Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Administration Unleashed

CHAPTER 15Creating a Web Serverwith the Apache HTTPServerIN THIS CHAPTER. Apache HTTP Server andSELinux. Allowing Connections. Configuring the Server. Logging Connections. Starting and Stopping theServerWhen you view a web page over the Internet, the codeto create that page must be retrieved from a server somewhereon the Internet. The server that sends your webbrowser the code to display a web page is called a webserver. There are countless web servers all over the Internetserving countless websites to people all over the world.A web server can also be set up on an internal network sothat it is only accessible by the computers inside theprivate network. If this internal network is inside acompany or corporation, it is often called an intranet.Whether you need a web server to host a website on theInternet or to host a company portal inside its internalnetwork, a Red Hat Enterprise Linux server can function asa web server using the Apache HTTP server. The ApacheHTTP server is a popular, open source server applicationthat runs on many UNIX-based systems as well asMicrosoft Windows. This chapter explains how to get aweb server up and running on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.Apache HTTP Server and SELinuxIf SELinux, a mandatory access control security system, isenabled, the default targeted policy protects the ApacheHTTP daemon. Refer to Chapter 23, “Protecting AgainstIntruders with Security-Enhanced Linux,” for details aboutSELinux.