Apache Httpd on Windows

With the HTTPd binaries provided by Apache Lounge, running the Apache web server on Windows is quite convenient. Here is a short summary of the installation on one of my lab systems.

Preparation

• Download the Apache binaries: http://www.apachelounge.com/download/ (32-bit or 64-bit distribution available)
• Download the Apache modules you need
• Download and install the matching Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable (depending on the Apache distribution, the 32-bit or 64-bit version is required!)

Apache Setup

• Unzip Apache httpd-2.x.x-winXX.zip and put the contents in a directory such as D:\Apache.
• Adjust the Apache directory in httpd.conf. The following directives need to be changed:
  • ServerRoot
  • DocumentRoot and for the Apache default directory
  • ScriptAlias and for the /cgi-bin/ directory
• Test whether Apache starts at all:
  • Run %APACHE_HOME%\bin\httpd.exe on the command line. No errors should be shown.
  • Open http://localhost/ in a browser. It should show “It works!”.
• Install Apache as a Windows service: httpd.exe -k install -n "ApacheHTTPd"
• Put a shortcut to %APACHE_HOME%\bin\ApacheMonitor.exe in the All Users Startup folder.
• Create an inbound firewall rule for %APACHE_HOME%\bin\httpd.exe.

Apache Configuration

• In httpd.conf:
  • Set ServerAdmin and ServerName
  • Adjust the log format if needed (see also the log rotation configuration)
  • Configure language settings (httpd-languages.conf), error pages (httpd-multilang-errordoc.conf) and autoindex (httpd-autoindex.conf)
  • Adjust the server default values (httpd-default.conf): Timeout 60 ServerTokens Prod ServerSignature Off HostnameLookups Off
• If necessary, disable AcceptFilter (bugfix for Apache 2.4): AcceptFilter https none AcceptFilter http none

Httpd Service Security

For security reasons, the Apache HTTPd service should run under a user with limited privileges.