. The default is <CODE>/usr/local/apache</CODE>.

 <DT><CODE>-D</CODE> <EM>name</EM>
 <DD>Define a name for use in in
 <A HREF="mod/core.html#ifdefine">IfDefine</A> directives.
 This option can be used to optionally enable certain functionality in the
 configuration file, or to use a common configuration for
 several independent hosts, where host specific information is enclosed in
 &lt;IfDefine&gt; sections.

 <DT><CODE>-f</CODE> <EM>config</EM>
 <DD>Execute the commands in the file <EM>config</EM> on startup. If
 <EM>config</EM> does not begin with a <CODE>/</CODE>, then it is taken to be a
 path relative to the <A HREF="mod/core.html#serverroot">ServerRoot</A>. The
 default is <CODE>conf/httpd.conf</CODE>.

 <DT><CODE>-C</CODE> <EM>"directive"</EM>
 <DD>Process the given apache "directive" (just as if it had been part of a
 configuration file) <STRONG>before</STRONG> actually reading the regular configuration files.

 <DT><CODE>-c</CODE> <EM>"directive"</EM>
 <DD>Process the given apache "directive" <STRONG>after</STRONG> reading
 all the regular configuration files.

 <DT><CODE>-X</CODE>
 <DD>Run in single-process mode, for internal debugging purposes only; the
 daemon does not detach from the terminal or fork any children. Do <EM>NOT</EM>
 use this mode to provide ordinary web service.

 <DT><CODE>-v</CODE>
 <DD>Print the version of httpd and its build date, and then exit.

 <DT><A NAME="version"><CODE>-V</CODE></A>
 <DD>Print the base version of httpd, its
 build date, and a list of compile time settings which influence the
 behavior and performance of the apache server (<EM>e.g.</EM>,
 <SAMP>-DUSE_MMAP_FILES</SAMP>),
 then exit.

 <DT><A NAME="help"><CODE>-h</CODE></A>
 <DD>Give a list of directives together with expected arguments and
 places where the directive is valid. (New in Apache 1.2)

 <DT><CODE>-l</CODE>
 <DD>Give a list of all modules compiled into the server.

 <DT><CODE>-S</CODE>
 <DD>Show the settings as parsed from the config file (currently only
 shows a breakdown of the vhost settings).

 <DT><CODE>-t</CODE>
 <DD>Test the configuration file syntax (<EM>i.e.</EM>, read all configuration files
 and interpret them) but do not start the server. If the configuration contains
 errors, display an error message and exit with a non-zero exit status,
 otherwise display "Syntax OK" and terminate with a zero exit status.

 <DT><CODE>-?</CODE>
 <DD>Print a list of the httpd options, and then exit.
 </DL>

 <H2>Configuration files</H2>
 The server will read three files for configuration directives. Any directive
 may appear in any of these files. The the names of these files are taken
 to be relative to the server root; this is set by the
 <A HREF="mod/core.html#serverroot">ServerRoot</A> directive, or the
 <CODE>-d</CODE> command line flag.

 Conventionally, the files are:
 <DL>
 <DT><CODE>conf/httpd.conf</CODE>
 <DD>Contains directives that control the operation of the server daemon.
 The filename may be overridden with the <CODE>-f</CODE> command line flag.

 <DT><CODE>conf/srm.conf</CODE>
 <DD>Contains directives that control the specification of documents that
 the server can provide to clients. The filename may be overridden with
 the <A HREF="mod/core.html#resourceconfig">ResourceConfig</A> directive.

 <DT><CODE>conf/access.conf</CODE>
 <DD>Contains directives that control access to documents.
 The filename may be overridden with the
 <A HREF="mod/core.html#accessconfig">AccessConfig</A> directive.
 </DL>
 However, these conventions need not be adhered to.
 <P>
 The server also reads a file containing mime document types; the filename
 is set by the <A HREF="mod/mod_mime.html#typesconfig">TypesConfig</A>
 directive,
 and is <CODE>conf/mime.types</CODE> by default.

 <H2>Log files</H2>
 <H3>security warning</H3>
 Anyone who can write to the directory where Apache is writing a
 log file can almost certainly gain access to the uid that the server is
 started as, which is normally root.  Do <EM>NOT</EM> give people write
 access to the directory the logs are stored in without being aware of
 the consequences; see the <A HREF="misc/security_tips.html">security tips</A>
 document for details.
 <H3>pid file</H3>
 On daemon startup, it saves the process id of the parent httpd process to
 the file <CODE>logs/httpd.pid</CODE>. This filename can be changed with the
 <A HREF="mod/core.html#pidfile">PidFile</A> directive. The process-id is for
 use by the administrator in restarting and terminating the daemon;
 A HUP or USR1 signal causes the daemon to re-read its configuration files and
 a TERM signal causes it to die gracefully.  For more information
 see the <A HREF="stopping.html">Stopping and Restarting</A> page.
 <P>
 If the process dies (or is killed) abnormally, then it will be necessary to
 kill the children httpd processes.

 <H3>Error log</H3>
 The server will log error messages to a log file, <CODE>logs/error_log</CODE>
 by default. The filename can be set using the
 <A HREF="mod/core.html#errorlog">ErrorLog</A> directive; different error logs
 can
 be set for different <A HREF="mod/core.html#virtualhost">virtual hosts</A>.

 <H3>Transfer log</H3>
 The server will typically log each request to a transfer file,
 <CODE>logs/access_log</CODE> by default. The filename can be set using a
 <A HREF="mod/mod_log_config.html#transferlog">TransferLog</A> directive;
 different transfer logs can be set for different
 <A HREF="mod/core.html#virtualhost">virtual hosts</A>.

 <!--#include virtual="footer.html" -->
 </BODY>
 </HTML>
	<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN">
	<HTML>
	<HEAD>
	<TITLE>Starting Apache</TITLE>
	</HEAD>

	<!-- Background white, links blue (unvisited), navy (visited), red (active) -->
	<BODY
	BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"
	TEXT="#000000"
	LINK="#0000FF"
	VLINK="#000080"
	ALINK="#FF0000"
	>
	<!--#include virtual="header.html" -->
	<H1 ALIGN="CENTER">Starting Apache</H1>

	<H2>Invoking Apache</H2>
	The <CODE>httpd</CODE> program is usually run as a daemon which executes
	continuously, handling requests. It is possible to invoke Apache by
	the Internet daemon <CODE>inetd</CODE> each time a connection to the HTTP
	service is made (use the
	<A HREF="mod/core.html#servertype">ServerType</A> directive)
	but this is not recommended.

	<H2>Command line options</H2>
	The following options are recognized on the httpd command line:
	<DL>
	<DT><CODE>-d</CODE> <EM>serverroot</EM>
	<DD>Set the initial value for the
	<A HREF="mod/core.html#serverroot">ServerRoot</A> variable to
	<EM>serverroot</EM>. This can be overridden by the ServerRoot command in the
	configuration file. The default is <CODE>/usr/local/apache</CODE>.

	<DT><CODE>-D</CODE> <EM>name</EM>
	<DD>Define a name for use in in
	<A HREF="mod/core.html#ifdefine">IfDefine</A> directives.
	This option can be used to optionally enable certain functionality in the
	configuration file, or to use a common configuration for
	several independent hosts, where host specific information is enclosed in
	<IfDefine> sections.

	<DT><CODE>-f</CODE> <EM>config</EM>
	<DD>Execute the commands in the file <EM>config</EM> on startup. If
	<EM>config</EM> does not begin with a <CODE>/</CODE>, then it is taken to be a
	path relative to the <A HREF="mod/core.html#serverroot">ServerRoot</A>. The
	default is <CODE>conf/httpd.conf</CODE>.

	<DT><CODE>-C</CODE> <EM>"directive"</EM>
	<DD>Process the given apache "directive" (just as if it had been part of a
	configuration file) <STRONG>before</STRONG> actually reading the regular configuration files.

	<DT><CODE>-c</CODE> <EM>"directive"</EM>
	<DD>Process the given apache "directive" <STRONG>after</STRONG> reading
	all the regular configuration files.

	<DT><CODE>-X</CODE>
	<DD>Run in single-process mode, for internal debugging purposes only; the
	daemon does not detach from the terminal or fork any children. Do <EM>NOT</EM>
	use this mode to provide ordinary web service.

	<DT><CODE>-v</CODE>
	<DD>Print the version of httpd and its build date, and then exit.

	<DT><A NAME="version"><CODE>-V</CODE></A>
	<DD>Print the base version of httpd, its
	build date, and a list of compile time settings which influence the
	behavior and performance of the apache server (<EM>e.g.</EM>,
	<SAMP>-DUSE_MMAP_FILES</SAMP>),
	then exit.

	<DT><A NAME="help"><CODE>-h</CODE></A>
	<DD>Give a list of directives together with expected arguments and
	places where the directive is valid. (New in Apache 1.2)

	<DT><CODE>-l</CODE>
	<DD>Give a list of all modules compiled into the server.

	<DT><CODE>-S</CODE>
	<DD>Show the settings as parsed from the config file (currently only
	shows a breakdown of the vhost settings).

	<DT><CODE>-t</CODE>
	<DD>Test the configuration file syntax (<EM>i.e.</EM>, read all configuration files
	and interpret them) but do not start the server. If the configuration contains
	errors, display an error message and exit with a non-zero exit status,
	otherwise display "Syntax OK" and terminate with a zero exit status.

	<DT><CODE>-?</CODE>
	<DD>Print a list of the httpd options, and then exit.
	</DL>

	<H2>Configuration files</H2>
	The server will read three files for configuration directives. Any directive
	may appear in any of these files. The the names of these files are taken
	to be relative to the server root; this is set by the
	<A HREF="mod/core.html#serverroot">ServerRoot</A> directive, or the
	<CODE>-d</CODE> command line flag.

	Conventionally, the files are:
	<DL>
	<DT><CODE>conf/httpd.conf</CODE>
	<DD>Contains directives that control the operation of the server daemon.
	The filename may be overridden with the <CODE>-f</CODE> command line flag.

	<DT><CODE>conf/srm.conf</CODE>
	<DD>Contains directives that control the specification of documents that
	the server can provide to clients. The filename may be overridden with
	the <A HREF="mod/core.html#resourceconfig">ResourceConfig</A> directive.

	<DT><CODE>conf/access.conf</CODE>
	<DD>Contains directives that control access to documents.
	The filename may be overridden with the
	<A HREF="mod/core.html#accessconfig">AccessConfig</A> directive.
	</DL>
	However, these conventions need not be adhered to.
	<P>
	The server also reads a file containing mime document types; the filename
	is set by the <A HREF="mod/mod_mime.html#typesconfig">TypesConfig</A>
	directive,
	and is <CODE>conf/mime.types</CODE> by default.

	<H2>Log files</H2>
	<H3>security warning</H3>
	Anyone who can write to the directory where Apache is writing a
	log file can almost certainly gain access to the uid that the server is
	started as, which is normally root. Do <EM>NOT</EM> give people write
	access to the directory the logs are stored in without being aware of
	the consequences; see the <A HREF="misc/security_tips.html">security tips</A>
	document for details.
	<H3>pid file</H3>
	On daemon startup, it saves the process id of the parent httpd process to
	the file <CODE>logs/httpd.pid</CODE>. This filename can be changed with the
	<A HREF="mod/core.html#pidfile">PidFile</A> directive. The process-id is for
	use by the administrator in restarting and terminating the daemon;
	A HUP or USR1 signal causes the daemon to re-read its configuration files and
	a TERM signal causes it to die gracefully. For more information
	see the <A HREF="stopping.html">Stopping and Restarting</A> page.
	<P>
	If the process dies (or is killed) abnormally, then it will be necessary to
	kill the children httpd processes.

	<H3>Error log</H3>
	The server will log error messages to a log file, <CODE>logs/error_log</CODE>
	by default. The filename can be set using the
	<A HREF="mod/core.html#errorlog">ErrorLog</A> directive; different error logs
	can
	be set for different <A HREF="mod/core.html#virtualhost">virtual hosts</A>.

	<H3>Transfer log</H3>
	The server will typically log each request to a transfer file,
	<CODE>logs/access_log</CODE> by default. The filename can be set using a
	<A HREF="mod/mod_log_config.html#transferlog">TransferLog</A> directive;
	different transfer logs can be set for different
	<A HREF="mod/core.html#virtualhost">virtual hosts</A>.

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