Chapter 19. Apache HTTP Server Configuration
In Red Hat Linux 8.0, the Apache HTTP Server was updated to version 2.0, which uses different
configuration options. Also starting with Red Hat Linux 8.0, the RPM package was
renamed httpd. If you want to migrate an existing
configuration file by hand, refer to the migration guide at
/usr/share/doc/httpd-<ver>/migration.html
or the Red Hat Linux Reference Guide for details.
If you configured the Apache HTTP Server with the HTTP Configuration Tool
in previous versions of Red Hat Linux and then performed an upgrade, you can use
the application to migrate the configuration file to the new format for
version 2.0. Start the HTTP Configuration Tool, make any
changes to the configuration, and save it. The configuration file saved
will be compatible with version 2.0.
The HTTP Configuration Tool allows you to
configure the /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
configuration file for the Apache HTTP Server. It does not use the old
srm.conf or access.conf
configuration files; leave them empty. Through the graphical interface,
you can configure directives such as virtual hosts, logging
attributes, and maximum number of connections.
Only modules that are shipped with Red Hat Linux can be configured with
HTTP Configuration Tool. If additional
modules are installed, they can not be configured using this tool.
The httpd and
redhat-config-httpd RPM packages need to be installed
to use the HTTP Configuration Tool. It also requires the
X Window System and root access. To start the application, go to the
=>
=> => or type the command
redhat-config-httpd at a shell prompt (for example, in
an XTerm or GNOME Terminal).
 | Caution |
|---|
| | Do not edit the /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
configuration file by hand if you wish to use this tool. The
HTTP Configuration Tool generates this file after you save your
changes and exit the program. If you want to add additional modules or
configuration options that are not available in HTTP Configuration Tool,
you cannot use this tool.
|
The general steps for configuring the Apache HTTP Server using the
HTTP Configuration Tool are as following:
Configure the basic settings under the Main
tab.
Click on the Virtual Hosts tab and configure
the default settings.
Under the Virtual Hosts tab, configure the
Default Virtual Host.
If you want to serve more than one URL or virtual host, add the
additional virtual hosts.
Configure the server settings under the
Server tab.
Configure the connections settings under the Performance
Tuning tab.
Copy all necessary files to the DocumentRoot
and cgi-bin directories.
Exit the application and select to save your settings.
19.1. Basic Settings
Use the Main tab to configure the basic server
settings.
Enter a fully qualified domain name that you have the right to use in
the Server Name text area. This option corresponds
to the ServerName
directive in httpd.conf. The
ServerName directive sets the hostname of the Web
server. It is used when creating redirection URLs. If you do not define
a server name, the Web server attempts to resolve it from the IP address of the
system. The server name does not have to be the domain name resolved
from the IP address of the server. For example, you might want to set
the server name to www.example.com when your server's real DNS name
is actually foo.example.com.
Enter the email address of the person who maintains the Web server in
the Webmaster email address text area. This option
corresponds to the ServerAdmin
directive in httpd.conf. If you configure
the server's error pages to contain an email address, this email address
will be used so that users can report a problem by sending email to the
server's administrator. The default value is root@localhost.
Use the Available Addresses area to define the
ports on which the server will accept incoming requests. This option
corresponds to the Listen
directive in httpd.conf. By default, Red Hat
configures the Apache HTTP Server to listen to port 80 for non-secure Web
communications.
Click the Add button to define additional ports
on which to accept requests. A window as shown in Figure 19-2 will appear. Either choose the Listen
to all addresses option to listen to all IP addresses on the
defined port or specify a particular IP address over which the server
will accept connections in the Address field. Only
specify one IP address per port number. If you want to specify more than
one IP address with the same port number, create an entry for each IP
address. If at all possible, use an IP address instead of a domain name
to prevent a DNS lookup failure. Refer to http://httpd.apache.org/docs-2.0/dns-caveats.html
for more information about Issues Regarding DNS and
Apache.
Entering an asterisk (*) in the Address field is
the same as choosing Listen to all addresses.
Clicking the Edit button in the
Available Addresses frame shows the same window as
the Add button except with the fields populated
for the selected entry. To delete an entry, select it and click the
Delete button.
 | Tip |
|---|
| | If you set the server to listen to a port under 1024, you must be root to
start it. For port 1024 and above, httpd can be
started as a regular user.
|
