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