How to Host Apache HTTP Server on Microsoft Windows?

Apache HTTP Server, commonly known as Apache, is a widely used, powerful, and secure web server it is an ideal choice for hosting web applications. Popular deployment options include Apache Lounge, Bitnami WAMP Stack, WampServer, and XAMPP. Each option has its advantages and disadvantages, but in this guide, we will focus on Apache Lounge due to its high customizability.

Installing Apache HTTP Server on Windows

1. Downloading Apache HTTP Server

First, visit the official Apache HTTP Server download page: Apache HTTP Server Downloads.

Choosing the appropriate Apache server is recommended as per needs. for this article, we choose Apache Lounge.

2. Installing Apache HTTP Server

1. First extract the downloaded ZIP folder to a directory of your choice (C:\Apache24).

2. Configure Environment Variables

• Open the Start menu, search for “env” and select “Edit the system environment variables.”
• Inside “System variables,” find the Path variable, select it, and click “Edit.”
• Add the path to the Apache bin directory(C:\Apache24\bin).

3. Open the cmd with adminstator privilages and run following command.

httpd.exe -k install

3. Configuring Apache HTTP Server

1. Edit the Configuration File:

• Go to the Apache httpd.conf file (C:\Apache24\) and open the httpd.conf file using a text editor like Notepad. Adjust the configuration settings as necessary. Important settings to review include:
• ServerRoot: This specifies the directory where Apache is installed (for instance, C:/Apache24).
• Listen: Here, you define the port number that Apache will utilize (typically set to 80 by default).
• DocumentRoot: Specify the directory where your web files are located (e.g., C:/Apache24/htdocs).
• ServerName: Enter the domain name or IP address of your server (e.g., localhost or 127.0.0.1 for local development).

2. Save the Configuration File:

After making the necessary changes, save and close the httpd.conf file.

4. Starting Apache HTTP Server

1. Start the server : In the Command Prompt (running as Administrator), use the following command to start the Apache service:

httpd.exe -k start

2. Verify the Installation:

• Open a web browser and enter http://localhost or http://127.0.0.1 in the address bar.
• Find the default page or the message "it Works!". shows the successful setup of Apache HTTP server.

5. Error Might Occur Starting Apache HTTP Server

1. Error with ServerName

AH00558: httpd.exe: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using fe80::7531:6159:7f2:1e7a. Set the 'ServerName' directive globally to suppress this message

possible solution : go to httpd.config file in apache24 installed directory and uncomment the ServerName localhost:80 to make it globally directive.

2. Error with port

(OS 10048)Only one usage of each socket address (protocol/network address/port) is normally permitted.  : AH00072: make_sock: could not bind to address [::]:80
(OS 10048)Only one usage of each socket address (protocol/network address/port) is normally permitted.  : AH00072: make_sock: could not bind to address 0.0.0.0:80
AH00451: no listening sockets available, shutting down
AH00015: Unable to open logs

Possible solution: change the listen port to 8080 or any port of your choise in httpd.config file.

6.Managing Apache HTTP Server:

1. To start the apache server we run the following command in the cmd(running as adminstartor).

httpd.exe -k start

2. Stopping the Apache HTTP server in the cmd(running as adminstartor) we run this command.

httpd.exe -k stop

3. Restarting the apache HTTP server in the cmd(running as adminstartor) run the following command.

httpd.exe -k restart

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Article Tags :

• Installation Guide
• Apache