Apache's default configuration should work for most users. You may never
need to change any of Apache's configuration directives. If you do want
to change any of the default configuration options, you will need to know
what some of the options are and where to find them. This chapter covers
the configuration options available to you.
When you are reading your Web server's configuration file, be aware that
it includes both a non-secure and a secure Web server. The secure Web
server runs as a virtual host, which is also configured in the
httpd.conf file. For more information about virtual
hosts, see the section called Using Virtual Hosts.
During the installation process, a Bourne shell script named
httpd was saved in
/etc/rc.d/init.d. To manually stop and start your
server, run httpd with either stop
or start as an argument.
To start your server, type the command:
/etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd start |
If you are running Apache as a secure server, you will be prompted to
fill in your password. After you type it in, your server will start.
To stop your server, type the command:
/etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd stop |
The command restart is a shorthand way of stopping
and then starting your server. The restart command
explicitly stops and then starts your server, so you will be prompted
for your password if you are running Apache as a secure server. The
restart command looks like the following:
/etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd restart |
If you just finished editing something in your
httpd.conf file, you do not need to explicitly stop
and start your server. Instead, you may use the
reload command. When you use
reload, you will not need to type in your password
(which is required if you are running Apache as a secure server). Your
password will remain cached across reloads, but it will not be cached
between stops and starts. The reload command looks
like the following:
/etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd reload |
By default, the httpd process will start
automatically when your machine boots. If you are running Apache as a
secure server, you will be prompted for the secure server's password
after the machine boots, unless you generated a key for your secure
server without password protection.
