httpd.conf - Detailed Explanation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following is a detailed explanation of the directives found in httpd.conf. The links take you to the NCSA documentation for each directive. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ServerType Possible values: inetd, standalone NCSA default: standalone Recommended value: standalone This directive is determines whether the server is spawned by the inetd process on a per query basis, or runs as a standalone process. For performance reasons, it is preferred to run it as a standalone process. Note that it is only possible to run the server under inetd if it is started by the root account. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Port Possible values: an integer value 0 - 65536 NCSA default: 80 Recommended value: 80 This directive determines the port that the server wil listen on for querys from clients. Ports below 1024 are reserved for use by standard services. These are usually listed in the file /etc/services. To use these ports, the server must be started as root. Port 80 is the standard port for HTTP servers. Ports above 1023 are available for use by any process, even those run as a normal user. If you are going to run the server as a normal user, pick a port above 1023. The most common choices in this case are 1080 and 8080. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- User Possible values: a string or numeric userid NCSA default: nobody Recommended value: nobody The format for this directive's value is either a string userid as defined in /etc/passwd, or a numeric userid prefixed by a pound sign "#". This directive is only relevant when the server is started as root. Upon startup it will switch to this userid for itself and all child processes. When the server is started by a normal user, it will always run under that users userid. For a Sun running SunOS version 4 (Solaris version 1), use "nobody". For a Sun running SunOS version 5 (Solaris version 2), use "nobody". For a DECstation running Ultrix, use "nobody". For a DEC running OSF1, use "nobody". For an SGI running IRIX, use "nobody". -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group Possible values: a string or numeric groupid NCSA default: #-1 Recommended value: nogroup The format for this directive's value is either a string groupid as defined in /etc/passwd, or a numeric groupid prefixed by a pound sign "#". This directive is only relevant when the server is started as root. Upon startup it will switch to this groupid for itself and all child processes. When the server is started by a normal user, it will always run under that users groupid. For a Sun running SunOS version 4 (Solaris version 1), use "nogroup". For a Sun running SunOS version 5 (Solaris version 2), use "nogroup". For a DECstation running Ultrix, use "nogroup". For a DEC running OSF1, use "nogroup". For an SGI running IRIX, use "nogroup". -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ServerAdmin Possible values: any valid e-mail address NCSA default: none Recommended value: your e-mail address Set this directive to your email address, so the server can inform your users of where to send their comments. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ServerRoot Possible values: a complete pathname, specified from root NCSA default: /usr/local/etc/httpd Recommended value: your ServerRoot directory Set this directive to the complete directory name of where you installed the server configuration files. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ServerName Possible values: a full host name, including domain name NCSA default: none (determined through system calls) Recommended value: www.dept.uci.edu This directive sets the hostname httpd will return to represent the machine it is running on. Use this directive in the case where there is a nameserver alias pointing to your machine. For example, if your machine were actually named somehost.bio.uci.edu, but you wanted to have users access www.bio.uci.edu, you would create the appropriate nameserver entry and set this directive to www.bio.uci.edu. Your users would access the server through the name www.bio.uci.edu. If you moved the web service to a new machine, you could change the nameserver alias and your users would still be able to access the server through the same name. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TimeOut Possible values: an integer value NCSA default: 1200 Recommended value: 1200 This directive sets the maximum amount of time the server will allow a connection to remain open. The default value of 1200 (20 minutes) is appropriate for most instances. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ErrorLog Possible values: an absolute or relative filename NCSA default: logs/error_log Recommended value: logs/error_log This directive sets the location of the error log file. If a relative filename is given, it is interpreted as starting from the ServerRoot. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TransferLog Possible values: an absolute or relative filename NCSA default: logs/access_log Recommended value: logs/access_log This directive sets the location of the access log file. If a relative filename is given, it is interpreted as starting from the ServerRoot. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PidFile Possible values: an absolute or relative filename NCSA default: logs/httpd.pid Recommended value: logs/httpd.pid This directive sets the location of the process id log file. If a relative filename is given, it is interpreted as starting from the ServerRoot. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AccessConfig Possible values: an absolute or relative filename NCSA default: conf/access.conf Recommended value: conf/access.conf This directive sets the location of the access configuration file. If a relative filename is given, it is interpreted as starting from the ServerRoot. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ResourceConfig Possible values: an absolute or relative filename NCSA default: conf/srm.conf Recommended value: conf/srm.conf This directive sets the location of the resource configuration file. If a relative filename is given, it is interpreted as starting from the ServerRoot. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TypesConfig Possible values: an absolute or relative filename NCSA default: conf/mime.types Recommended value: conf/mime.types This directive sets the location of the MIME types configuration file. If a relative filename is given, it is interpreted as starting from the ServerRoot. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IdentityCheck Possible values: on, off NCSA default: off Recommended value: off With this directive set to on, the server will attempt to record the userid of each query to the server. Keep this directive set to off unless you are willing to devote a significant amount of network bandwidth to this function. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nathan C. Bush / httpd/httpd.conf.d.html / httpd.conf - Detailed Explanation Last revision date: July 28, 1994