What is Apache?

Apache is open-source web server software that is developed and maintained by the Apache Software Foundation and is available for free.

It’s fast, reliable, and secure and runs on 31% of web servers, while an alternative, NGINX, runs on 34%. Apache can be highly customized to meet the needs of many different environments by using extensions and modules.

The Apache HTTP Server

is a powerful, flexible, HTTP/1.1 compliant web server
implements the latest protocols, including HTTP/1.1 (RFC2616)
is highly configurable and extensible with third-party modules
can be customised by writing ‘modules’ using the Apache module API
provides full source code and comes with an unrestrictive license
runs on Windows 2000, Netware 5.x and above, OS/2, and most versions of Unix, as well as several other operating systems
is actively being developed
encourages user feedback through new ideas, bug reports and patches
implements many frequently requested features, including:
- DBM databases as well, as relational databases and LDAP for authentication
- allows you to easily set up password-protected pages with enormous numbers of authorized users, without bogging down the server.
- Customized responses to errors and problems
- Allows you to set up files, or even CGI scripts, which are returned by the server in response to errors and problems, e.g. setup a script to intercept 500 Server Errors and perform on-the-fly diagnostics for both users and yourself.
- Multiple DirectoryIndex directives – Allows you to say DirectoryIndex index.html index.cgi, which instructs the server to either send back index.html or run index.cgi when a directory URL is requested, whichever it finds in the directory.
- Unlimited flexible URL rewriting and aliasing – Apache has no fixed limit on the numbers of Aliases and Redirects which may be declared in the config files. In addition, a powerful rewriting engine can be used to solve most URL manipulation problems.
- Content negotiation – i.e. the ability to automatically serve clients of varying sophistication and HTML level compliance with documents which offer the best representation of information that the client is capable of accepting.
- Virtual Hosts – Allows the server to distinguish between requests made to different IP addresses or names (mapped to the same machine). Apache also offers dynamically configurable mass-virtual hosting.
- Configurable Reliable Piped Logs – You can configure Apache to generate logs in the format that you want. In addition, on most Unix architectures, Apache can send log files to a pipe, allowing for log rotation, hit filtering, real-time splitting of multiple vhosts into separate logs, and asynchronous DNS resolving on the fly.

Click here for instructions to install Apache Web Server on Ubuntu 20.04

How and why was Apache HTTP Server created?

The About Apache document explains how the Apache project evolved from its beginnings as an outgrowth of the NCSA httpd project to its current status as one of the fastest, most efficient, and most functional web servers in existence.

Why the name “Apache”?

The name ‘Apache’ was chosen from respect for the Native American Indian tribe of Apache (Indé), well-known for their superior skills in warfare strategy and their inexhaustible endurance. For more information on the Apache Nation, we suggest searching Google, or AllTheWeb.

Secondarily, and more popularly (though incorrectly) accepted, it’s a considered cute name which stuck. Apache is “A PAtCHy server”. It was based on some existing code and a series of “patch files”.

These days Apache as such means much more. It’s first and foremost the Apache Software Foundation, under which there are dozens of projects.

How does Apache httpd performance compare to other servers?

Benchmarks tend to be a measure of configuration competance, rather than of server quality. That is, if you’re an expert in IIS, you can probably get it to run faster than you can get Apache to run. You can therefore find comparisions of various HTTP servers that prove that each is faster than all the others. We tend to take server performance benchmarks with a grain of salt.

How thoroughly tested is Apache httpd?

Apache is run on over 120 million Internet servers (as of April 2010) (Source, Netcraft). It has been tested thoroughly by both developers and users. The Apache HTTP Server Project Management Committee maintains rigorous standards before releasing new versions of their server, and our server runs without a hitch on over one half of all WWW servers available on the Internet. When bugs do show up, we release patches and new versions as soon as they are available.