Apache2

Web Server

A web server is a computer that runs websites. It’s a computer program that distributes web pages as they are requested. A webserver’s primary function is to store, process, and deliver web pages to users. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is used for this communication.

Apache web Server

The Apache HTTP Server, colloquially called Apache, is a free and open-source cross-platform web server software, released under the terms of Apache License 2.0. Apache is developed and maintained by an open community of developers under the auspices of the Apache Software Foundation

Features of Apache Web Server

Handling of static files
Load balancing
Supports HTTP/2
Compatible with IPv6
Load balancing
Gzip compression and decompression
URL rewriting
.htaccess

Installation on ubuntu 18.04

sudo apt install apache2

Managing the Apache2 process

Check Apache2 status

sudo systemctl status apache2

To start Apache2 service

sudo systemctl start apache2

To stop Apache2 service

sudo systemctl stop apache2

To stop the service and then restart it

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Enable UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall)

An uncomplicated Firewall is a program for managing a Netfilter firewall designed to be easy to use.UFW is available by default in all Ubuntu installations after 18.04 LTS.

To enable ufw service

sudo ufw enable

To view which applications have installed a profile.

sudo ufw app list

To allow apache2 Full service.

sudo ufw allow ‘Apache Full’

To check ufw status.

sudo ufw status

Configure multiple domains on a single IP address

Apache Virtual Host allows you to maximize the use of the server’s resources.Multiple domains can be hosted using a single server and IP address.

Set up a Name-base virtual Host

Name-based virtual hosting allows the client to report the hostname to the server, as an element of the HTTP header. This feature means that one machine can host multiple websites sharing the same IP address.

Create a Directory Structure

Each virtual host needs to have a directory for storing virtual host data. Create directories and a directory structure at the following location /var/www. In our example, we’ve created safwan.com and safwan1.com directories, one for each domain name.

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/safwan.com/html/

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/safwan1.com/html/

Create a sample index.html page for each domain, using nano or your favorite text editor. Start with the first domain:

sudo nano /var/www/safwan.com/html/index.html

Add the following sample HTML:

 <html>
 <head>
      <title>Welcome to safwan</title>
 </head>
 <body>
      <h1>Well done! safwan.com is working properly</h1>
 </body>
 <html>

Save and exit the file.

Create a sample page for the second domain.

nano /var/www/safwan1.com/html/index.html

 <html>
 <head>
       <title>Welcome to safwan1!</title>
 </head>
 <body>
       <h1>Well done! Safwan1.com is working properly</h1>
 </body>
 </html>

Save and exit the second HTML file.

To prevent any permission issues modify the ownership of your document’s root directory to www-data. The chown command is useful in this instance:

sudo chown –R www-data:www-data /var/www/safwan.com

sudo chown –R www-data:www-data /var/www/safwan1.com

Note : On Ubuntu the default user for apache2 is www-data.

Virtual Host Configuration File

Apache Virtual Host configuration files are stored in the /etc/apache2/sites-available directory.

To create a basic configuration file for your first domain,

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/safwan.com.conf

Add the following configuration block to create a basic configuration file. This example uses the first test domain, safwan.com. Make sure to enter the correct domain for your website:

<VirtualHost *:80>

ServerAdmin webmaster@safwan.com
ServerName safwan.com
ServerAlias www.safwan.com
DocumentRoot /var/www/safwan.com/html

ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/safwan.com-error.log
CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/safwan.com-access.log combined

</VirtualHost>

ServerName – represents the domain

ServerAlias – represents all other domains such as subdomains

DocumentRoot – the directory used by Apache to serve domain files

ErrorLog, CustomLog – designates the log files location

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/safwan1.com.conf

Add the configuration block as in the example above, making sure to change the values for safwan1.com.

<VirtualHost *:80>

ServerAdmin webmaster@safwan1.com
ServerName safwan1.com
ServerAlias www.safwan1.com
DocumentRoot /var/www/safwan1.com/html

ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/safwan1.com-error.log
CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/safwan1.com-access.log combined

</VirtualHost>

Enable Virtual Host Configuration Files

To enable the virtual host file, create a symbolic link from the virtual host file to the sites-enabled directory. Apache2 reads this file when staring.

Enable the virtual host file with the command:

Enable the safwan.com