Welcome to Apache Server 2.0. Chances are that you already have heard
about Apache server. In fact, more than 60 percent of all Web administrators
use Apache. Apache is the most powerful, open-source, Web-server platform in
the world.
As a practicing Web developer, researcher, and administrator, I find Apache to be
the perfect fit for most Web sites. Apache 2.0 is a major revision of Apache server.
Apache Group originally created a highly configurable Web server in the first version,
which became popular very fast; in version 2, Apache Group focused on scalability,
reliability, and performance. Major code revisions were done to create a very
scalable Apache architecture.
Today, Apache stands tall as the most widely used Web platform. Every day an
increasing number of corporations accept this open-source marvel into their IT
infrastructure. Many large IT companies, such as IBM, have embraced Apache in
their product offerings. The future of Apache looks great. Whether youre new to
Apache or are already a practicing Apache administrator, now is the perfect time to
get started with Apache 2.0. This book will help you do just that.
Part I: Getting Started
With a brief introduction to the worlds number one Web server, in this part I guide
you through the process of obtaining and compiling Apache. I show you how to get
Apache up and running with minimal changes to the default configuration files so
that you can get Apache up and running on your system as quickly as possible. This
part ends with complete references to the Apache core directives and standard
modules so that you can get ready for serious Apache administration tasks.
Part II: Web Site Administration
This part focuses on typical Web administration tasks such as virtual Web-site creation,
user authentication and authorization tasks, monitoring, logging, rewriting
and redirecting URLs, proxy service, and the like. You learn a great deal there is to
know about creating and managing virtual Web sites. You master various methods
of user authentication, authorization, and access control techniques. You learn to
monitor Web servers and to customize log files for analysis.
Part III: Running Web Applications
This part focuses on the ways in which you can serve dynamic contents using
Apache. It covers Common Gateway Interface (CGI), Server-Side Includes (SSI),
FastCGI, PHP, mod_perl, and Java servlets. You quickly learn to use these technologies
with Apache.
Part IV: Securing Your Web Site
Any computer on the Internet is subject to abuse or attempts of misuse. It is always
a good idea to play it safe and to take precautionary measures. In this part, you
learn to make your Web sites more secure and resistant to hacker attacks. You are
also introduced to the potential risks of running SSI and CGI programs and how to
take preventive measures to avoid these risks. You also learn to enable Secure
Socket Layer (SSL) service using Apache modules to enable secure e-commerce.
Part V: Running Apache on Windows
Apache on Windows (Win32) platform has become very popular; more and more
people are trying Apache on Windows platform. With Apache 2.0, the performance
of Apache Web server under this platform has become very promising. In this part,
you learn how to install and configure Apache on Win32 platform.
Part VI: Tuning for Performance and Scalability
In this part, I discuss how you can speed up Apache by tuning your Web server system
and by optimizing various Apache server configuration. The chapter provides a
great deal of information on how to benefit from high-performance hardware, how
to tune hard disks and file systems under Linux to enhance system performance. It
also covers Web caching and tuning issues related to Perl-based Web applications.