docs/manual/platform/windows.xml

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<manualpage metafile="windows.xml.meta">
  <parentdocument href="./">Platform Specific Notes</parentdocument>

  <title>Using Apache HTTP Server on Microsoft Windows</title>

  <summary>
    <p>This document explains how to install, configure and run
    Apache HTTP Server 2.&httpd.minor; under Microsoft Windows.  If you have questions after
    reviewing the documentation (and any event and error logs), you
    should consult the peer-supported
    <a href="http://httpd.apache.org/userslist.html">users' mailing
    list</a>.</p>

    <p>This document assumes that you are installing a binary
    distribution of httpd. If you want to compile Apache httpd yourself
    (possibly to help with development or tracking down bugs),
    see <a href="win_compiling.html">Compiling httpd for Microsoft
    Windows</a>.</p>
  </summary>

  <section id="req">
    <title>Operating System Requirements</title>

    <p>The primary Windows platform for running Apache httpd 2.&httpd.minor; is Windows
    2000 or later. Always obtain and
    install the current service pack to avoid operating system bugs.</p>

    <note>Apache HTTP Server versions later than 2.2 will not run on any
    operating system earlier than Windows 2000.</note>
  </section>

  <section id="down">
    <title>Downloading httpd for Windows</title>

    <p>The Apache HTTP Server Project itself does not provide binary releases of
    software, only source code. Individual committers <em>may</em> provide
    binary packages as a convenience, but it is not a release deliverable.</p>
    <p>If you cannot compile the Apache HTTP Server
    yourself, you can obtain a binary package from numerous binary distributions
    available on the Internet.</p>

    <p>Popular options for deploying Apache httpd, and, optionally, PHP
    and MySQL, on Microsoft Windows, include:</p>
    <ul>
    <li><a href="http://www.apachelounge.com/download/">Apache Lounge</a></li>
    <li><a href="http://www.wampserver.com/">WampServer</a></li>
    </ul>
  </section>


  <section id="cust">
    <title>Customizing httpd for Windows</title>

    <p>Apache httpd is configured by the files in the <code>conf</code>
    subdirectory. These are the same files used to configure the Unix
    version, but there are a few different directives for httpd on
    Windows. See the <a href="../mod/directives.html">directive index</a>
    for all the available directives.</p>

    <p>The default configuration of the source distribution expects the server
    to be installed into \Apache2x. This can be customized at compilation time,
    but it's important that ultimately the <directive>ServerRoot</directive> in
    httpd.conf match the actual installation root. Binary distributions may
    customize either the default installation root or the overall layout of
    the initial configuration.</p>

    <p>The main differences in httpd for Windows are:</p>
    <ul>
      <li><p>Because httpd for Windows is multithreaded, it does not
      use a separate process for each request, as httpd can on Unix.
      Instead there are usually only two httpd processes running: a
      parent process, and a child which handles the requests. Within
      the child process each request is handled by a separate thread.
      </p>

      <p>The process management directives are also different:</p>

      <p><directive module="mpm_common">MaxConnectionsPerChild</directive>:
      Like the Unix directive, this controls how many connections a single
      child process will serve before exiting.
      However, unlike on Unix, a replacement process is not instantly
      available.  Use the default <code>MaxConnectionsPerChild 0</code>,
      unless instructed to change the behavior to overcome a memory leak
      in third party modules or in-process applications.</p>

      <note type="warning"><strong>Warning: The server configuration
      file is reread when a new child process is started. If you have
      modified <code>httpd.conf</code>, the new child may not start or
      you may receive unexpected results.</strong></note>

      <p><directive module="mpm_common">ThreadsPerChild</directive>:
      This directive is new. It tells the server how many threads it
      should use. This is the maximum number of connections the server
      can handle at once, so be sure to set this number high enough for
      your site if you get a lot of hits. The recommended default is
      <code>ThreadsPerChild 150</code>, but this must be adjusted to
      reflect the greatest anticipated number of simultaneous
      connections to accept.</p></li>

      <li><p>The directives that accept filenames as arguments must use
      Windows filenames instead of Unix ones. However, because httpd
      may interpret backslashes as an "escape character" sequence, you
      should consistently use forward slashes in path names, not
      backslashes.</p></li>

      <li><p>While filenames are generally case-insensitive on
      Windows, URLs are still treated internally as case-sensitive
      before they are mapped to the filesystem.  For example, the
      <directive module="core" type="section">Location</directive>,
      <directive module="mod_alias">Alias</directive>, and <directive
      module="mod_proxy">ProxyPass</directive> directives all use
      case-sensitive arguments.  For this reason, it is particularly
      important to use the <directive module="core"
      type="section">Directory</directive> directive when attempting
      to limit access to content in the filesystem, since this
      directive applies to any content in a directory, regardless of
      how it is accessed.  If you wish to assure that only lowercase
      is used in URLs, you can use something like:</p>

      <highlight language="config">
RewriteEngine On
RewriteMap lowercase "int:tolower"
RewriteCond "%{REQUEST_URI}" "[A-Z]"
RewriteRule "(.*)"           "${lowercase:$1}" [R,L]
      </highlight></li>

      <li><p>When running, httpd needs write access only to the logs
      directory and any configured cache directory tree.  Due to the
      issue of case insensitive and short 8.3 format names, httpd must
      validate all path names given.  This means that each directory
      which httpd evaluates, from the drive root up to the directory
      leaf, must have read, list and traverse directory permissions.
      If Apache2.&httpd.minor; is installed at C:\Program Files, then the root
      directory, Program Files and Apache2.&httpd.minor; must all be visible
      to httpd.</p></li>

      <li><p>httpd for Windows contains the ability to load modules at
      runtime, without recompiling the server. If httpd is compiled
      normally, it will install a number of optional modules in the
      <code>\Apache2.&httpd.minor;\modules</code> directory. To activate these or
      other modules, the <directive module="mod_so">LoadModule</directive>
      directive must be used. For example, to activate the status
      module, use the following (in addition to the status-activating
      directives in <code>access.conf</code>):</p>

      <highlight language="config">
        LoadModule status_module "modules/mod_status.so"
      </highlight>

      <p>Information on <a href="../mod/mod_so.html#creating">creating
      loadable modules</a> is also available.</p></li>

      <li><p>httpd can also load ISAPI (Internet Server Application
      Programming Interface) extensions such as those used by Microsoft
      IIS and other Windows servers. <a href="../mod/mod_isapi.html">More
      information is available</a>. Note that httpd <strong>cannot</strong>
      load ISAPI Filters, and ISAPI Handlers with some Microsoft feature
      extensions will not work.</p></li>

      <li><p>When running CGI scripts, the method httpd uses to find
      the interpreter for the script is configurable using the
      <directive module="core">ScriptInterpreterSource</directive>
      directive.</p></li>

      <li><p>Since it is often difficult to manage files with names
      like <code>.htaccess</code> in Windows, you may find it useful to
      change the name of this per-directory configuration file using
      the <directive module="core">AccessFilename</directive>
      directive.</p></li>

      <li><p>Any errors during httpd startup are logged into the
      Windows event log when running on Windows NT. This mechanism
      acts as a backup for those situations where httpd is not yet
      prepared to use the <code>error.log</code> file. You can
      review the Windows Application Event Log by using the Event Viewer,
      e.g. Start - Settings - Control Panel - Administrative Tools
      - Event Viewer.</p></li>
    </ul>

  </section>

  <section id="winsvc">
    <title>Running httpd as a Service</title>

    <p>Apache httpd comes with a utility called the Apache Service Monitor.
    With it you can see and manage the state of all installed httpd
    services on any machine on your network. To be able to manage an
    httpd service with the monitor, you have to first install the
    service (either automatically via the installation or manually).
    </p>

    <p>You can install httpd as a Windows NT service as follows from
    the command prompt at the httpd <code>bin</code> subdirectory:</p>

    <example>
      httpd.exe -k install
    </example>

    <p>If you need to specify the name of the service you want to
    install, use the following command. You have to do this if you
    have several different service installations of httpd on your
    computer. If you specify a name during the install, you have to
    also specify it during any other -k operation.</p>

    <example>
      httpd.exe -k install -n "MyServiceName"
    </example>

    <p>If you need to have specifically named configuration files for
    different services, you must use this:</p>

    <example>
      httpd.exe -k install -n "MyServiceName" -f "c:\files\my.conf"
    </example>

    <p>If you use the first command without any special parameters except
    <code>-k install</code>, the service will be called <code>Apache2.&httpd.minor;</code>
    and the configuration will be assumed to be <code>conf\httpd.conf</code>.
    </p>

    <p>Removing an httpd service is easy. Just use:</p>

    <example>
      httpd.exe -k uninstall
    </example>

    <p>The specific httpd service to be uninstalled can be specified by using:</p>

    <example>
      httpd.exe -k uninstall -n "MyServiceName"
    </example>

    <p>Normal starting, restarting and shutting down of an httpd
    service is usually done via the Apache Service Monitor, by using
    commands like <code>NET START Apache2.&httpd.minor;</code> and <code>NET STOP
    Apache2.&httpd.minor;</code> or via normal Windows service management. Before
    starting httpd as a service by any means, you should test the
    service's configuration file by using:</p>

    <example>
      httpd.exe -n "MyServiceName" -t
    </example>

    <p>You can control an httpd service by its command line switches,
    too. To start an installed httpd service you'll use this:</p>

    <example>
      httpd.exe -k start -n "MyServiceName"
    </example>

    <p>To stop an httpd service via the command line switches, use
    this:</p>

    <example>
      httpd.exe -k stop -n "MyServiceName"
    </example>

    <p>or</p>

    <example>
      httpd.exe -k shutdown -n "MyServiceName"
    </example>

    <p>You can also restart a running service and force it to reread
    its configuration file by using:</p>

    <example>
      httpd.exe -k restart -n "MyServiceName"
    </example>

    <p>By default, all httpd services are registered to run as the
    system user (the <code>LocalSystem</code> account). The
    <code>LocalSystem</code> account has no privileges to your network
    via any Windows-secured mechanism, including the file system, named
    pipes, DCOM, or secure RPC. It has, however, wide privileges locally.
    </p>

    <note type="warning"><strong>Never grant any network privileges to
    the <code>LocalSystem</code> account! If you need httpd to be able
    to access network resources, create a separate account for httpd as
    noted below.</strong></note>

    <p>It is recommended that users create a separate account for running
    httpd service(s). If you have to access network resources via httpd,
    this is required.</p>

    <ol>
      <li>Create a normal domain user account, and be sure to
      memorize its password.</li>

      <li>Grant the newly-created user a privilege of <code>Log on
      as a service</code>.
      </li>

      <li>Confirm that the created account is a member of the Users
      group.</li>

      <li>Grant the account read and execute (RX) rights to all document
      and script folders (<code>htdocs</code> and <code>cgi-bin</code>
      for example).</li>

      <li>Grant the account change (RWXD) rights to the
      httpd <code>logs</code> directory.</li>

      <li>Grant the account read and execute (RX) rights to the
      <code>httpd.exe</code> binary executable.</li>
    </ol>

    <note>It is usually a good practice to grant the user the httpd
    service runs as read and execute (RX) access to the whole Apache2.&httpd.minor;
    directory, except the <code>logs</code> subdirectory, where the
    user has to have at least change (RWXD) rights.</note>

    <p>If you allow the account to log in as a user and as a service,
    then you can log on with that account and test that the account has
    the privileges to execute the scripts, read the web pages, and that
    you can start httpd in a console window. If this works, and you
    have followed the steps above, httpd should execute as a service
    with no problems.</p>

    <note><strong>Error code 2186</strong> is a good indication that
    you need to review the "Log On As" configuration for the service,
    since httpd cannot access a required network resource. Also, pay
    close attention to the privileges of the user httpd is
    configured to run as.</note>

    <p>When starting httpd as a service you may encounter an error
    message from the Windows Service Control Manager. For example,
    if you try to start httpd by using the Services applet in the
    Windows Control Panel, you may get the following message:</p>

    <example>
      Could not start the Apache2.&httpd.minor; service on \\COMPUTER <br />
      Error 1067; The process terminated unexpectedly.
    </example>

    <p>You will get this generic error if there is any problem with
    starting the httpd service. In order to see what is really causing
    the problem you should follow the instructions for Running httpd
    for Windows from the Command Prompt.</p>

    <p>If you are having problems with the service, it is suggested
    you follow the instructions below to try starting httpd.exe from
    a console window, and work out the errors before struggling to
    start it as a service again.</p>
  </section>

  <section id="wincons">
    <title>Running httpd as a Console Application</title>

    <p>Running Apache httpd as a service is usually the recommended way to
    use it, but it is sometimes easier to work from the command line,
    especially during initial configuration and testing.</p>

    <p>To run httpd from the command line as a console application,
    use the following command:</p>

    <example>
      httpd.exe
    </example>

    <p>httpd will execute, and will remain running until it is stopped
    by pressing Control-C.</p>

    <p>You can also run httpd via the shortcut Start Apache in Console
    placed to <code>Start Menu --&gt; Programs --&gt; Apache HTTP Server
    2.&httpd.minor;.xx --&gt; Control Apache Server</code> during the installation.
    This will open a console window and start httpd inside it. If you
    don't have httpd installed as a service, the window will remain
    visible until you stop httpd by pressing Control-C in the console
    window where httpd is running in. The server will exit in a few
    seconds. However, if you do have httpd installed as a service, the
    shortcut starts the service. If the httpd service is running
    already, the shortcut doesn't do anything.</p>

    <p>If httpd is running as a service, you can tell it to stop by opening another console
    window and entering:</p>

    <example>
      httpd.exe -k shutdown
    </example>

    <p>Running as a service should be preferred over running in a
    console window because this lets httpd end any current operations
    and clean up gracefully.</p>

    <p>But if the server is running in a console window, you can
    only stop it by pressing Control-C in the same window.</p>

    <p>You can also tell httpd to restart. This forces it to reread
    the configuration file. Any operations in progress are allowed to
    complete without interruption. To restart httpd, either press
    Control-Break in the console window you used for starting httpd,
    or enter</p>

    <example>
      httpd.exe -k restart
    </example>

    <p>if the server is running as a service.</p>

    <note>Note for people familiar with the Unix version of httpd:
    these commands provide a Windows equivalent to <code>kill -TERM
    <em>pid</em></code> and <code>kill -USR1 <em>pid</em></code>. The
    command line option used, <code>-k</code>, was chosen as a reminder
    of the <code>kill</code> command used on Unix.</note>

    <p>If the httpd console window closes immediately or unexpectedly
    after startup, open the Command Prompt from the Start Menu --&gt;
    Programs. Change to the folder to which you installed httpd, type
    the command <code>httpd.exe</code>, and read the error message. Then
    change to the logs folder, and review the <code>error.log</code>
    file for configuration mistakes. Assuming httpd was installed into
    <code>C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.&httpd.minor;\</code>,
    you can do the following:</p>

    <example>
      c: <br />
      cd "\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.&httpd.minor;\bin" <br />
      httpd.exe
    </example>

    <p>Then wait for httpd to stop, or press Control-C. Then enter the
    following:</p>

    <example>
      cd ..\logs <br />
      more &lt; error.log
    </example>

    <p>When working with httpd it is important to know how it will
    find the configuration file. You can specify a configuration file
    on the command line in two ways:</p>

    <ul>
      <li><p><code>-f</code> specifies an absolute or relative path to
      a particular configuration file:</p>

      <example>
        httpd.exe -f "c:\my server files\anotherconfig.conf"
      </example>

      <p>or</p>

      <example>
        httpd.exe -f files\anotherconfig.conf
      </example></li>

      <li><p><code>-n</code> specifies the installed httpd service
      whose configuration file is to be used:</p>

      <example>
        httpd.exe -n "MyServiceName"
      </example>
      </li>
    </ul>

    <p>In both of these cases, the proper
    <directive module="core">ServerRoot</directive> should be set in
    the configuration file.</p>

    <p>If you don't specify a configuration file with <code>-f</code>
    or <code>-n</code>, httpd will use the file name compiled into the
    server, such as <code>conf\httpd.conf</code>. This built-in path
    is relative to the installation directory. You can verify the compiled
    file name from a value labeled as <code>SERVER_CONFIG_FILE</code> when
    invoking httpd with the <code>-V</code> switch, like this:</p>

    <example>
      httpd.exe -V
    </example>

    <p>httpd will then try to determine its <directive module="core"
    >ServerRoot</directive> by trying the following, in this order:</p>

    <ol>
      <li>A <directive module="core">ServerRoot</directive> directive
      via the <code>-C</code> command line switch.</li>

      <li>The <code>-d</code> switch on the command line.</li>

      <li>Current working directory.</li>

      <li>A registry entry which was created if you did a binary
      installation.</li>

      <li>The server root compiled into the server. This is <code>
      /apache</code> by default, you can verify it by using <code>
      httpd.exe -V</code> and looking for a value labeled as
      <code>HTTPD_ROOT</code>.</li>
    </ol>

    <p>If you did not do a binary install, httpd will in some
    scenarios complain about the missing registry key. This warning can
    be ignored if the server was otherwise able to find its
    configuration file.</p>

    <p>The value of this key is the
    <directive module="core">ServerRoot</directive> directory which
    contains the <code>conf</code> subdirectory. When httpd starts it
    reads the <code>httpd.conf</code> file from that directory. If
    this file contains a <directive module="core">ServerRoot</directive>
    directive which contains a different directory from the one
    obtained from the registry key above, httpd will forget the
    registry key and use the directory from the configuration file. If
    you copy the httpd directory or configuration files to a new
    location it is vital that you update the
    <directive module="core">ServerRoot</directive> directive in the
    <code>httpd.conf</code> file to reflect the new location.</p>
  </section>

  <section id="test">
    <title>Testing the Installation</title>

    <p>After starting Apache httpd (either in a console window or as a
    service) it will be listening on port 80 (unless you changed the
    <directive module="mpm_common">Listen</directive> directive in the
    configuration files or installed httpd only for the current user).
    To connect to the server and access the default page, launch a
    browser and enter this URL:</p>

    <example>
      http://localhost/
    </example>

    <p>httpd should respond with a welcome page and you should see
    "It Works!". If nothing happens or you get an error, look in the
    <code>error.log</code> file in the <code>logs</code> subdirectory.
    If your host is not connected to the net, or if you have serious
    problems with your DNS (Domain Name Service) configuration, you
    may have to use this URL:</p>

    <example>
      http://127.0.0.1/
    </example>

    <p>If you happen to be running httpd on an alternate port, you
    need to explicitly put that in the URL:</p>

    <example>
      http://127.0.0.1:8080/
    </example>

    <p>Once your basic installation is working, you should configure it
    properly by editing the files in the <code>conf</code> subdirectory.
    Again, if you change the configuration of the Windows NT service
    for httpd, first attempt to start it from the command line to
    make sure that the service starts with no errors.</p>

    <p>Because httpd <strong>cannot</strong> share the same port with
    another TCP/IP application, you may need to stop, uninstall or reconfigure
    certain other services before running httpd. These conflicting
    services include other WWW servers, some firewall implementations,
    and even some client applications (such as Skype) which will use port
    80 to attempt to bypass firewall issues.</p>
  </section>

  <section id="windrivemap">
    <title>Configuring Access to Network Resources</title>

  <p>Access to files over the network can be specified using two
  mechanisms provided by Windows:</p>

  <dl>
    <dt>Mapped drive letters</dt>
    <dd>e.g., <code>Alias /images/ Z:/</code></dd>

    <dt>UNC paths</dt>
    <dd>e.g., <code>Alias /images/ //imagehost/www/images/</code></dd>
  </dl>

  <p>Mapped drive letters allow the administrator to maintain the
  mapping to a specific machine and path outside of the Apache httpd
  configuration.  However, these mappings are associated only with
  interactive sessions and are not directly available to Apache httpd
  when it is started as a service.  <strong>Use only UNC paths for
  network resources in httpd.conf</strong> so that the resources can
  be accessed consistently regardless of how Apache httpd is started.
  (Arcane and error prone procedures may work around the restriction
  on mapped drive letters, but this is not recommended.)</p>

  <example><title>Example DocumentRoot with UNC path</title>
  <highlight language="config">
  UNCList dochost
  DocumentRoot "//dochost/www/html/"
  </highlight>
  </example>

  <example><title>Example DocumentRoot with IP address in UNC path</title>
  <highlight language="config">
  UNCList 192.168.1.50
  DocumentRoot "//192.168.1.50/docs/"
  </highlight>
  </example>

  <example><title>Example Alias and corresponding Directory with UNC path</title>
  <highlight language="config">

UNCList imagehost1 imagehost2
Alias "/images/" "//imagehost/www/images/"
Alias "/images2/" "//imagehost2/www/images/"

&lt;Directory "//imagehost/www/images/"&gt;
#...
&lt;/Directory&gt;
&lt;Directory "//imagehost2/www/images/"&gt;
#...
&lt;/Directory&gt;
  </highlight>
  </example>

  <p>When running Apache httpd as a service, you must create a
  separate account in order to access network resources, as described
  above.</p>
  </section>

  <section id="tuning">
    <title>Windows Tuning</title>
    <ul>
      <li><p>If more than a few dozen piped loggers are used on an operating system
      instance, scaling up the "desktop heap" is often necessary. For
      more detailed information, refer to the <a href="../logs.html#piped"
      >piped logging</a> documentation.</p></li>
    </ul>
  </section>
</manualpage>