Prior to Version 1.3.4, the default Apache installation used three configuration files: httpd.conf, srm.conf, and access.conf. Although there were historical reasons for having three separate files (dating back to the NCSA server), it stopped mattering which file you used for what a long time ago, and the Apache team finally decided to combine them. Apache Versions 1.3.4 and later are distributed with the configuration directives in a single file, httpd.conf. Therefore, whenever we mention a configuration file, we are referring to httpd.conf.
By default, httpd.conf is installed in the conf directory under the server root directory. The default server root is /usr/local/apache/ on many Unix platforms, but it can be any directory of your choice (within reason). Users new to Apache and mod_perl will probably find it helpful to keep to the directory layouts we use in this book.
There is also a special file called .htaccess, used for per-directory configuration. When Apache tries to access a file on the filesystem, it will first search for .htaccess files in the requested file's parent directories. If found, Apache scans .htaccess for further configuration directives, which it then applies only to that directory in which the file was found and its subdirectories. The name .htaccess is confusing, because it can contain almost any configuration directives, not just those related to resource access control. Note that if the following directive is in httpd.conf:
<Directory /> AllowOverride None </Directory>
Apache will not look for .htaccess at all unless AllowOverride is set to a value other than None in a more specific <Directory>section.
.htaccess can be renamed by using the AccessFileName directive. The following example configures Apache to look in the target directory for a file called .acl instead of .htaccess:
AccessFileName .acl
However, you must also make sure that this file can't be accessed directly from the Web, or else you risk exposing your configuration. This is done automatically for .ht* files by Apache, but for other files you need to use:
<Files .acl> Order Allow,Deny Deny from all </Files>
Another often-mentioned file is the startup file, usually named startup.pl. This file contains Perl code that will be executed at server startup. We'll discuss the startup.pl file in greater detail later in this chapter, in Section 4.3.
Beware of editing httpd.conf without understanding all the implications. Modifying the configuration file and adding new directives can introduce security problems and have performance implications. If you are going to modify anything, read through the documentation beforehand. The Apache distribution comes with an extensive configuration manual. In addition, each section of the distributed configuration file includes helpful comments explaining how each directive should be configured and what the default values are.
If you haven't moved Apache's directories around, the installation program will configure everything for you. You can just start the server and test it. To start the server, use the apachectl utility bundled with the Apache distribution. It resides in the same directory as httpd, the Apache server itself. Execute:
panic% /usr/local/apache/bin/apachectl start
Now you can test the server, for example by accessing http://localhost/ from a browser running on the same host.
 
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