967e5f3c25249c779575864692935627004d3f9eChristian Maeder<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>

967e5f3c25249c779575864692935627004d3f9eChristian Maeder<!DOCTYPE manualpage SYSTEM "/style/manualpage.dtd">

967e5f3c25249c779575864692935627004d3f9eChristian Maeder<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="/style/manual.en.xsl"?>

967e5f3c25249c779575864692935627004d3f9eChristian Maeder

e1839fb37a3a2ccd457464cb0dcc5efd466dbe22Christian Maeder

fd896e2068ad7e50aed66ac18c3720ea7ff2619fChristian Maeder<manualpage metafile="windows.xml.meta">

997c56f3bc74a703043010978e5013fdb074d659Christian Maeder <parentdocument href="./">Platform Specific Notes</parentdocument>

967e5f3c25249c779575864692935627004d3f9eChristian Maeder

9744c7d9fa61d255d5e73beec7edc3499522e9e2Till Mossakowski <title>Using Apache HTTP Server on Microsoft Windows</title>

9744c7d9fa61d255d5e73beec7edc3499522e9e2Till Mossakowski

fd896e2068ad7e50aed66ac18c3720ea7ff2619fChristian Maeder <summary>

fd896e2068ad7e50aed66ac18c3720ea7ff2619fChristian Maeder <p>This document explains how to install, configure and run

4fb19f237193a3bd6778f8aee3b6dd8da5856665Christian Maeder Apache 2.&httpd.minor; under Microsoft Windows. If you have questions after

fd896e2068ad7e50aed66ac18c3720ea7ff2619fChristian Maeder reviewing the documentation (and any event and error logs), you

dea4c92f0c061d589c542d0640a18dab36dfbb46Christian Maeder should consult the peer-supported

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <a href="http://httpd.apache.org/userslist.html">users' mailing

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder list</a>.</p>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder

dea4c92f0c061d589c542d0640a18dab36dfbb46Christian Maeder <p>This document assumes that you are installing a binary

dea4c92f0c061d589c542d0640a18dab36dfbb46Christian Maeder distribution of Apache. If you want to compile Apache yourself

967e5f3c25249c779575864692935627004d3f9eChristian Maeder (possibly to help with development or tracking down bugs),

dea4c92f0c061d589c542d0640a18dab36dfbb46Christian Maeder see <a href="win_compiling.html">Compiling Apache for Microsoft

07b72edb610ee53b4832d132e96b0a3d8423f8ebChristian Maeder Windows</a>.</p>

07b72edb610ee53b4832d132e96b0a3d8423f8ebChristian Maeder </summary>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <section id="req">

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <title>Operating System Requirements</title>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <p>The primary Windows platform for running Apache 2.&httpd.minor; is Windows

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder 2000 or later. Always obtain and

07b72edb610ee53b4832d132e96b0a3d8423f8ebChristian Maeder install the current service pack to avoid operating system bugs.</p>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder

07b72edb610ee53b4832d132e96b0a3d8423f8ebChristian Maeder <note>Apache HTTP Server versions later than 2.2 will not run on any

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder operating system earlier than Windows 2000.</note>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder </section>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <section id="down">

07b72edb610ee53b4832d132e96b0a3d8423f8ebChristian Maeder <title>Downloading Apache for Windows</title>

0a8ea95bcf0e3f84fed0b725c049ec2a956a4a28Christian Maeder

4fb19f237193a3bd6778f8aee3b6dd8da5856665Christian Maeder <p>The Apache HTTP Server Project itself does not provide binary releases of

7a879b08ae0ca30006f9be887a73212b07f10204Christian Maeder software, only source code. If you cannot compile the Apache HTTP Server

07b72edb610ee53b4832d132e96b0a3d8423f8ebChristian Maeder yourself, you can obtain a binary package from numerous binary distributions

0f67ca7b0c738a28f6688ba6e96d44d7c14af611Christian Maeder available on the Internet.</p>

4fb19f237193a3bd6778f8aee3b6dd8da5856665Christian Maeder

7a879b08ae0ca30006f9be887a73212b07f10204Christian Maeder <p>Popular options for deploying Apache httpd, and, optionally, PHP

e1839fb37a3a2ccd457464cb0dcc5efd466dbe22Christian Maeder and MySQL, on Microsoft Windows, include:</p>

e1839fb37a3a2ccd457464cb0dcc5efd466dbe22Christian Maeder <ul>

e1839fb37a3a2ccd457464cb0dcc5efd466dbe22Christian Maeder <li><a href="http://www.apachelounge.com/download/">Apache

e1839fb37a3a2ccd457464cb0dcc5efd466dbe22Christian Maeder Lounge</a></li>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <li><a href="http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html">XAMPP, from

e1839fb37a3a2ccd457464cb0dcc5efd466dbe22Christian Maeder ApacheFriends</a></li>

2a598ff0c1b7b51c33aee7029b43bc5cfcbea6b8Christian Maeder <li><a href="http://www.wampserver.com/">WampServer</a></li>

5e26bfc8d7b18cf3a3fa7b919b4450fb669f37a5Christian Maeder </ul>

5e26bfc8d7b18cf3a3fa7b919b4450fb669f37a5Christian Maeder </section>

5e26bfc8d7b18cf3a3fa7b919b4450fb669f37a5Christian Maeder

5e26bfc8d7b18cf3a3fa7b919b4450fb669f37a5Christian Maeder

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <section id="cust">

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <title>Customizing Apache for Windows</title>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <p>Apache is configured by the files in the <code>conf</code>

5e26bfc8d7b18cf3a3fa7b919b4450fb669f37a5Christian Maeder subdirectory. These are the same files used to configure the Unix

5e26bfc8d7b18cf3a3fa7b919b4450fb669f37a5Christian Maeder version, but there are a few different directives for Apache on

e7ce154edb906685b3fa7f6c0a764e18a4658068Christian Maeder Windows. See the <a href="/mod/directives.html">directive index</a>

e7ce154edb906685b3fa7f6c0a764e18a4658068Christian Maeder for all the available directives.</p>

07b72edb610ee53b4832d132e96b0a3d8423f8ebChristian Maeder

07b72edb610ee53b4832d132e96b0a3d8423f8ebChristian Maeder <p>The main differences in Apache for Windows are:</p>

e1839fb37a3a2ccd457464cb0dcc5efd466dbe22Christian Maeder <ul>

e7ce154edb906685b3fa7f6c0a764e18a4658068Christian Maeder <li><p>Because Apache for Windows is multithreaded, it does not

e7ce154edb906685b3fa7f6c0a764e18a4658068Christian Maeder use a separate process for each request, as Apache can on Unix.

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder Instead there are usually only two Apache processes running: a

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder parent process, and a child which handles the requests. Within

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder the child process each request is handled by a separate thread.

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder </p>

e7ce154edb906685b3fa7f6c0a764e18a4658068Christian Maeder

4fb19f237193a3bd6778f8aee3b6dd8da5856665Christian Maeder <p>The process management directives are also different:</p>

4fb19f237193a3bd6778f8aee3b6dd8da5856665Christian Maeder

4fb19f237193a3bd6778f8aee3b6dd8da5856665Christian Maeder <p><directive module="mpm_common">MaxConnectionsPerChild</directive>:

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder Like the Unix directive, this controls how many connections a single

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder child process will serve before exiting.

0a8ea95bcf0e3f84fed0b725c049ec2a956a4a28Christian Maeder However, unlike on Unix, a replacement process is not instantly

967e5f3c25249c779575864692935627004d3f9eChristian Maeder available. Use the default <code>MaxConnectionsPerChild 0</code>,

0a8ea95bcf0e3f84fed0b725c049ec2a956a4a28Christian Maeder unless instructed to change the behavior to overcome a memory leak

967e5f3c25249c779575864692935627004d3f9eChristian Maeder in third party modules or in-process applications.</p>

83814002b4922114cbe7e9ba728472a0bf44aac5Christian Maeder

a578ec30cded5e396a7ce9a3b469e8cd3a88246aChristian Maeder <note type="warning"><strong>Warning: The server configuration

83814002b4922114cbe7e9ba728472a0bf44aac5Christian Maeder file is reread when a new child process is started. If you have

967e5f3c25249c779575864692935627004d3f9eChristian Maeder modified <code>httpd.conf</code>, the new child may not start or

83814002b4922114cbe7e9ba728472a0bf44aac5Christian Maeder you may receive unexpected results.</strong></note>

dedabc954aa15f6ad0764472a9434dc6dafe3db2Christian Maeder

e1839fb37a3a2ccd457464cb0dcc5efd466dbe22Christian Maeder <p><directive module="mpm_common">ThreadsPerChild</directive>:

e1839fb37a3a2ccd457464cb0dcc5efd466dbe22Christian Maeder This directive is new. It tells the server how many threads it

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder should use. This is the maximum number of connections the server

20e16bdd7481741d0b6b14f952aea42ee7a65efbChristian Maeder can handle at once, so be sure to set this number high enough for

e1839fb37a3a2ccd457464cb0dcc5efd466dbe22Christian Maeder your site if you get a lot of hits. The recommended default is

a89e661aad28f1b39f4fc9f9f9a4d46074234123Christian Maeder <code>ThreadsPerChild 150</code>, but this must be adjusted to

dedabc954aa15f6ad0764472a9434dc6dafe3db2Christian Maeder reflect the greatest anticipated number of simultaneous

4fb19f237193a3bd6778f8aee3b6dd8da5856665Christian Maeder connections to accept.</p></li>

4fb19f237193a3bd6778f8aee3b6dd8da5856665Christian Maeder

a578ec30cded5e396a7ce9a3b469e8cd3a88246aChristian Maeder <li><p>The directives that accept filenames as arguments must use

a89e661aad28f1b39f4fc9f9f9a4d46074234123Christian Maeder Windows filenames instead of Unix ones. However, because Apache

dedabc954aa15f6ad0764472a9434dc6dafe3db2Christian Maeder may interpret backslashes as an "escape character" sequence, you

e1839fb37a3a2ccd457464cb0dcc5efd466dbe22Christian Maeder should consistently use forward slashes in path names, not

e1839fb37a3a2ccd457464cb0dcc5efd466dbe22Christian Maeder backslashes.</p></li>

07b72edb610ee53b4832d132e96b0a3d8423f8ebChristian Maeder

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <li><p>While filenames are generally case-insensitive on

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder Windows, URLs are still treated internally as case-sensitive

dedabc954aa15f6ad0764472a9434dc6dafe3db2Christian Maeder before they are mapped to the filesystem. For example, the

a89e661aad28f1b39f4fc9f9f9a4d46074234123Christian Maeder <directive module="core" type="section">Location</directive>,

dedabc954aa15f6ad0764472a9434dc6dafe3db2Christian Maeder <directive module="mod_alias">Alias</directive>, and <directive

bfa9e03532243ceb487f0384d0f6a447f1ce7670Till Mossakowski module="mod_proxy">ProxyPass</directive> directives all use

7221c71b38c871ce66eee4537cb681d468308dfbChristian Maeder case-sensitive arguments. For this reason, it is particularly

7221c71b38c871ce66eee4537cb681d468308dfbChristian Maeder important to use the <directive module="core"

7221c71b38c871ce66eee4537cb681d468308dfbChristian Maeder type="section">Directory</directive> directive when attempting

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder to limit access to content in the filesystem, since this

842eedc62639561781b6c33533d1949693ef6cc5Christian Maeder directive applies to any content in a directory, regardless of

842eedc62639561781b6c33533d1949693ef6cc5Christian Maeder how it is accessed. If you wish to assure that only lowercase

842eedc62639561781b6c33533d1949693ef6cc5Christian Maeder is used in URLs, you can use something like:</p>

842eedc62639561781b6c33533d1949693ef6cc5Christian Maeder

842eedc62639561781b6c33533d1949693ef6cc5Christian Maeder <highlight language="config">

842eedc62639561781b6c33533d1949693ef6cc5Christian MaederRewriteEngine On

842eedc62639561781b6c33533d1949693ef6cc5Christian MaederRewriteMap lowercase int:tolower

842eedc62639561781b6c33533d1949693ef6cc5Christian MaederRewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} [A-Z]

bfa9e03532243ceb487f0384d0f6a447f1ce7670Till MossakowskiRewriteRule (.*) ${lowercase:$1} [R,L]

967e5f3c25249c779575864692935627004d3f9eChristian Maeder </highlight></li>

967e5f3c25249c779575864692935627004d3f9eChristian Maeder

967e5f3c25249c779575864692935627004d3f9eChristian Maeder <li><p>When running, Apache needs write access only to the logs

dedabc954aa15f6ad0764472a9434dc6dafe3db2Christian Maeder directory and any configured cache directory tree. Due to the

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder issue of case insensitive and short 8.3 format names, Apache must

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder validate all path names given. This means that each directory

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder which Apache evaluates, from the drive root up to the directory

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder leaf, must have read, list and traverse directory permissions.

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder If Apache2.&httpd.minor; is installed at C:\Program Files, then the root

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder directory, Program Files and Apache2.&httpd.minor; must all be visible

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder to Apache.</p></li>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <li><p>Apache for Windows contains the ability to load modules at

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder runtime, without recompiling the server. If Apache is compiled

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder normally, it will install a number of optional modules in the

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <code>\Apache2.&httpd.minor;\modules</code> directory. To activate these or

967e5f3c25249c779575864692935627004d3f9eChristian Maeder other modules, the new <directive module="mod_so">LoadModule</directive>

967e5f3c25249c779575864692935627004d3f9eChristian Maeder directive must be used. For example, to activate the status

7221c71b38c871ce66eee4537cb681d468308dfbChristian Maeder module, use the following (in addition to the status-activating

ee9eddfa6953868fd6fbaff0d9ff68675a13675aChristian Maeder directives in <code>access.conf</code>):</p>

ee9eddfa6953868fd6fbaff0d9ff68675a13675aChristian Maeder

83814002b4922114cbe7e9ba728472a0bf44aac5Christian Maeder <highlight language="config">

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder LoadModule status_module modules/mod_status.so

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder </highlight>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <p>Information on <a href="/mod/mod_so.html#creating">creating

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder loadable modules</a> is also available.</p></li>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <li><p>Apache can also load ISAPI (Internet Server Application

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder Programming Interface) extensions such as those used by Microsoft

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder IIS and other Windows servers. <a href="/mod/mod_isapi.html">More

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder information is available</a>. Note that Apache <strong>cannot</strong>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder load ISAPI Filters, and ISAPI Handlers with some Microsoft feature

4fb19f237193a3bd6778f8aee3b6dd8da5856665Christian Maeder extensions will not work.</p></li>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder

4fb19f237193a3bd6778f8aee3b6dd8da5856665Christian Maeder <li><p>When running CGI scripts, the method Apache uses to find

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder the interpreter for the script is configurable using the

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <directive module="core">ScriptInterpreterSource</directive>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder directive.</p></li>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <li><p>Since it is often difficult to manage files with names

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder like <code>.htaccess</code> in Windows, you may find it useful to

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder change the name of this per-directory configuration file using

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder the <directive module="core">AccessFilename</directive>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder directive.</p></li>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <li><p>Any errors during Apache startup are logged into the

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder Windows event log when running on Windows NT. This mechanism

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder acts as a backup for those situations where Apache is not yet

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder prepared to use the <code>error.log</code> file. You can

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder review the Windows Application Event Log by using the Event Viewer,

7221c71b38c871ce66eee4537cb681d468308dfbChristian Maeder e.g. Start - Settings - Control Panel - Administrative Tools

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder - Event Viewer.</p></li>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder </ul>

967e5f3c25249c779575864692935627004d3f9eChristian Maeder

4fb19f237193a3bd6778f8aee3b6dd8da5856665Christian Maeder </section>

4fb19f237193a3bd6778f8aee3b6dd8da5856665Christian Maeder

83814002b4922114cbe7e9ba728472a0bf44aac5Christian Maeder <section id="winsvc">

83814002b4922114cbe7e9ba728472a0bf44aac5Christian Maeder <title>Running Apache as a Service</title>

dedabc954aa15f6ad0764472a9434dc6dafe3db2Christian Maeder

dedabc954aa15f6ad0764472a9434dc6dafe3db2Christian Maeder <p>Apache comes with a utility called the Apache Service Monitor.

97ee7048e63953c5617342ce38c30cbcb35cc0beChristian Maeder With it you can see and manage the state of all installed Apache

97ee7048e63953c5617342ce38c30cbcb35cc0beChristian Maeder services on any machine on your network. To be able to manage an

07b72edb610ee53b4832d132e96b0a3d8423f8ebChristian Maeder Apache service with the monitor, you have to first install the

07b72edb610ee53b4832d132e96b0a3d8423f8ebChristian Maeder service (either automatically via the installation or manually).

07b72edb610ee53b4832d132e96b0a3d8423f8ebChristian Maeder </p>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <p>You can install Apache as a Windows NT service as follows from

07b72edb610ee53b4832d132e96b0a3d8423f8ebChristian Maeder the command prompt at the Apache <code>bin</code> subdirectory:</p>

dedabc954aa15f6ad0764472a9434dc6dafe3db2Christian Maeder

07b72edb610ee53b4832d132e96b0a3d8423f8ebChristian Maeder <example>

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder httpd.exe -k install

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder </example>

4fb19f237193a3bd6778f8aee3b6dd8da5856665Christian Maeder

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder <p>If you need to specify the name of the service you want to

2dfc7b04f2db681992ca04175f2beb0f127c9844Christian Maeder install, use the following command. You have to do this if you

07b72edb610ee53b4832d132e96b0a3d8423f8ebChristian Maeder have several different service installations of Apache on your

07b72edb610ee53b4832d132e96b0a3d8423f8ebChristian Maeder computer. If you specify a name during the install, you have to

also specify it during any other -k operation.</p>

<example>

httpd.exe -k install -n "MyServiceName"

</example>

<p>If you need to have specifically named configuration files for

different services, you must use this:</p>

<example>

httpd.exe -k install -n "MyServiceName" -f "c:\files\my.conf"

</example>

<p>If you use the first command without any special parameters except

<code>-k install</code>, the service will be called <code>Apache2.&httpd.minor;</code>

and the configuration will be assumed to be <code>conf\httpd.conf</code>.

</p>

<p>Removing an Apache service is easy. Just use:</p>

<example>

httpd.exe -k uninstall

</example>

<p>The specific Apache service to be uninstalled can be specified by using:</p>

<example>

httpd.exe -k uninstall -n "MyServiceName"

</example>

<p>Normal starting, restarting and shutting down of an Apache

service is usually done via the Apache Service Monitor, by using

commands like <code>NET START Apache2.&httpd.minor;</code> and <code>NET STOP

Apache2.&httpd.minor;</code> or via normal Windows service management. Before

starting Apache as a service by any means, you should test the

service's configuration file by using:</p>

<example>

httpd.exe -n "MyServiceName" -t

</example>

<p>You can control an Apache service by its command line switches,

too. To start an installed Apache service you'll use this:</p>

<example>

httpd.exe -k start -n "MyServiceName"

</example>

<p>To stop an Apache service via the command line switches, use

this:</p>

<example>

httpd.exe -k stop -n "MyServiceName"

</example>

<p>or</p>

<example>

httpd.exe -k shutdown -n "MyServiceName"

</example>

<p>You can also restart a running service and force it to reread

its configuration file by using:</p>

<example>

httpd.exe -k restart -n "MyServiceName"

</example>

<p>By default, all Apache services are registered to run as the

system user (the <code>LocalSystem</code> account). The

<code>LocalSystem</code> account has no privileges to your network

via any Windows-secured mechanism, including the file system, named

pipes, DCOM, or secure RPC. It has, however, wide privileges locally.

</p>

<note type="warning"><strong>Never grant any network privileges to

the <code>LocalSystem</code> account! If you need Apache to be able

to access network resources, create a separate account for Apache as

noted below.</strong></note>

<p>It is recommended that users create a separate account for running

Apache service(s). If you have to access network resources via Apache,

this is required.</p>

<ol>

<li>Create a normal domain user account, and be sure to

memorize its password.</li>

<li>Grant the newly-created user a privilege of <code>Log on

as a service</code> and <code>Act as part of the operating

system</code>. On Windows NT 4.0 these privileges are granted via

User Manager for Domains, but on Windows 2000 and XP you probably

want to use Group Policy for propagating these settings. You can

also manually set these via the Local Security Policy MMC snap-in.

</li>

<li>Confirm that the created account is a member of the Users

group.</li>

<li>Grant the account read and execute (RX) rights to all document

and script folders (<code>htdocs</code> and <code>cgi-bin</code>

for example).</li>

<li>Grant the account change (RWXD) rights to the

Apache <code>logs</code> directory.</li>

<li>Grant the account read and execute (RX) rights to the

<code>httpd.exe</code> binary executable.</li>

</ol>

<note>It is usually a good practice to grant the user the Apache

service runs as read and execute (RX) access to the whole Apache2.&httpd.minor;

directory, except the <code>logs</code> subdirectory, where the

user has to have at least change (RWXD) rights.</note>

<p>If you allow the account to log in as a user and as a service,

then you can log on with that account and test that the account has

the privileges to execute the scripts, read the web pages, and that

you can start Apache in a console window. If this works, and you

have followed the steps above, Apache should execute as a service

with no problems.</p>

<note><strong>Error code 2186</strong> is a good indication that

you need to review the "Log On As" configuration for the service,

since Apache cannot access a required network resource. Also, pay

close attention to the privileges of the user Apache is

configured to run as.</note>

<p>When starting Apache as a service you may encounter an error

message from the Windows Service Control Manager. For example,

if you try to start Apache by using the Services applet in the

Windows Control Panel, you may get the following message:</p>

<example>

Could not start the Apache2.&httpd.minor; service on \\COMPUTER <br />

Error 1067; The process terminated unexpectedly.

</example>

<p>You will get this generic error if there is any problem with

starting the Apache service. In order to see what is really causing

the problem you should follow the instructions for Running Apache

for Windows from the Command Prompt.</p>

<p>If you are having problems with the service, it is suggested

you follow the instructions below to try starting httpd.exe from

a console window, and work out the errors before struggling to

start it as a service again.</p>

</section>

<section id="wincons">

<title>Running Apache as a Console Application</title>

<p>Running Apache as a service is usually the recommended way to

use it, but it is sometimes easier to work from the command line,

especially during initial configuration and testing.</p>

<p>To run Apache from the command line as a console application,

use the following command:</p>

<example>

httpd.exe

</example>

<p>Apache will execute, and will remain running until it is stopped

by pressing Control-C.</p>

<p>You can also run Apache via the shortcut Start Apache in Console

placed to <code>Start Menu --&gt; Programs --&gt; Apache HTTP Server

2.&httpd.minor;.xx --&gt; Control Apache Server</code> during the installation.

This will open a console window and start Apache inside it. If you

don't have Apache installed as a service, the window will remain

visible until you stop Apache by pressing Control-C in the console

window where Apache is running in. The server will exit in a few

seconds. However, if you do have Apache installed as a service, the

shortcut starts the service. If the Apache service is running

already, the shortcut doesn't do anything.</p>

<p>If Apache is running as a service, you can tell it to stop by opening another console

window and entering:</p>

<example>

httpd.exe -k shutdown

</example>

<p>Running as a service should be preferred over running in a

console window because this lets Apache end any current operations

and clean up gracefully.</p>

<p>But if the server is running in a console window, you can

only stop it by pressing Control-C in the same window.</p>

<p>You can also tell Apache to restart. This forces it to reread

the configuration file. Any operations in progress are allowed to

complete without interruption. To restart Apache, either press

Control-Break in the console window you used for starting Apache,

or enter</p>

<example>

httpd.exe -k restart

</example>

<p>if the server is running as a service.</p>

<note>Note for people familiar with the Unix version of Apache:

these commands provide a Windows equivalent to <code>kill -TERM

<em>pid</em></code> and <code>kill -USR1 <em>pid</em></code>. The

command line option used, <code>-k</code>, was chosen as a reminder

of the <code>kill</code> command used on Unix.</note>

<p>If the Apache console window closes immediately or unexpectedly

after startup, open the Command Prompt from the Start Menu --&gt;

Programs. Change to the folder to which you installed Apache, type

the command <code>httpd.exe</code>, and read the error message. Then

change to the logs folder, and review the <code>error.log</code>

file for configuration mistakes. Assuming httpd was installed into

<code>C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.&httpd.minor;\</code>,

you can do the following:</p>

<example>

c: <br />

cd "\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.&httpd.minor;\bin" <br />

httpd.exe

</example>

<p>Then wait for Apache to stop, or press Control-C. Then enter the

following:</p>

<example>

cd ..\logs <br />

more &lt; error.log

</example>

<p>When working with Apache it is important to know how it will

find the configuration file. You can specify a configuration file

on the command line in two ways:</p>

<ul>

<li><p><code>-f</code> specifies an absolute or relative path to

a particular configuration file:</p>

<example>

httpd.exe -f "c:\my server files\anotherconfig.conf"

</example>

<p>or</p>

<example>

httpd.exe -f files\anotherconfig.conf

</example></li>

<li><p><code>-n</code> specifies the installed Apache service

whose configuration file is to be used:</p>

<example>

httpd.exe -n "MyServiceName"

</example>

</li>

</ul>

<p>In both of these cases, the proper

<directive module="core">ServerRoot</directive> should be set in

the configuration file.</p>

<p>If you don't specify a configuration file with <code>-f</code>

or <code>-n</code>, Apache will use the file name compiled into the

server, such as <code>conf\httpd.conf</code>. This built-in path

is relative to the installation directory. You can verify the compiled

file name from a value labelled as <code>SERVER_CONFIG_FILE</code> when

invoking Apache with the <code>-V</code> switch, like this:</p>

<example>

httpd.exe -V

</example>

<p>Apache will then try to determine its <directive module="core"

>ServerRoot</directive> by trying the following, in this order:</p>

<ol>

<li>A <directive module="core">ServerRoot</directive> directive

via the <code>-C</code> command line switch.</li>

<li>The <code>-d</code> switch on the command line.</li>

<li>Current working directory.</li>

<li>A registry entry which was created if you did a binary

installation.</li>

<li>The server root compiled into the server. This is <code>

/apache</code> by default, you can verify it by using <code>

httpd.exe -V</code> and looking for a value labelled as

<code>HTTPD_ROOT</code>.</li>

</ol>

<p>If you did not do a binary install, Apache will in some

scenarios complain about the missing registry key. This warning can

be ignored if the server was otherwise able to find its

configuration file.</p>

<p>The value of this key is the

<directive module="core">ServerRoot</directive> directory which

contains the <code>conf</code> subdirectory. When Apache starts it

reads the <code>httpd.conf</code> file from that directory. If

this file contains a <directive module="core">ServerRoot</directive>

directive which contains a different directory from the one

obtained from the registry key above, Apache will forget the

registry key and use the directory from the configuration file. If

you copy the Apache directory or configuration files to a new

location it is vital that you update the

<directive module="core">ServerRoot</directive> directive in the

<code>httpd.conf</code> file to reflect the new location.</p>

</section>

<section id="test">

<title>Testing the Installation</title>

<p>After starting Apache (either in a console window or as a

service) it will be listening on port 80 (unless you changed the

<directive module="mpm_common">Listen</directive> directive in the

configuration files or installed Apache only for the current user).

To connect to the server and access the default page, launch a

browser and enter this URL:</p>

<example>

http://localhost/

</example>

<p>Apache should respond with a welcome page and you should see

"It Works!". If nothing happens or you get an error, look in the

<code>error.log</code> file in the <code>logs</code> subdirectory.

If your host is not connected to the net, or if you have serious

problems with your DNS (Domain Name Service) configuration, you

may have to use this URL:</p>

<example>

http://127.0.0.1/

</example>

<p>If you happen to be running Apache on an alternate port, you

need to explicitly put that in the URL:</p>

<example>

http://127.0.0.1:8080/

</example>

<p>Once your basic installation is working, you should configure it

properly by editing the files in the <code>conf</code> subdirectory.

Again, if you change the configuration of the Windows NT service

for Apache, first attempt to start it from the command line to

make sure that the service starts with no errors.</p>

<p>Because Apache <strong>cannot</strong> share the same port with

another TCP/IP application, you may need to stop, uninstall or reconfigure

certain other services before running Apache. These conflicting

services include other WWW servers, some firewall implementations,

and even some client applications (such as Skype) which will use port

80 to attempt to bypass firewall issues.</p>

</section>

<section id="windrivemap">

<title>Configuring Access to Network Resources</title>

<p>Access to files over the network can be specified using two

mechanisms provided by Windows:</p>

<dl>

<dt>Mapped drive letters</dt>

<dd>e.g., <code>Alias /images/ Z:/</code></dd>

<dt>UNC paths</dt>

<dd>e.g., <code>Alias /images/ //imagehost/www/images/</code></dd>

</dl>

<p>Mapped drive letters allow the administrator to maintain the

mapping to a specific machine and path outside of the Apache httpd

configuration. However, these mappings are associated only with

interactive sessions and are not directly available to Apache httpd

when it is started as a service. <strong>Use only UNC paths for

network resources in httpd.conf</strong> so that the resources can

be accessed consistently regardless of how Apache httpd is started.

(Arcane and error prone procedures may work around the restriction

on mapped drive letters, but this is not recommended.)</p>

<example><title>Example DocumentRoot with UNC path</title>

<highlight language="config">

DocumentRoot //dochost/www/html/

</highlight>

</example>

<example><title>Example DocumentRoot with IP address in UNC path</title>

<highlight language="config">

DocumentRoot //192.168.1.50/docs/

</highlight>

</example>

<example><title>Example Alias and corresponding Directory with UNC path</title>

<highlight language="config">

Alias /images/ //imagehost/www/images/

&lt;Directory //imagehost/www/images/&gt;

#...

&lt;Directory&gt;

</highlight>

</example>

<p>When running Apache httpd as a service, you must create a

separate account in order to access network resources, as described

above.</p>

</section>

</manualpage>