Fedora Linux

7.5.1. How Do I Do That?

Before configuring Apache, it's a good idea to make a backup copy of the original configuration file:

# cp /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf-original

7.5.1.1. Starting Apache

Apache is not enabled by default. To start it, use the Services tool or enter this command:

# service httpd start

To ensure that Apache starts each time the system is booted, enable the httpd service.

Whenever the Apache configuration is changed, you must instruct Apache to reload its configuration:

# service httpd reload

Alternately, you can use the Restart button in the Services tool.

7.5.1.2. Testing Apache

Using a web browser on the machine running Apache, access the web location http://localhost/ . You will see the test page shown in Figure 7-16 .

Figure 7-16. Apache test page confirming operation of the web server

Once you can view this web page on the server, you can attempt to access the page from a remote system using the IP address of the server (such as http://192.168.100.1/ ), or, if DNS has been set up to allow it, the server's hostname (e.g., http://fedorabook.com/).

If you can access the web page on the server but not from a remote system, then the firewall configuration may require adjustment.

7.5.1.3. Installing your own web content

Once the web server is running, place the content you wish to serve in the directory /var/www/html . The default page for each directory is index.html ; once you have created /var/www/html/index.html , the test page ( Figure 7-16 ) will no longer appear.

Create subdirectories within /var/www/html to create any directory structure you want. These directories will be reflected in the URLs accessible through the web server. For example, you could create the directory /var/www/html/photos/ :

# mkdir /var/www/html/ photos

That directory will be accessible using the URI http://<hostname>/photos/ .

7.5.1.4. Changing the default configuration

The default Apache configuration serves all web content from one directory: /var/www/html . To perform more advanced web serving, the default configuration needs to be modified.

Apache can be configured by using Fedora's graphical configuration tool or by editing configuration files, but you can't alternate between the two approaches. Most experienced Apache administrators prefer to directly edit the configuration file because it provides direct access to all of Apache's features and because it is more convenient when accessing a remote server. However, Fedora's graphical configuration tool is quite powerful and is a good place to start if you're not familiar with Apache setup.

7.5.1.5. Configuring Apache graphically

To configure Apache graphically, select System>Administration>Server Settings>HTTP (or in KDE, Administration>Server Settings>HTTP). The httpd configuration dialog, a simple tabbed window (shown in Figure 7-17), will appear.

Figure 7-17. Graphical configuration tool for Apache httpd

Start with the Main tab and enter the server name and webmaster's email address. The server name must contain only alphanumeric characters; it will be used as a hostname and combined with the current domain name to build a fully qualified domain name (FQDN).  

The webmaster's address is displayed in server error messages and could be harvested by web spiders, so it is a good idea to use a disposable email alias and change it frequently to thwart spammers.

The Available Addresses area is used only if you wish to prevent the web server from using some network interfaces, or if you wish to use a nonstandard TCP/IP port (the default for HTTP is port 80). This is usually left at the default setting.

The Virtual Hosts tab shown in Figure 7-18 is used to configure Apache to respond to requests for multiple web sitesfor example, www.fedorabook.com and www.tylers.info . By default, a single entry is present, labeled Default Virtual Host.

Figure 7-18. Virtual host configuration

To edit an existing entry or add a new entry, use the Edit or Add buttons. In either case, the window shown on the right of Figure 7-18 will appear, with these tabs:

General Options

Enter the name of the virtual host (this information is only for your reference, so you can be as descriptive