Apache HTTP Server

Apache HTTP Server is an open-source, cross-platform web server that serves HTTP and HTTPS requests on Linux, macOS, Windows, and most Unix-like operating systems.

What Apache HTTP Server Does and When to Use It

Apache HTTP Server (commonly called "Apache" or "httpd") delivers web content through a modular, process-based architecture. The Apache Software Foundation maintains the project, which has been in active development since 1995. Apache handles static files, reverse proxying, URL rewriting, access control, and TLS termination through loadable modules.

Apache HTTP Server runs on most operating systems and supports per-directory configuration through .htaccess files. This feature makes Apache a common choice on shared hosting platforms where users lack access to the main server configuration. Apache also supports virtual hosting, which allows a single server to host multiple websites on one IP address.

Apache HTTP Server is not a standalone application server. For dynamic content, Apache delegates requests to language runtimes such as PHP (via mod_php or PHP-FPM), Python (via mod_wsgi), or Perl (via mod_perl). For environments that require event-driven concurrency or high-volume WebSocket connections, Nginx or Caddy may be more suitable alternatives.

Topics Covered

.htaccess

The .htaccess file provides directory-level configuration for Apache HTTP Server. It controls URL rewriting, access control, authentication, caching, and custom error pages without modifying the main httpd.conf file.

Related Tools and Guides

Nginxserves as an alternative web server and reverse proxy. Nginx uses an event-driven architecture instead of Apache's process-based model, which gives Nginx an advantage for high-concurrency workloads.