docs/manual/invoking.html.en - httpd - Git at Google

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     <h1 align="CENTER">Starting Apache</h1>

     <ul>
       <li><a href="#windows">Starting Apache on Windows</a></li>

       <li>
         <a href="#unix">Starting Apache on Unix</a>

         <ul>
           <li><a href="#errors">Errors During Start-up</a></li>

           <li><a href="#boot">Starting at Boot-Time</a></li>

           <li><a href="#info">Additional Information</a></li>
         </ul>
       </li>
     </ul>
     <hr />

     <h2><a id="windows" name="windows">Starting Apache On
     Windows</a></h2>

     <p>On Windows, Apache is normally run as a service on Windows
     NT, or as a console application on Windows 95. For details, see
     <a href="platform/windows.html#run">running Apache for
     Windows</a>.</p>

     <h2><a id="unix" name="unix">Starting Apache on Unix</a></h2>

     <p>On Unix, the <a href="programs/httpd.html">httpd</a> program
     is run as a daemon which executes continuously in the
     background to handle requests.</p>

     <p>If the <a href="mod/mpm_common.html#Listen">Listen</a> specified in
     the configuration file is default of 80 (or any other port
     below 1024), then it is necessary to have root privileges in
     order to start apache, so that it can bind to this privileged
     port. Once the server has started and performed a few
     preliminary activities such as opening its log files, it will
     launch several <em>child</em> processes which do the work of
     listening for and answering requests from clients. The main
     <code>httpd</code> process continues to run as the root user,
     but the child processes run as a less privileged user. This is
     controlled by the selected <a href="mpm.html">Multi-Processing
     Module</a>.</p>

     <p>The first thing that <code>httpd</code> does when it is
     invoked is to locate and read the <a
     href="configuring.html">configuration file</a>
     <code>httpd.conf</code>. The location of this file is set at
     compile-time, but it is possible to specify its location at run
     time using the <code>-f</code> command-line option as in</p>

     <blockquote>
       <code>/usr/local/apache/bin/httpd -f
       /usr/local/apache/conf/httpd.conf</code>
     </blockquote>

     <p>As an alternative to invoking the <code>httpd</code> binary
     directly, a shell script called <a
     href="programs/apachectl.html">apachectl</a> is provided which
     can be used to control the daemon process with simple commands
     such as <code>apachectl start</code> and <code>apachectl
     stop</code>.</p>

     <p>If all goes well during startup, the server will detach from
     the terminal and the command prompt will return almost
     immediately. This indicates that the server is up and running.
     You can then use your browser to connect to the server and view
     the test page in the <a
     href="mod/core.html#documentroot">DocumentRoot</a> directory
     and the local copy of the documentation linked from that
     page.</p>

     <h3><a id="errors" name="errors">Errors During
     Start-up</a></h3>

     <p>If Apache suffers a fatal problem during startup, it will
     write a message describing the problem either to the console or
     to the <a href="mod/core.html#errorlog">ErrorLog</a> before
     exiting. One of the most common error messages is "<code>Unable
     to bind to Port ...</code>". This message is usually caused by
     either:</p>

     <ul>
       <li>Trying to start the server on a privileged port when not
       logged in as the root user; or</li>

       <li>Trying to start the server when there is another instance
       of Apache or some other web server already bound to the same
       Port.</li>
     </ul>

     <p>For further trouble-shooting instructions, consult the
     Apache <a href="faq/">FAQ</a>.</p>

     <h3><a id="boot" name="boot">Starting at Boot-Time</a></h3>

     <p>If you want your server to continue running after a system
     reboot, you should add a call to <code>httpd</code> or
     <code>apachectl</code> to your system startup files (typically
     <code>rc.local</code> or a file in an <code>rc.N</code>
     directory). This will start Apache as root. Before doing this
     ensure that your server is properly configured for security and
     access restrictions. The <code>apachectl</code> script is
     designed so that it can often be linked directly as an init
     script, but be sure to check the exact requirements of your
     system.</p>

     <h3><a id="info" name="info">Additional Information</a></h3>

     <p>Additional information about the command-line options of <a
     href="programs/httpd.html">httpd</a> and <a
     href="programs/apachectl.html">apachectl</a> as well as other
     support programs included with the server is available on the
     <a href="programs/">Server and Supporting Programs</a> page.
     There is also documentation on all the <a
     href="mod/">modules</a> included with the Apache distribution
     and the <a href="mod/directives.html">directives</a> that they
     provide.</p>
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 </html>
	<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
	"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

	<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
	<head>
	<meta name="generator" content="HTML Tidy, see www.w3.org" />

	<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>

	<ul>
	<li><a href="#windows">Starting Apache on Windows</a></li>

	<li>
	<a href="#unix">Starting Apache on Unix</a>

	<ul>
	<li><a href="#errors">Errors During Start-up</a></li>

	<li><a href="#boot">Starting at Boot-Time</a></li>

	<li><a href="#info">Additional Information</a></li>
	</ul>
	</li>
	</ul>
	<hr />

	<h2><a id="windows" name="windows">Starting Apache On
	Windows</a></h2>

	<p>On Windows, Apache is normally run as a service on Windows
	NT, or as a console application on Windows 95. For details, see
	<a href="platform/windows.html#run">running Apache for
	Windows</a>.</p>

	<h2><a id="unix" name="unix">Starting Apache on Unix</a></h2>

	<p>On Unix, the <a href="programs/httpd.html">httpd</a> program
	is run as a daemon which executes continuously in the
	background to handle requests.</p>

	<p>If the <a href="mod/mpm_common.html#Listen">Listen</a> specified in
	the configuration file is default of 80 (or any other port
	below 1024), then it is necessary to have root privileges in
	order to start apache, so that it can bind to this privileged
	port. Once the server has started and performed a few
	preliminary activities such as opening its log files, it will
	launch several <em>child</em> processes which do the work of
	listening for and answering requests from clients. The main
	<code>httpd</code> process continues to run as the root user,
	but the child processes run as a less privileged user. This is
	controlled by the selected <a href="mpm.html">Multi-Processing
	Module</a>.</p>

	<p>The first thing that <code>httpd</code> does when it is
	invoked is to locate and read the <a
	href="configuring.html">configuration file</a>
	<code>httpd.conf</code>. The location of this file is set at
	compile-time, but it is possible to specify its location at run
	time using the <code>-f</code> command-line option as in</p>

	<blockquote>
	<code>/usr/local/apache/bin/httpd -f
	/usr/local/apache/conf/httpd.conf</code>
	</blockquote>

	<p>As an alternative to invoking the <code>httpd</code> binary
	directly, a shell script called <a
	href="programs/apachectl.html">apachectl</a> is provided which
	can be used to control the daemon process with simple commands
	such as <code>apachectl start</code> and <code>apachectl
	stop</code>.</p>

	<p>If all goes well during startup, the server will detach from
	the terminal and the command prompt will return almost
	immediately. This indicates that the server is up and running.
	You can then use your browser to connect to the server and view
	the test page in the <a
	href="mod/core.html#documentroot">DocumentRoot</a> directory
	and the local copy of the documentation linked from that
	page.</p>

	<h3><a id="errors" name="errors">Errors During
	Start-up</a></h3>

	<p>If Apache suffers a fatal problem during startup, it will
	write a message describing the problem either to the console or
	to the <a href="mod/core.html#errorlog">ErrorLog</a> before
	exiting. One of the most common error messages is "<code>Unable
	to bind to Port ...</code>". This message is usually caused by
	either:</p>

	<ul>
	<li>Trying to start the server on a privileged port when not
	logged in as the root user; or</li>

	<li>Trying to start the server when there is another instance
	of Apache or some other web server already bound to the same
	Port.</li>
	</ul>

	<p>For further trouble-shooting instructions, consult the
	Apache <a href="faq/">FAQ</a>.</p>

	<h3><a id="boot" name="boot">Starting at Boot-Time</a></h3>

	<p>If you want your server to continue running after a system
	reboot, you should add a call to <code>httpd</code> or
	<code>apachectl</code> to your system startup files (typically
	<code>rc.local</code> or a file in an <code>rc.N</code>
	directory). This will start Apache as root. Before doing this
	ensure that your server is properly configured for security and
	access restrictions. The <code>apachectl</code> script is
	designed so that it can often be linked directly as an init
	script, but be sure to check the exact requirements of your
	system.</p>

	<h3><a id="info" name="info">Additional Information</a></h3>

	<p>Additional information about the command-line options of <a
	href="programs/httpd.html">httpd</a> and <a
	href="programs/apachectl.html">apachectl</a> as well as other
	support programs included with the server is available on the
	<a href="programs/">Server and Supporting Programs</a> page.
	There is also documentation on all the <a
	href="mod/">modules</a> included with the Apache distribution
	and the <a href="mod/directives.html">directives</a> that they
	provide.</p>
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	</body>
	</html>