Now that you have installed your compiled httpd binary and the directory structure for your Web server you are ready to make a couple of directories, touch some files, and go through the configuration process necessary prior to starting your Web server for the first time.

You still have to create at least two directories

First create a directory for server logs and call it logs

Next create your documents directory and call it htdocs

Make the directories owned by root

Now create your log files inside /usr/local/etc/httpd/logs

touch error_log access_log agent_log referer_log

chown nobody error_log access_log agent_log referer_log

Log files are owned by the user nobody for security purposes since we will make the server run under that user when we edit the configuration files.

NCSA's own documentation for editing configuration files, managing user authentication, and using server side includes on your server.

Now we will edit the configuration files inside the directory /usr/local/etc/httpd/conf

First we will edit the httpd.conf file. This file determines the way the server will be run. Here is an example httpd.conf file.

Edit these directives in the httpd.conf file:

ServerType

This directive sets to either standalone or inetc

Choose standalone, memory consumption is less

Port

The default is 80

Select 80 unless you have reason to do otherwise

If you are not root you will not be able to select a port below 1024

StartServer

Linux code is not currently able to take advantage of this capability

Comment out this line with a # (pound) sign

MaxServer

Linux us not able to take advantage of this feature currently

Comment out this line with a # (pound) sign

User/Group

For security purposes do not select root

Httpd starts server as root then switches to user selected here

User must be in /etc/passwd file

User nobody is appropriate choice

No need to select a group but if you do make ceratin the group is in the /etc/group file

ServerAdmin

Make this the legal email address of the Web server administrator

ErrorLog

Make this the location of the error log file

Note this file is based off the server root directory (/usr/local/etc/httpd)

logs/error_log is typical

make sure to chown file to be owned by user selected to run httpd

TransferLog

This is the location of the transfer log

Note this file is based off the server root directory (/usr/local/etc/httpd)

logs/access_log is typical

make sure to chown file to be owned by user selected to run httpd

AgentLog

This is the location of the agent log

Note this file is based off the server root directory (/usr/local/etc/httpd)

logs/agent_log is typical

make sure to chown file to be owned by user selected to run httpd

RefererLog

This is the location of the referer log

Note this file is based off the server root directory (/usr/local/etc/httpd)

logs/refer_log is typical

make sure to chown file to be owned by user selected to run httpd

RefererIgnore

List any servers you do not want to keep records of in this line

You may list servers one line at a time

PidFile

This file is the one whic carries the numerical PID of the httpd process

File is typically logs/httpd.pid

Normally there is no reason to change it

You do NOT have to create this file, the server will create it upon starting the httpd daemon if the directory exists.

ServerName

You may list aliases the server will recognize when an httpd request is received.

The name selected my be a legal name, one stored in the tables of your DNS.

Next we will edit the access.conf file. This file determines who may access the server and how. Here is an example access.conf file.

There are two ways to create access control of your Web server, one is the access.conf file and the other individual .htaccess files in individual directories. You may also set user and password controls.

Edit these Parameters

<Directory /usr/local/etc/httpd/>

Set this to your server root

Documents Root

<Directory /usr/local/etc/httpd/htdocs> will work here

Options

There are lots, this is default and it works

Options Indexes FollowSymLinks

AllowOverride

Set to AllowOverride All

Determines which options the .htaccess file may control

<Limit GET>

order allow,deny

You can set this order.

deny from fferreri.ist.csuohio.edu is an example of denying someone access to your server or directory

</Directory>

You may list individual directories to control at this point

Next we will edit the srm.conf file. This file configures the server's data structure, aliases, and related items. Here is an example srm.conf file.

Here are the parameters of the srm.conf file which you must accept or change by editing.

DocumentRoot

/usr/local/etc/httpd/htdocs is the default

I recommend using this default under normal circumstances

UserDir

This is the directory which your users will be able to use to publish their own Home Page with a ~user request to the Server.

public_html is the default

Some use www

FancyIndexing

Set to on if you desire fancy indexing in your Web documents

AddIcon

This directive tells the server which icon to show for different files or filename extensions

Default Icon

based on the server root this file is the icon returned by the server on when there is no explicitly set icon

an example is: /icons/unknown.xbm

ReadmeName

Sets the name of the README file used

HeaderName

sets the name of the file used for indexes

IndexIgnore

Allows the Web administrator to set patterns of files which are ignored for indexing purposes

AccessFileName

Use this directive to set the name of the file which controls access per directory.

The default is .htaccess, but you must include it for it to function properly

DefaultType

If the server cannot find a MIME type in your MIME file the server will treat the document as the value included here

text/plain is the default value

AddType

Permits the administrator to tweak mime.types without editing the file itself.

AddEncoding

Allows the administrator to set certain browsers like Netscape and Mosaic to uncompress certain kinds of files on-the-fly

Example: AddEncoding x-gzip gz

Redirect

Is used when you move information off your server and you wish to leave a reference to the new location

Example: Redirect /cali94/index.htmld/ http://www.movedto.edu/cali94/index.htmld.

Aliases

Add up to twenty (20) aliases here

Uses the pattern Alias fakename realname

Example: Alias /icons/ /usr/local/etc/httpd/icons/

Allows you to use directories outside the normal DocumentRoot

ScriptAlias

The ScriptAlias allows the admin to create aliases for the Script directories, just like a normal Alias

Example: /cgi-bin/ /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin/

Server includes can be enabled if you uncomment these lines:

AddType text/x-server-parsed-html .shtml

AddType application/x-httpd-cgi .cgi

Normally one does not have to edit the mime.types file, at least not immediately. Here is an example mime.types file for your perusal.

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