The Apache Http Server



  1. We suggest the following mirror site for your download: Other mirror sites are suggested below. It is essential that you verify the integrity of the downloaded file using the PGP signature (.asc file) or a hash (.md5 or.sha. file).
  2. Start your free week with CBT Nuggets. This video, Tim Warner covers Apache, the widely popular open-source, cross-platform Web serv.
  1. Apache Httpd Versions
  2. Apache Server Windows
  3. The Apache Http Server
  4. Systemd Reloading The Apache Http Server

The Apache HTTP Server can use the modenv module to configure the environment variables which are passed to CGI scripts and SSI pages. Use the Environment Variables page to configure the directives for this module.

Apache is a popular open-source, cross-platform web server that is, by the numbers, the most popular web server in existence. It’s actively maintained by the Apache Software Foundation.

Some high-profile companies using Apache include Cisco, IBM, Salesforce, General Electric, Adobe, VMware, Xerox, LinkedIn, Facebook, Hewlett-Packard, AT&T, Siemens, eBay, and many more (source).

In addition to its popularity, it’s also one of the oldest web servers, with its first release all the way back in 1995. Many cPanel hosts utilize Apache today. Like other web servers, Apache powers the behind-the-scenes aspects of serving your website’s files to visitors.

Because Apache doesn’t perform as well in some benchmarks, especially for static websites or websites with high traffic, Kinsta uses the NGINX web server instead of Apache. Though NGINX hasn’t been around for as long as Apache, it’s quickly grown in popularity and market share since its launch in 2004.

How Does Apache Work? Web Server Basics Explained

While there’s a lot of complexity underpinning how a web server functions, the basic job of all web servers is to accept requests from clients (e.g. a visitor’s web browser) and then send the response to that request (e.g. the components of the page that a visitor wants to see).

The Apache web server has modules which add more functions to its software, such as MPM (for handling multi-processing modes) or mod_ssl for enabling SSL v3 and TLS support (suggested reading: TLS vs SSL). Some common features seen in Apache include:

  • IPv6
  • FTP
  • Perl, Lua, and PHP
  • Bandwidth throttling
  • WebDAV
  • Load balancing
  • URL rewriting
  • Session tracking
  • Geolocation based on IP address

While a web server is an essential part of any website, it’s important to note that casual WordPress users are unlikely to interact with their web server directly most of the time.

Apache vs Nginx Usage Stats

When you look at every single website on the Internet, Apache is the most popular web server. It powers 47% of the websites with a known web server, according to W3Techs.

However, Apache’s usage greatly drops when you start looking at the web’s most highly trafficked sites. Apache only powers:

  • 27.1% of the 100,000 most popular sites
  • 21.5% of the 10,000 most popular sites
  • 16.2% of the 1,000 most popular sites

Apache Httpd Versions

This drop-off likely stems, at least in part, from Apache’s lower benchmarks for high traffic websites.

Conversely, NGINX, the web server that Kinsta uses, is used by a majority of high-traffic sites, powering:

  • 56.1% of the 100,000 most popular sites
  • 63.2% of the 10,000 most popular sites
  • 57% of the 1,000 most popular sites

If you check the Google Search trends since 2004, you can see this trend play out where Apache’s popularity (as a search term) is decreasing while NGINX’s is creeping up.

How To Check Which Web Server You’re Using

Apache

If you want to see whether you’re using Apache or NGINX, you can often (but not always) look at your site’s HTTP header.

To view your site’s HTTP header, you can:

  • Use the Network tab of Chrome Developer Tools
  • Use a tool like Pingdom or GTmetrix

Apache HTTP header

This method may not work if you’re using a service like Cloudflare, though.

Apache and the Apache feather logo are trademarks of The Apache Software Foundation.

If you enjoyed this tutorial, then you’ll love our support. All Kinsta’s hosting plans include 24/7 support from our veteran WordPress developers and engineers. Chat with the same team that backs our Fortune 500 clients. Check out our plans

Use the links below to download the Apache HTTP Server from one of ourmirrors. You mustverify the integrity of the downloadedfiles using signatures downloaded from our main distribution directory.The signatures can be verified with ourKEYS file.

Only current recommended releases are available on the main distributionsite and its mirrors. Historical releases, including the 1.3, 2.0 and 2.2families of releases, are available from the archive download site.

Apache httpd for Microsoft Windows is available froma number of third party vendors.

Stable Release - Latest Version:

  • 2.4.46 (released 2020-08-07)

If you are downloading the Win32 distribution, please read these importantnotes.

Apache Server Windows

The currently selected mirror ishttps://mirror.softaculous.com/apache/. If you encounter a problem with this mirror, please selectanother mirror. If all mirrors are failing, there are backup mirrors (atthe end of the mirrors list) that should be available.You may also consult the complete list ofmirrors.

The Apache HTTP Server Project is pleased toannounce therelease of version 2.4.46 of the Apache HTTP Server ('Apache' and 'httpd').This version of Apache is our latest GA release of the new generation 2.4.xbranch of Apache HTTPD and represents fifteen years of innovation by theproject, and is recommended over all previous releases!

For details, see the OfficialAnnouncement andthe CHANGES_2.4 andCHANGES_2.4.46 lists.

  • Source: httpd-2.4.46.tar.bz2[ PGP ] [SHA256 ]

  • Source: httpd-2.4.46.tar.gz [PGP ] [SHA256 ]

The Apache Software Foundation and the Apache HTTP Server Project arepleased to announce the release of version 2.3.9 of mod_fcgid, a FastCGIimplementation for Apache HTTP Server versions 2.2 and 2.4. Thisversion of mod_fcgid is a security release.

The Apache Http Server

For information about this module subproject, see the mod_fcgid moduleproject page.

  • Source as gzip with LF line endings:mod_fcgid-2.3.9.tar.gz[PGP] [MD5] [SHA1]

  • Source as bz2 with LF line endings:mod_fcgid-2.3.9.tar.bz2[PGP] [MD5] [SHA1]

  • Win32, Netware or OS/2 Source with CR/LF line endings:mod_fcgid-2.3.9-crlf.zip[PGP] [MD5] [SHA1]

The Apache HTTP Server Project is pleased to announce the release of ApacheFTP module for Apache HTTP Server, version 0.9.6 as beta.

Users are encouraged to test and provide feedback on this beta release. Forinformation about this module subproject, see the mod_ftp module projectpage.

  • Source with LF line endings (bzip2 compressed):mod_ftp-0.9.6-beta.tar.bz2[PGP] [SHA1] [MD5]

  • Source with LF line endings (gzip compressed):mod_ftp-0.9.6-beta.tar.gz[PGP] [SHA1] [MD5]

  • Win32, Netware or OS/2 Source with CR/LF line endings:mod_ftp-0.9.6-beta-crlf.zip[PGP] [SHA1] [MD5]

Systemd Reloading The Apache Http Server

It is essential that you verify the integrity of the downloaded files usingthe PGP or SHA signatures. Please read Verifying Apache HTTP ServerReleases for more information on why you shouldverify our releases and how to do it.