Apache Web Server Administration

• A working knowledge of UNIX is required, including file handling commands and the use of a text editor.
• A working knowledge of HTML and SQL would be useful.
• Familiarity with the Mozilla Web browser would be useful.

This course has been created for website administrators, web masters or anyone wishes to set up or maintain a web server.

Apache is the most popular web server used on the internet. It is Open Source software and works well with other Open Source software such as Linux and MySQL. This course shows how to set up a simple Apache Web server under Linux and how to enhance it into a fully functional commercial web server capable of supporting sophisticated websites.

Apache fundamentals

• What is a web server?
• Apache and the Web
• HTTP overview
• Apache Installation Overview
• Lab: Install Apache

Server Configuration

• Website requirements
• Performance issues
• Apache configuration file
• Apache modules
• Shared versus built in modules
• Lab: Set up a simple Website

Logging

• Error Logs
• Enabling transfer logs
• Customised logging
• Log filters
• Log file analysis tools
• Log file management
• Lab: Enable logging

Dynamic Content

• Server status and info
• Common Gateway Interface
• Perl and mod_perl
• PHP
• Java servlets, JSP and Tomcat
• Integrating Apache and Tomcat
• Lab: Enable several forms of dynamic content

Controlling Access

• Controlling access by hostname and IP address
• Using mod_auth password authentication
• Using database authentication
• Lab: Enable authentication and access control

Security

• Web security issues
• The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
• Certificates
• Lab: Install Apache with SSL

Authentication

• HTTP authentication
• Apache authentication directives
• Authentication using PHP
• Lab: provide a password protected web page to access order database

Virtual Hosting

• IP bases virtual hosting
• Name based virtual hosting
• Port based virtual hosting
• Bulk virtual hosting
• Virtual hosting with mod_rewrite
• Lab: Enable virtual hosting

Other modules

• Guided tour of other Apache modules

Managing Web Content

• FTP access
• WebDAV
• Lab: Using WebDAV