Apache Web Server V1.3.12 Release Notes


Introduction

These release notes support Apache Web Server V1.3.12 on systems running DYNIX/ptx® V4.4.4 or later maintenance releases, or DYNIX/ptx V4.5.x. This product includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation for use in the Apache HTTP server project. Read this document before you install or run this release of Apache Web Server.


Changes in This Release

The changes in Apache Web Server V1.3.12 since V1.3.4 are as follows:


Features in Apache Web Server

The features in Apache Web Server are as follows:


System Requirements


Software Requirements

Apache Web Server V1.3.12 runs on DYNIX/ptx V4.4.4 and later maintenance releases, or DYNIX/ptx V4.5.x on NUMA-Q and Symmetry® systems. Additionally, Apache Web Server requires the following software. Note that this list includes the minimum versions required by DYNIX/ptx V4.4.4; later versions will work as long as they are compatible with the version of DYNIX/ptx on your system.


Disk Space Requirements

Installing Apache Web Server requires approximately 10MB.


Download Apache Web Server From the Web and Install It With ptx/INSTALL

Apache Web Server is available only from the SequentDirect web site. It is not available on CD-ROM. Apache Web Server is installed with the standard ptx/INSTALL installation process. The SequentDirect web site is located at the following URL:

http://www.sequent.com/direct/software.asp

Complete the following steps to download Apache Web Server from the web and install it on a DYNIX/ptx host:

  1. On the Download Your Software Now web page, click the Download Now button.

  2. When the Unknown File Type dialog box is displayed, click on the Save File button, then designate the location where you want the file saved.

  3. If needed, move the downloaded file, apache1312.tar, to a directory on the DYNIX/ptx host where you want to install Apache Web Server. For example, you could move it to /tmp. The exact method you use depends on the network configuration of your site. Most likely, you can use the ftp command or Microsoft® Windows® Explorer to move the file to the DYNIX/ptx host.

  4. Login as root on the DYNIX/ptx host:

    # su root

  5. Extract Apache Web Server from the downloaded file:

    # tar -xvf apache1312.tar

    This command will create an apache1312 subdirectory that contains the ptx/INSTALL image used to install Apache Web Server.

  6. Use ptx/INSTALL and the ROOT installation procedures to install Apache Web Server. The following steps provide a quick reference for doing this task:

    1. From ptx/ADMIN, select System Administration -> Software Management -> Install Software Package.

    2. For the installation source type, enter directory.

    3. For the location of the installation source, enter the path to the apache1312 directory, for example, /tmp/apache1312.

    4. Complete the remainder of the installation process as prompted by ptx/ADMIN.

      By default, Apache Web Server is installed in the root filesystem under /usr/local/apache. Alternatively, you can install Apache Web Server in a different filesystem. If you do so, /usr/local/apache is created as a symbolic link to the actual installation directory.

    For more information about the DYNIX/ptx installation process, refer to the appropriate version of the DYNIX/ptx and Layered Products Software Installation Release Notes.

  7. Once the installation is complete, you can either remove or archive the apache1312.tar file and the apache1312 directory.


Understand the Apache Web Server Directory Structure

The subdirectories in the Apache Web Server directory are as follows:

bin/
Contains the executables for commands, scripts, and the httpd daemon.
cgi-bin/
Default location for Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts and programs.
conf/
Contains administrative configuration files.
htdocs/
Contains HTML documentation for Apache Web Server.
icons/
Contains public domain icons that can be freely included in any application.
include/
Contains header files used by the Apache Web Server binaries.
libexec/
Contains shared object files and modules.
logs/
Contains log files.
man/
Contains man pages for Apache Web Server.
proxy/
Contains proxy configuration files, logs, and cache files when the mod_proxy module is configured. This module is supplied, but by default it is not configured. Refer to the online HTML documentation for information on how to configure this module by pointing your web browser at the following URL, where hostname is the name of the Apache Web Server host:

http://hostname/manual/mod/mod_proxy.html

src/
Contains the source code that was used to build Apache Web Server for DYNIX/ptx and additional unsupported administration scripts and modules.

Start and Stop Apache Web Server

By default, Apache Web Server does not automatically start or stop when the system comes up or goes down. However, Apache Web Server does contain a script called /usr/local/apache/bin/apachectl that you can use to automatically start and stop Apache Web Server.

To do so, copy this script to /etc/init.d/apachectl, then link the script to the transition files /etc/rc2.d/S96apache and /etc/rc0.d/K09apache. Once the script is linked to the transition files, Apache Web Server will automatically start when the system is booted and stop when the system is gracefully stopped.

You can also manually start and stop Apache Web Server with this script. For example, to start Apache Web Server, enter the following command:

# sh /etc/init.d/apachectl start

Similarly, to stop Apache Web Server, enter the following command:

# sh /etc/init.d/apachectl stop

Get Started with Apache Web Server

Apache Web Server is installed as a minimally configured web server using the standard web server port of 80 for the HTTP protocol. If this port is already in use, you must change it to a different value before you can start Apache Web Server. Note that you must start a server with a port number of 1024 or lower as superuser.

By default, the URL to the server contains the hostname and port number. For example, if the host is called host1 and uses port 80, your server's URL will be http://host1:80/. By default, basic logging is enabled. When the httpd daemon is started, six httpd processes are started.

Apache Web Server contains directives, which are configuration parameters used to control the core Apache features. For example, the port directive is used to change the web server port number after installation. To customize your installation of Apache Web Server, you should review the Apache directives and set them according to your needs. For more information on Apache directives, point your web browser at the following URL, where hostname is the name of the Apache Web Server host:

http://hostname/manual/mod/directives.html

After reviewing the remainder of these release notes, you can obtain further information about Apache Web Server by referring to the HTML documentation provided by the Apache Software Foundation. For more information about this documentation, refer to "Product Documentation" later in these release notes.


Tune the TCP Endpoints Kernel Parameter

Your host may not have enough TCP endpoints if the following events repeatedly occur:

To see if insufficient TCP endpoints are a problem on your host, use the netstat -a command to show network status. Examine the TCP state column for browser sessions that are in the TIMEWAIT state. If a significant percentage of the total TCP endpoints are in the TIMEWAIT state, consider increasing the value of the N_TCP_PCB_FREE kernel parameter, which defines the number of TCP endpoints on the system.

For more information about the N_TCP_PCB_FREE kernel parameter, refer to the ptx/TCP/IP Administration Guide. For information about kernel configuration, refer to the DYNIX/ptx System Configuration and Performance Guide.


Build Apache Web Server

Binary releases of Apache source files are made with the binbuild.sh script, which is part of every standard Apache distribution. This script is located in the /usr/local/bin/apache/src/src/helpers directory. Binaries are configured with the configure script. The following Apache Autoconf-style Interface (APACI) options were used to build Apache Web Server for DYNIX/ptx:

--enable-shared=max
--enable-module=most
--server-gid=nobody
--with-perl=/usr/local/bin/perl
--without-confadjust
--enable-rule=SHARED_CHAIN
--verbose

If your host does not have a copy of the perl (Practical Extraction and Report Language) program or if perl is not located in /usr/local/bin, then some administrative shell scripts will not function until perl is installed or it can be found under /usr/local/bin. Some examples of administrative shell scripts that will not function in this scenario are dbmmanage, apxs, and printenv.


Man Pages

Apache Web Server contains several man pages. By default, these man pages are not installed in /usr/catman. To view these man pages, take one of the following actions at the operating system prompt:

Apache Web Server includes the following man pages:

ab(8)
Performs benchmarking of your Apache HTTP server.
apachectl(8)
Administers the Apache HTTP server by starting, stopping, and restarting the httpd daemon, displaying server status, or running a configuration file syntax test.
dbmmanage(1)
Creates and updates the DBM format files used to store usernames and passwords for basic authentication of HTTP users.
htdigest(1)
Creates and updates the flat-files used to store usernames, realms, and passwords for digest authentication of HTTP users.
htpasswd(1)
Creates and updates the flat-files used to store usernames and passwords for basic authentication of HTTP users.
apxs(8)
Builds and installs extension modules for the Apache HTTP server.
httpd(8)
The Apache HTTP server program.
logresolve(8)
Resolves hostnames for IP-adresses in Apache access logfiles.
rotatelogs(8)
Rotates Apache logs without having to kill the server.

Product Documentation

These release notes are the only documentation written for the Apache Web Server on DYNIX/ptx. However, the Apache Web Server installation directory contains the HTML documentation provided by the Apache Software Foundation as part of the Apache HTTP server 1.3.12 release. You should always refer first to these DYNIX/ptx release notes and then secondarily to the Apache HTML documentation. To display the top-level index page for this documentation, point your web browser at the following URL, where hostname is the name of the Apache Web Server host:

http://hostname/manual/index.html

The HTML documentation includes release notes, a reference manual, and other notes. For background information about Apache, general troubleshooting information, and other general technical information, refer to Apache Server Frequently Asked Questions by pointing your web browser at the following URL, where hostname is the name of the Apache Web Server host:

http://hostname/manual/misc/FAQ.html

The latest documentation provided by the Apache Software Foundation can be found at the following URL. Note that this documentation may include references to releases beyond Apache HTTP server 1.3.12, which are not applicable to the DYNIX/ptx version of Apache Web Server V1.3.12.

http://www.apache.org/docs/

More information about Apache is also available in the free electronic publication called Apache Week at the following URL:

http://www.apacheweek.com/


Problem Report Summary

There are no open problem reports against Apache Web Server on DYNIX/ptx. For information on problems that have been reported to Apache Software Foundation against Apache HTTP server, refer to the following URL:

http://www.apache.org/info/known_bugs.html