Apache

What You’ll Learn

Upon completion of Apache, the student will be able to:

Apache Bootcamp

• Download, verify, and build the Apache Web server from scratch.
• Understand Apache's modular structure, and how to add, remove, and configure modules for specific tasks.
• Set up virtual hosts and provide Web service for multiple domains from a single system.
• Use mod_rewrite to manipulate URLs.
• Enable and configure logging, including creating custom log formats.
• Set up authentication and authorization to protect Web pages.
• Install the PHP scripting language and embed it in the Web server.
• Create a self-signed SSL certificate and use it to provide secure access to Web pages.
• Create and configure CGI scripts.

Section	Contents

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Apache Modular Construction	An overview of the compartmentalised way in which the Apache server is constructed, allowing features to be added, removed, enabled, or disabled according to an individual site's need.
Multi-Processing Modules	Coverage of the different wasy in which Apache can be configured to take the best advantage of your platform's specific features. Describes the 'prefork' and 'worker' models, and the MPMs specific to platforms such as NetWare and BeOS.
Request Processing	A detailed walkthrough of how Apache handles a request for a Web page, describing the different phases of processing and where and how modules can affect them.
Directives and Configuration	Covers configuration files, from server-wide to per-directory. Describes the various syntax forms directives can take, where they can be used, and how to enable them conditionally.
Building from Source	In this section the student will learn how to download the Apache Web server source code, verify it as being authentic, configure the build process, actually build the server, and finally install and test it.
Virtual Hosts	Covers how to configure a single Apache instance to handle multiple domains (this is how many hosting services work). Describes the difference between 'IP-based' and 'name-based' hosts, and how to set up each.
Logging	Covers access and error logging, severity levels, and customised log formats. Touches on logging information to a back-end database for easier querying.
Environment Variables	Covers the various ways in which evironment variables are used to communicate between modules, and with external scripts.
CGI Scripts	Covers how to configure Apache to interact with CGI scripts, with an overview of the CGI specification. Also, how to communicate with CGI scripts via environment variables, how scripts can affect the server's configuration, and how to debug script errors.
Server-Side Includes	Describes use of the mod_include Apache module, which can be used to make normal HTML files somewhat more dynamic. Covers techniques, security issues, and debugging.
Actions	Covers how to tie invocation of an external script to particular Apache server events. Paranoid programming and debugging are described.
URL Rewriting	Covers one of the strongest and most complex features of the Apache Web server — use of the mod_rewrite module to alter server behaviour and content selection based upon the URL requested.
Authentication and Authorization	Describes the authentication and authorization systems used by Apache, the difference between the two terms, and how to configure your server to apply it to entire directories or individual files.
SSL and https	Covers how to configure a virtual host for SSL-encrypted traffic, generating your own self-signed certificate, redirecting non-SSL requests to the SSL host, etc.
Proxy Servers	Covers the Apache proxy server module, and also how to configure the server to work with external proxy systems such as Squid.
Aliases	Describes the alias mechanism used to allow document access using alternate names. Also touches on the mod_speling module, which can be used to correct minor URL user typo errors.
Directory Indexing	Covers how to configure Apache's default behaviour when a request is made for a directory that isn't configured for explicit handling.
File Types, Handlers, and MultiViews	Describes how Apache can automatically determine metainformation about file-based documents from their names, including the Internet media type, commpression information, and so on.
Search Engines, Robots, and Favicons	Covers how to set up your Web server to handle legitimate robots and search engines -- and how to recognise and deal with those less legitimate.
Filters	Covers the filter mechanism, which allows the Apache server to process the information being received and sent in a predictable and configurable manner.
Headers	This section covers the numerous methods available to control the metainformation of responses sent by the server, such as the expiration date of the information, the type of document being sent, compression information, and so on.
Adding 3P Modules	One of Apache's strengths is the ease with which third-party modules can be developed for and added to it. This section will cover how to locate and add these 3P modules to your server.
Adding and Using mod_php	Covers how to add the PHP scripting engine to your server, and some basics about using it.

Requirements

Students should feel comfortable working at the shell command-line level (bash, csh, etc.). No programming experience is necessary. Some experience with scripting (Perl, PHP, Unixish shell scripts, Ruby, etc.) would be beneficial.