What is a web server?

A web server is a software allowing clients to access to web pages; it means in reality files in HTML format from a browser installed on a remote computer.

A web server is therefore‘simple’ software able to read HTTP requests coming to the port associated with HTTP protocol (port 80 by default) and to provide a response with the same protocol.

The main web servers on the market are:

Apache
Microsoft IIS (Internet Information Server)
Microsoft PWS (Personal Web Server)
Xitam

Apache

Apache (www.apache.org) is the most common server on Internet. It is an application functioning basically on OS such as UNIX but also Windows. You may as well download the PHPdev package (now EasyPHP) including:

• Apache Web server,
• MySQL Data base server,
• PHP application server,
• phpMyadmin tool allowing the management of MySQL bases.

The procedure to install EasyPHP is described in PHP section of CCM.

The name Apache comes from the way it has been developed (‘a patchy server’) because it is the result of a multitude of corrective software in order to make a very safe solution.

Therefore, as soon as a bug or a secure fault is detected, they are quickly corrected and a new version of the application is edited.

Apache has now lots of functionalities, such as the possibility to define a specific configuration to each file or shared directory, as well as to define restrictions of access thanks to htaccess files.