FAQ.html revision ab7592b7be071922570a15757888f004e2ec44c9
4c21f043137d037cfab505df3956f56ba521b170izick<TITLE>Apache server Frequently Asked Questions</TITLE>
4c21f043137d037cfab505df3956f56ba521b170izick<!--#include virtual="header.html" -->
4c21f043137d037cfab505df3956f56ba521b170izick<LI><A HREF="#relate">How does the Apache group relate to other servers ?</A>
4c21f043137d037cfab505df3956f56ba521b170izick<LI><A HREF="#compatible">How compatible is Apache with my existing NCSA 1.3 setup ?</A>
4c21f043137d037cfab505df3956f56ba521b170izick<LI><A HREF="#compare">OK, so how does Apache compare to other servers ?</A>
4c21f043137d037cfab505df3956f56ba521b170izick<LI><A HREF="#tested">How thoroughly tested is Apache?</A>
4c21f043137d037cfab505df3956f56ba521b170izick<LI><A HREF="#proxy">Does or will Apache act as a Proxy server?</A>
4c21f043137d037cfab505df3956f56ba521b170izick<LI><A HREF="#future">What are the future plans for Apache ?</A>
9627968bca31e10e2055342c2f1ccf7b2a165c71mcpowers<LI><A HREF="#support">Who do I contact for support ?</A>
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<LI><A HREF="#more">Is there any more information on Apache ?</A>
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick Apache was originally based on code and ideas found in the most
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickpopular HTTP server of the time.. NCSA httpd 1.3 (early 1995). It has
23c57df72989c916b3e98084eb88d48777999691mcpowerssince evolved into a far superior system which can rival (and probably
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izicksurpass) almost any other UNIX based HTTP server in terms of functionality,
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickefficiency and speed.
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<p>Since it began, it has been completely rewritten, and includes many new
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickfeatures. Apache is, as of November 1996, the most popular WWW server on
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickthe Internet, according to the <a
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickhref="http://www.netcraft.com/Survey/">Netcraft Survey</a>.
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<LI><A name="relate">How does the Apache group relate to other
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickserver efforts, such as NCSA's?</A>
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickWe, of course, owe a great debt to NCSA and their programmers for
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickmaking the server Apache was based on. We now, however, have our own
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickserver, and our project is mostly our own. The Apache Project is an
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickentirely independent venture.
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<P>to address concerns of a group of www providers and part time httpd
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickprogrammers, that httpd didn't behave as they wanted it
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickto. Apache is an entirely volunteer effort, completely funded by its
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickmembers, not by commercial sales.
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<P>A cute name which stuck. Apache is "<B>A PA</B>t<B>CH</B>y server". It was
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick based on some existing code and a series of "patch files".
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<LI><A name="compatible">How compatible is Apache with my existing NCSA 1.3
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickApache attempts to offer all the features and configuration options
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickof NCSA httpd 1.3, as well as many of the additional features found in
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickNCSA httpd 1.4 and NCSA httpd 1.5.<P>
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickNCSA httpd appears to be moving toward adding experimental features
9627968bca31e10e2055342c2f1ccf7b2a165c71mcpowerswhich are not generally required at the moment. Some of the experiments
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickwill succeed while others will inevitably be dropped. The Apache philosophy is
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickto add what's needed as and when it is needed.<p>
9627968bca31e10e2055342c2f1ccf7b2a165c71mcpowersFriendly interaction between Apache and NCSA developers should ensure
9627968bca31e10e2055342c2f1ccf7b2a165c71mcpowersthat fundamental feature enhancments stay consistent between the two
9627968bca31e10e2055342c2f1ccf7b2a165c71mcpowersservers for the foreseeable future.<p>
9627968bca31e10e2055342c2f1ccf7b2a165c71mcpowers<LI><A name="compare">OK, so how does Apache compare to other servers ?</A>
9627968bca31e10e2055342c2f1ccf7b2a165c71mcpowersFor an independent assessment, see <A HREF="http://webcompare.iworld.com/compare/chart.html">http://webcompare.iworld.com/compare/chart.html</A>
9627968bca31e10e2055342c2f1ccf7b2a165c71mcpowers<P>Apache has been shown to be substantially faster than many other
9627968bca31e10e2055342c2f1ccf7b2a165c71mcpowersfree servers. Although certain commercial servers have claimed to
9627968bca31e10e2055342c2f1ccf7b2a165c71mcpowerssurpass Apache's speed (it has not been demonstrated that any of these
9627968bca31e10e2055342c2f1ccf7b2a165c71mcpowers"benchmarks" are a good way of measuring WWW server speed at any
9627968bca31e10e2055342c2f1ccf7b2a165c71mcpowersrate), we feel that it is better to have a mostly-fast free server
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickthan an extremely-fast server that costs thousands of dollars. Apache
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickis run on sites that get millions of hits per day, and they have
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickexperienced no performance difficulties.</p>
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<LI><A name="tested">How thoroughly tested is Apache?</A>
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<p>Apache is run on over 200,000 Internet servers (as of November 1996). It has
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickbeen tested thoroughly by both developers and users. The Apache Group
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickmaintains rigorous standards before releasing new versions of their
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickserver, and our server runs without a hitch on over one third of all
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickWWW servers. When bugs do show up, we release patches and new
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickversions, as soon as they are available.</a>
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<P>See <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/info/apache_users.html">http://www.apache.org/info/apache_users.html</A> for an incomplete list of sites running Apache.</P>
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<LI><A name="proxy">Does or will Apache act as a Proxy server?
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<p>Apache version 1.1
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickand above comes with a proxy module. If compiled in, this will make
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickApache act as a caching-proxy server
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<LI><A name="future">What are the future plans for Apache ?</A>
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<LI>to continue as a public domain HTTP server,
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<LI>to keep up with advances in HTTP protocol and web developments in general
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<LI>to collect suggestions for fixes/improvements from its users,
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<LI>to respond to needs of large volume providers as well as occasional users.
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<LI><A name="support">Who do I contact for support ?</A>
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<P>There is no official support for Apache. None of the developers want to
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickbe swamped by a flood of trivial questions that can be resolved elsewhere.
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickBug reports and suggestions should be sent via <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/bug_report.html">the bug report page.</A>
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickOther questions should be directed to
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<A HREF="news:comp.infosystems.www.servers.unix">comp.infosystems.www.servers.unix</A>, where some of the Apache team lurk,
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickin the company of many other httpd gurus who should be able
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickCommercial support for Apache is, however, available from a number
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickthird parties.
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<LI><A name="more">Is there any more information on Apache ?</A>
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izick<P>Indeed there is. See <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/">http://www.apache.org/</A>.
f66d273d14eede3a1bb803a39414588d8f143a98izickYou can find the source for Apache at <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/">http://www.apache.org/</A>.
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