This article explains how to install Apache on the Ubuntu Linux system.
Apache is a popular open-source web server used to serve web pages online. It is widely used because of its flexibility, security, and reliability. On Ubuntu Linux, Apache can be easily installed using the package manager.
The server provides powerful features that can be extended through modules, making it a versatile choice for many web applications.
Apache is a popular choice for web server software on Ubuntu Linux systems because it is open-source, flexible, secure, and reliable. It has been around for a long time and is well-supported by a large community of developers and users.
Additionally, Apache can be easily installed on Ubuntu Linux using the package manager, making it a convenient web hosting option.
Install Apache
On Ubuntu and Debian systems, the Apache package and the service are called apache2.
It is included in the default Ubuntu repositories, making the installation straightforward.
To install Apache, run the command below.
sudo apt update sudo apt install apache2
Once Apache is installed, it will start up automatically.
To verify that the service is running, run the command below.
sudo systemctl status apache2
The command should output lines similar to the one below.
● apache2.service - The Apache HTTP Server
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/apache2.service; enabled; vendor prese>
Active: active (running) since Wed 2024-01-17 17:25:14 CST; 1min 22s ago
Docs: https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/
Main PID: 3668 (apache2)
Tasks: 55 (limit: 2261)
Memory: 4.9M
CPU: 51ms
CGroup: /system.slice/apache2.service
├─3668 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
├─3670 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
└─3671 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
...
Allow traffic on HTTP and HTTPS ports
Apache, by default, listens on port 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS). If you need to connect to the server, you may have to open the necessary ports for communication.
Here’s how to do that on Ubuntu Linux. Run the command below to open the firewall, assuming UFW is being used.
sudo ufw allow 'Apache Full'
Setup Virtual Host
A virtual host is an Apache configuration directive that allows you to run multiple websites on a single server. Typically, a virtual host describes one website. This means multiple domain names can be hosted on a single server, with separate content for each domain.
Apache ships with one virtual host enabled by default. All domains that point to the server IP address will match the default virtual host. If you are hosting a single website, you can upload its content in the default virtual host location and edit the host configuration in the Apache configuration file.
If you are hosting a single website, you can upload its content in /var/www/html and edit the virtual host configuration found in the /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default.conf file.
To test a virtual host, run the command below to create a website folder called example.com in the /var/www/ directory.
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/example.com/public_html
Then, create a basic HTML index file in the directory.
sudo nano /var/www/example.com/public_html/index.html
Copy and paste the content below into the file.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Welcome to example.com</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Success! example.com home page!</h1>
</body>
</html>
Save the file and exit.
Next, run the command below to change the ownership of the web content to Apache user (www-data).
sudo chown -R www-data: /var/www/example.com
Next, create a virtual host file for the website. Apache vhosts files are stored in /etc/apache2/sites-available directory.
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf
A very basic vhost file should resemble the one below.
<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName example.com
ServerAlias www.example.com
ServerAdmin [email protected]
DocumentRoot /var/www/example.com/public_html
<Directory /var/www/example.com/public_html>
Options -Indexes +FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride All
</Directory>
ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/example.com-error.log
CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/example.com-access.log combined
</VirtualHost>
Save the file.
Next, run the command below to enable the configuration.
sudo a2ensite example.com
Test the config and ensure nothing is wrong.
sudo apachectl configtest sudo systemctl restart apache2
When all is configured correctly, you should see a test page when browsing the website.
That should do it!
Conclusion:
- Apache is a versatile and widely used open-source web server providing powerful features for web applications.
- Installing Apache on Ubuntu Linux is straightforward using the package manager, making it a convenient web hosting option.
- Configuring virtual hosts allows running multiple websites on a single server, each with separate content and domain names.
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