What’s New in Apache 2.2

Rich Bowen

Tuesday, June 19th, 2007

Share This:

More than ten years after the debut of the Apache HTTP Server, and after a number of years of maintaining the status quo, the latest version of the world’s most popular Web server contains many exciting new developments. If you run Apache, it’s time to upgrade to Apache 2.2.

If you install Apache 2.2, you’ll quickly discover that Apache configuration has changed. The single, monolithic configuration file, httpd.conf, has been augmented with several smaller, special-purpose configuration files. The primary file is still named httpd.conf. The smaller files, used for less common configuration options, can be found in the subdirectory conf/extra.

To enable a feature found in one of the “extra” files, simply un-comment the corresponding Include line in httpd.conf. For example, to enable the user home directory feature, elide the # (octothorpe) from its Include line:

 # User home directories Include conf/extra/httpd-userdir.conf

 # Include conf/extra/httpd_manual.conf 

Similarly, to make the Apache HTTP Server documentation accessible via the URL http://your.server.com/manual/, un-comment the last line above.

None of the “extra” configuration files implement new features. Instead, the modularization of the formerly-sprawling Apache configuration file is intended to make setup, modification, and ongoing maintenance easier.

Of course, if you’ve been using Apache for a number of years, you may find the new scheme harder to navigate. Here’s a quick tip: To find a particular parameter among the myriad of configuration files, use grep –ir…

1. Power Up Linux GUI Apps
2. Tweeting from the Command Line with Twyt
3. When Memory Serves You: Using ramfs and tmpfs
4. Disk-O-Tech: Linux Disk Management
5. Bang for the Buck