This book aims to teach you everything you need to know to build, install, and configure every aspect of Apache, the world's most popular Web server.

Two versions of Apache are available as of this book's publication. Apache 1.3 is still widely used and is continuously updated. Apache 2 offers new and powerful features, such as multi-processsing modules and filters, as well as a revised and expanded build system for compiling Apache from source. This book comprehensively covers both server versions, presenting up-to-date information and examples, and highlighting variations bettween the two releases in context.

In addition, this book is organized to provide solutions to common problems. It answers the questions that administrators like you typically ask, without requiring that you know the name of a specific Apache module or directive beforehand. This book also demonstrates multiple solutions to a problem, and contrasts the benefits and drawbacks of each approach. After reading Pro Apache, you'll know not only how to get the results you want, but also why a solution works the way it does.

Finally, this book examines how to accomplish more advanced configurations, where individual features must cooperate with each other intelligently.

Now in its third edition, the expertise found in Pro Apache makes it the definitive guide to harnessing the power of Apache safely and securely.

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But the key thing about this new book is its descriptions of Apache 2. Apache 1.3 had inferior performance on Microsoft computers, when it was ported. Some people got fed up with this state of affairs and recast crucial portions, to produce Apache 2, which now directly uses native MS threads. It has much better performance than 1.3, on MS computers.

The book goes into this in fuller detail. Plus it has the usual voluminous descriptions of what you can tweak for most web server needs. Luckily, if you want to deploy or use a vanilla configuration, the early chapters should suffice. Then consult the later text for more specialised needs.

If you are already running Apache 1.3 on a unix/linux computer, it seems from this book that there is little incentive to migrate to 2. Relatively little to gain.

9 of 10 found the following review helpful:

Professional's Apache ReferenceDec 15, 2006
By Phil Lembo
This is by far the best standalone book on Apache I've seen. It really is a very good reference for professional web server admins, as well as developers and others, who need help in managing Apache web servers. It's well-written too, something that is becoming increasingly rare in the technical book area.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Best Apache HTTP Server book I've ownedJul 25, 2008
By swapache yapache wapache
I own and have read numerous Apache books over the last seven years. I believe this publication to be the best reference book for the workplace.

O'Reilly books are definitely well written; however, I find myself ALWAYS going to this book first, even though it was published in 2004. The Apache Directives, topics, and examples covered are timeless. It puts side-by-side code base 1.3 and 2.0, with strength of focus on the 2.0 code base. If you use the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) online documentation along with this book, then you will be able to perform in the workplace. Nearly everything covered in this book is relevant today and even translates to the 2.2 code base.

I can't wait for the next revision to cover the 2.2 code base in depth. Unfortunately, publications can't keep up with ASF releases and the new and re-factored modules. It takes about two years for a solid book to be put into circulation after ASF makes a major release available.

Well done Peter!

23 of 34 found the following review helpful:

Not a XXI century bookMay 17, 2007
By Vladimir Dobriakov
This book contains some meaningful information but is largely obsolete.

Some fairly informative chapters contain introduction to common configuration, authentication, configuring SSL, using WebDAV and subversion.

But lot of space in the book is wasted on topics that were cool in the last century like compiling apache and compiling single modules, but not relevant anymore. Today you are likely not going to recompile you server every week, but you SHOULD install security patches every week, if you take your job seriously. IMHO there is only one possibility - to rely on the services of your linux distribution.

By the way, Debian and derived distributions also do a great job combating the mess in the httpd.conf by meaningfully dividing it in multiple configuration files, so you have a good place to put your specific settings making an automated upgrade to the newer apache version easy. So do not listen to the author, never edit your httpd.conf. ;-)

The author describes in detail topics, that are not relevant anymore in the web application development (assumed that you are creating an application, that goes besides "hello world"). Delivering dynamic content (chapter 6) used to be server-side includes and cgi but it is NOT anymore because of poor programming model and poor performance.

Typical scenario nowadays is to use apache as a front end web server, letting apache serve the static content like pictures and providing a wrapper or proxy to a high performance application server (for example mongrel if you using rails) or using mod_python for python or using zope etc. In this context I would wish elaborative description on mod_rewrite, that is pretty complicated.

My conclusion: if you are beginner, search for a better introductory book. If you are advanced developer/admin/hacker, then use primary resources like [....]

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