All Linux distributions comes with Apache.

However, it is recommended to downloa

d latest Apache source code, compile and install on Linux. This will make it eas
ier to upgrade Apache on a ongoing basis immediately after a new patch or releas
e is available for download from Apache. This article explains how to install Ap
ache2 from source on Linux.

1. Download Apache
Download the latest version from Apache HTTP Server Project . Current stable rel
ease of Apache is 2.2.9. Move the source to /usr/local/src and extract it as sho
wn below.
# cd /usr/local/src
# gzip -d httpd-2.2.9.tar.gz
# tar xvf httpd-2.2.9.tar2. Install Apache
View all configuration options available for Apache using ./configure help (two h
yphen in front of help). The most commonly used option is prefix={install-dir-nam
e} to install Apache on a user defined directory.
# cd httpd-2.2.9
# ./configure --helpIn the following example, Apache will be compiled and instal
led to the default location /usr/local/apache2 with the DSO capability. Using th
e enable-so option, you can load modules to Apache at runtime via the Dynamic Sha
red Object (DSO) mechanism, rather than requiring a recompilation.
# ./configure --enable-so
# make
# make installNote: During the ./configure, you may get the following error mess
age.
# ./configure --enable-so
configure: error: no acceptable C compiler found in $PATH
See `config.log' for more details.
configure failed for srclib/aprInstall the gcc and the dependent modules as show
n below and try ./configure again to fix the above issue.
# rpm -ivh gcc-4.1.2-14.el5.i386.rpm glibc-devel-2.5-18.i386.rpm glibc-headers-2
.5-18.i38
6.rpm kernel-headers-2.6.18-53.el5.i386.rpm
Preparing... ########################################### [100%]
1:kernel-headers ########################################### [ 25%]
2:glibc-headers ########################################### [ 50%]
3:glibc-devel ########################################### [ 75%]
4:gcc ########################################### [100%]3. St
art Apache and verify installation
# cd /usr/local/apache2/bin
# ./apachectl startGo to http://local-host, which should display the default mes
sage It Works!
4. Start Apache automatically during system startup
Modify the /etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd script and change apachectl and httpd variable
to point to the appropriate new location as shown below. Please note that this
httpd script was originally installed as part of the default Apache from the Lin
ux distribution.
apachectl=/usr/local/apache2/bin/apachectl
httpd=${HTTPD-/usr/local/apache2/bin/httpd}Now, you can perform the following to
stop and start the Apache
# service httpd stop
# service httpd startSetup the Apache to automatically startup during reboot as
shown below.
# chkconfig --list httpd
httpd 0:off 1:off 2:off 3:off 4:off 5:off 6:off
# chkconfig --level 2345 httpd on
# chkconfig --list httpd
httpd 0:off 1:off 2:on 3:on 4:on 5:on 6:offReferences:
Apache HTTP Server Project