Apache HTTP Server

Categories: FOLDOC sourced articles | Web server software | Apache Software Foundation projects

Apache HTTP Server is an open source HTTP web server for Unix-like systems (BSD, Linux, and UNIX systems), Microsoft Windows, Novell Netware and other platforms.

Apache features highly configurable error messages, DBMS-based authentication databases, and content negotiation. It is also supported by several graphical user interfaces (GUIs) which permit easier, more intuitive configuration of the server.

The Apache HTTP Server is developed and maintained by an open community of developers under the auspices of the Apache Software Foundation.

1 History
2 Usage
3 Features
4 Version 2.x
5 Competitors
6 See also
7 External links

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History

Initially, Apache was the only viable open source alternative to the Netscape web server (currently known as Sun Java System Web Server). It has since evolved to rival other Unix-based HTTP servers in terms of functionality and performance. Since April 1996 Apache has been the most popular HTTP server on the Internet: in May 1999 it was running on 57% of all web servers; by August 2005 this percentage had increased to 69% (Netcraft Web Server Survey, August 2005).

The author claims the name was initially chosen as a catchy name in order to be original, but the most widespread interpretation (which almost immediately surfaced) is that the name comes from the fact that when it was developed in early 1995, it consisted of changes in the code to the most popular HTTP server of the time, NCSA HTTPd 1.3 and was therefore "a patchy" server. However, in the FAQ on the server's official site, it is stated: "The name 'Apache' was chosen from respect for the Native American Indian tribe of Apache (Indé), well-known for their superior skills in warfare strategy and their inexhaustible endurance". Regardless, version 2 of the Apache server was written from scratch and contains no code from NCSA.

From the official Apache site:

In February of 1995, the most popular server software on the Web was the public domain HTTP daemon developed by Rob McCool at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. However, development of that httpd had stalled after Rob left NCSA in mid-1994, and many webmasters had developed their own extensions and bug fixes that were in need of a common distribution. A small group of these webmasters, contacted via private e-mail, gathered together for the purpose of coordinating their changes (in the form of "patches"). Brian Behlendorf and Cliff Skolnick put together a mailing list, shared information space, and logins for the core developers on a machine in the California Bay Area, with bandwidth donated by HotWired.

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Usage

Apache is the web server component of the popular web server application stack called LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Perl/Python).

Apache is redistributed as part of various proprietary packages, e.g., the Oracle database or the IBM WebSphere application server. Mac OS X integrates Apache as its built-in web server. It is also supported in some way by Borland in the Kylix and Delphi development tools. Apache is included with Novell Netware 6.5, where it is the default web server.

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Features

Apache supports a variety of features, many implemented as compiled modules. These can range from server-side programming language support to authentication schemes. Some common language interfaces support Perl, Python, Tcl, and PHP. Popular authentication modules include mod_access, mod_auth, and mod_digest. A sample of other features include SSL and TLS support (mod_ssl), a proxy module, a useful URL rewriter (also known as a rewrite engine, implemented under mod_rewrite), custom log files (mod_log_config), and filtering support (mod_include and mod_ext_filter). Apache logs can be analysed through a web browser using free scripts such as AWStats or Visitors.

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Version 2.x

The Apache 2.x core has several major enhancements over Apache 1.x. These include UNIX threading, better support for non-Unix platforms (such as Windows), a new Apache API, and IPv6 support.

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Competitors

According to statistics from the firm Netcraft, Apache is the most widely deployed web server in the world as of 2005 [1]. Microsoft's Internet Information Services (IIS) is the main competitor to Apache, trailed by Sun Microsystem's Sun Java Web Server (formerly Sun ONE) and a host of other applications such as Zeus.

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