Compiling and Installing Apache

+ + Compiling and Installing + +

+ +

This document covers compilation and installation of Apache + on Unix and Unix-like systems only. For compiling and + installation on Windows, see Using Apache with Microsoft + Windows. For other platforms, see the platform documentation.

+ +

Apache 2.0's configuration and installation environment has + changed completely from Apache 1.3. Apache 1.3 used a custom + set of scripts to achieve easy installation. Apache 2.0 now + uses libtool and autoconf to create an environment that looks + like many other Open Source projects.

+ +

Overview for the + impatient + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Download	`$ lynx + http://www.apache.org/dist/httpd/httpd-2_0_NN.tar.gz` +
Extract	`$ gzip -d httpd-2_0_NN.tar.gz + $ tar xvf httpd-2_0_NN.tar`
Configure	`$ ./configure --prefix=PREFIX` +
Compile	`$ make`
Install	`$ make install`
Customize	`$ vi PREFIX/conf/httpd.conf`
Test	`$ PREFIX/bin/apachectl start` +

+ +

NN must be replaced with the current minor version + number, and PREFIX must be replaced with the + filesystem path under which the server should be installed. If + PREFIX is not specified, it defaults to + /usr/local/apache2.

+ +

Each section of the compilation and installation process is + described in more detail below, beginning with the requirements + for compiling and installing Apache HTTPD.

+ +

Requirements + +

The following requirements exist for building Apache:

+ +

Disk Space
+
+ Make sure you have at least 50 MB of temporary free disk + space available. After installation Apache occupies + approximately 10 MB of disk space. The actual disk space + requirements will vary considerably based on your chosen + configuration options and any third-party modules.
+
+
ANSI-C Compiler and Build System
+
+ Make sure you have an ANSI-C compiler installed. The GNU C + compiler (GCC) from the Free Software Foundation (FSF) + is recommended (version 2.7.2 is fine). If you don't have GCC + then at least make sure your vendor's compiler is ANSI + compliant. In addition, your PATH must contain + basic build tools such as make.
+
+
Accurate time keeping
+
+ Elements of the HTTP protocol are expressed as the time of + day. So, it's time to investigate setting some time + synchronization facility on your system. Usually the ntpdate + or xntpd programs are used for this purpose which are based + on the Network Time Protocol (NTP). See the Usenet newsgroup + comp.protocols.time.ntp + and the NTP + homepage for more details about NTP software and public + time servers.
+
+
Perl 5 + [OPTIONAL]
+
+ For some of the support scripts like apxs or dbmmanage (which are + written in Perl) the Perl 5 interpreter is required (versions + 5.003 and 5.004 are fine). If no such interpreter is found by + the `configure' script there is no harm. Of course, you still + can build and install Apache 2.0. Only those support scripts + cannot be used. If you have multiple Perl interpreters + installed (perhaps a Perl 4 from the vendor and a Perl 5 from + your own), then it is recommended to use the --with-perl + option (see below) to make sure the correct one is selected + by ./configure.
+
+

+ +

Download + +

Apache can be downloaded from the Apache Software + Foundation download site or from a nearby + mirror.

+ +

Version numbers that end in alpha indicate + early pre-test versions which may or may not work. Version + numbers ending in beta indicate more reliable + releases that still require further testing or bug fixing. If + you wish to download the best available production release of + the Apache HTTP Server, you should choose the latest version + with neither alpha nor beta in its + filename.

+ +

After downloading, especially if a mirror site is used, it + is important to verify that you have a complete and unmodified + version of the Apache HTTP Server. This can be accomplished by + testing the downloaded tarball against the PGP signature. This, + in turn, is a two step procedure. First, you must obtain the + KEYS file from the Apache distribution + site. (To assure that the KEYS file itself has + not been modified, it may be a good idea to use a file from a + previous distribution of Apache or import the keys from a + public key server.) The keys are imported into your personal + key ring using one of the following commands (depending on your + pgp version):

+ +$ pgp < KEYS + +

+ +$ gpg --import KEYS + +

The next step is to test the tarball against the PGP + signature, which should always be obtained from the main Apache + website. The signature file has a filename identical to the + source tarball with the addition of .asc. Then you + can check the distribution with one of the following commands + (again, depending on your pgp version):

+ +$ pgp httpd-2_0_NN.tar.gz.asc + +

+ +$ gpg --verify httpd-2_0_NN.tar.gz.asc + +

You should receive a message like

+ +Good signature from user "Martin Kraemer + <martin@apache.org>". + +

Depending on the trust relationships contained in your key + ring, you may also receive a message saying that the + relationship between the key and the signer of the key cannot + be verified. This is not a problem if you trust the + authenticity of the KEYS file.

+ +

Extract + +

Extracting the source from the Apache HTTPD tarball is a + simple matter of uncompressing, and then untarring:

+ + + $ gzip -d httpd-2_0_NN.tar.gz
+ $ tar xvf httpd-2_0_NN.tar + + +

This will create a new directory under the current directory + containing the source code for the distribution. You should + cd into that directory before proceeding with + compiling the server.

+ +

Configuring the source tree + +

The next step is to configure the Apache source tree for + your particular platform and personal requirements. This is + done using the script configure included in the + root directory of the distribution. (Developers downloading the + CVS version of the Apache source tree will need to have + autoconf and libtool installed and + will need to run buildconf before proceeding with + the next steps. This is not necessary for official + releases.)

+ +

To configure the source tree using all the default options, + simply type ./configure. To change the default + options, configure accepts a variety of variables + and command line options. Environment variables are generally + placed before the ./configure command, while other + options are placed after. The most important option here is the + location prefix where Apache is to be installed later, because + Apache has to be configured for this location to work + correctly. But there are a lot of other options available for + your pleasure.

+ +

For a short impression of what possibilities you have, here + is a typical example which compiles Apache for the installation + tree /sw/pkg/apache with a particular compiler and flags plus + the two additional modules mod_rewrite and mod_speling for + later loading through the DSO mechanism:

+ + + $ CC="pgcc" CFLAGS="-O2" \
+ ./configure --prefix=/sw/pkg/apache \
+ --enable-rewrite=shared \
+ --enable-speling=shared + + +

When configure is run it will take several minutes to test + for the availability of features on your system and build + Makefiles which will later be used to compile the server.

+ +

The easiest way to find all of the configuration flags for + Apache is to run ./configure --help. What follows is a brief + description of most of the arguments and environment + variables.

+ +

Environment Variables + +

The autoconf build process uses several environment + variables to configure the build environment. In general, these + variables change the method used to build Apache, but not the + eventual features of the server. These variables can be placed + in the environment before invoking configure, but + it is usually easier to specify them on the + configure command line as demonstrated in the + example above.

+ +

CC=...: The name of the C compiler command.
CPPFLAGS=...: Miscellaneous C preprocessor and compiler options.
CFLAGS=...: Debugging and optimization options for the C + compiler.
LDFLAGS=...: Miscellaneous options to be passed to the linker.
LIBS=...: Library location information ("-L" and "-l" options) to + pass to the linker.
INCLUDES=...: Header file search directories ("-Idir").
TARGET=... [Default: apache]: Name of the executable which will be built.
NOTEST_CPPFLAGS=...
NOTEST_CFLAGS=...
NOTEST_LDFLAGS=...
NOTEST_LIBS=...: These variables share the same function as their + non-NOTEST namesakes. However, the variables are applied to + the build process only after autoconf has performed its + feature testing. This allows the inclusion of flags which + will cause problems during feature testing, but must be used + for the final compilation.
SHLIB_PATH=...: Options which specify shared library paths for the + compiler and linker.

+ +

autoconf Output Options + +

--help: Prints the usage message including all available options, + but does not actually configure anything.
--quiet: Prevents the printing of the usual "checking..." + messages.
--verbose: Prints much more information during the configuration + process, including the names of all the files examined.

+ +

Pathnames + +

There are currently two ways to configure the pathnames + under which Apache will install its files. First, you can + specify a directory and have Apache install itself under that + directory in its default locations.

+ +

--prefix=PREFIX [Default: + /usr/local/apache2]: Specifies the directory under which the Apache files will + be installed.

+ +

It is possible to specify that architecture-dependent files + should be placed under a different directory.

+ +

--exec-prefix=EPREFIX [Default: + PREFIX]: Specifies the directory under which + architecture-dependent files will be placed.

+ +

The second, and more flexible way to configure the install + path locations for Apache is using the + config.layout file. Using this method, it is + possible to separately specify the location for each type of + file within the Apache installation. The + config.layout file contains several example + configurations, and you can also create your own custom + configuration following the examples. The different layouts in + this file are grouped into <Layout + FOO>...</Layout> sections and referred to by + name as in FOO.

+ +

--enable-layout=LAYOUT: Use the named layout in the config.layout + file to specify the installation paths.

+ +

Presently it is not possible to mix the + --enable-layout and --prefix options. + Nor is it possible to individually specify detailed pathnames + on the configure command line. If you want just a + basic install, you can simply use the --prefix + option on its own. If you want to customize your install, you + should edit the config.layout file and use the + --enable-layout option.

+ +

Modules + +

Apache is a modular server. Only the most basic + functionality is included in the core server. Extended features + are available in various modules. During the configuration + process, you must select which modules to compile for use with + your server. You can view a list of modules included in + the documentation. Those modules with a status of "Base" are + included by default and must be specifically disabled if you do + not want them. Modules with any other status must be + specifically enabled if you wish to use them.

+ +

There are two ways for a module to be compiled and used with + Apache. Modules may be statically compiled, which + means that they are permanently included in the Apache binary. + Alternatively, if your operating system supports Dynamic Shared + Objects (DSOs) and autoconf can detect that support, then + modules may be dynamically compiled. DSO modules are + stored separately from the Apache binary, and may be included + or excluded from the server using the run-time configuration + directives provided by mod_so. + The mod_so is automatically included in the server if any + dynamic modules are included in the compilation. If you would + like to make your server capable of loading DSOs without + actually compiling any dynamic modules, you can explicitly + --enable-so.

+ +

--enable-MODULE[=shared]: Compile and include the module MODULE. The + identifier MODULE is the Module + Identifier from the module documentation without the + "_module" string. To compile the module as a DSO, add the + option =shared.
--disable-MODULE: Remove the module MODULE which would otherwise + be compiled and included.
--enable-modules=MODULE-LIST: Compile and include the modules listed in the + space-separated MODULE-LIST.
+ --enable-mods-shared=MODULE-LIST: Compile and include the modules in the space-separated + MODULE-LIST as dynamically loadable (DSO) + modules.

+ +

The MODULE-LIST in the + --enable-modules and + --enable-mods-shared options is usually a + space-separated list of module identifiers. For example, to + enable mod_dav and mod_info, you can either use

+ +./configure --enable-dav --enable-info + +

or, equivalently,

+ +./configure --enable-modules="dav info" + +

In addition, the special keywords all or + most can be used to add all or most of the modules + in one step. You can then remove any modules that you do not + want with the --disable-MODULE option. + For example, to include all modules as DSOs with the exception + of mod_info, you can use

+ + + ./configure --enable-mods-shared=all + --disable-info + + +

In addition to the standard set of modules, Apache 2.0 also + includes a choice of Multi-Processing + Modules (MPMs). One, and only one MPM must be included in + the compilation process. The default MPMs for each platform are + listed on the MPM documentation page, + but can be overridden on the configure command + line.

+ +

--with-mpm=NAME: Choose the mpm NAME.

+ +

Suexec + +

Apache includes a support program called suexec which can be used to isolate user + CGI programs. However, if suexec is improperly configured, it + can cause serious security problems. Therefore, you should + carefully read and consider the suexec + documentation before implementing this feature.

+ +

Build + +

Now you can build the various parts which form the Apache + package by simply running the command:

+ +$ make + +

Please be patient here, since a base configuration takes + approximately 3 minutes to compile under a Pentium III/Linux + 2.2 system, but this will vary widely depending on your + hardware and the number of modules which you have enabled.

+ +

Install + +

Now its time to install the package under the configured + installation PREFIX (see --prefix option + above) by running:

+ +$ make install + +

If you are upgrading, the installation will not overwrite + your configuration files or documents.

+ +

Customize + +

Next, you can customize your Apache HTTP server by editing + the configuration files under + PREFIX/conf/.

+ +$ vi PREFIX/conf/httpd.conf + +

Have a look at the Apache manual under docs/manual/ or http://httpd.apache.org/docs-2.0/ + for a complete reference of available configuration directives.

+ +

Test + +

Now you can start your Apache + HTTP server by immediately running:

+ +$ PREFIX/bin/apachectl start + +

and then you should be able to request your first document + via URL http://localhost/. The web page you see is located + under the DocumentRoot + which will usually be PREFIX/htdocs/. + Then stop the server again by + running:

+ +$ PREFIX/bin/apachectl stop +

+ +

Compiling and Installing

Apache HTTP Server Version 2.0

Compiling and Installing

Overview for the - impatient

Overview for the + impatient

Requirements

Requirements

Download

Download

Extract

Extract

Configuring the source - tree

Configuring the source tree

Environment - Variables

Environment Variables

autoconf Output - Options

autoconf Output Options

Pathnames

Pathnames

Modules

Modules

Suexec

Suexec

Build

Build

Install

Install

Customize

Customize

Test

Test

Apache HTTP Server Version 2.0