Understanding Basic httpd.conf Configuration Settings on Your Apache Server

As the main configuration file on an Apache HTTP server, the file controls major settings and can allow for customization on your machine. Found in the /etc/httpd folder, the file should be secured against external writing since it controls a wide range of important functions.

For both beginning and advanced Apache web administrators, understanding the configuration file can help ensure you maximize the performance for your Apache configuration. Learning the various parameters you can set at the server level can expedite web development and customization projects with include functions.

Within the httpd.conf file you can update a wide variety of server side settings, and can customize a user’s experience to maximize their use of the site. You can set a wide range of configurations on your server, and this guide gives an overview of the most important ways to customize your Apache setup:

Main Settings

Within the primary settings you can set the ServerRoot home directory, and you can also add httpd icons (file types) which can be processed by your Apache server. The primary settings also allow you to update the HostName in the format of sub.server.host.name as well as the default port for connecting to the server via shell or FTP.  Further, you can set default user and groups within the settings, and white (or blacklist) certain functions from being run on your server, such as DELETE functions.

URL Settings

The URL rule settings allow you to determine how URLs are mapped to files within your server. You can utilize various settings such as Map to let your server know where to find certain files as well as denying access to certain files via the Pass, Fail and Redirect functions. Another important setting is to create a rule that executes a particular script when a user is within a certain directory:

Exec  /specified/directory/*  /usr/etc/www/htbin/script/*

Filename Settings

The httpd settings use suffix settings to determine the type, encoding and language of a specific file. W3C settings allow users to parse major file types, although server side settings ensure you can properly define additional file types according to:

AddType .extension type encoding [quality]

Directory Settings

Out of the box, Apache doesn’t feature many directory settings for front end http HTML. You can figure your apache server to show a welcome page, disable directory listings and determine the nature of what types of directory data you show to public users including files, sizes, descriptions and icons.

Log Settings

Updating the httpd settings can determine the log settings including the log file name, error log file settings, the format of the log files as well as how to denote proxy and cache access. This is important for server administrators to properly determine real access levels and file information at the server level.

Cache Settings

You can setup Apache to load web pages faster with Caching by determining the cache directory, size and settings. Proper caching can improve performance on large scale servers, which is useful for social networks and media file sites.