FreeBSD Install and Configure Apache Web Server

Q. How do I install and configure Apache web server under FreeBSD 7.x operating systems?

A. FreeBSD comes with various versions of Apache web servers:

=> Apache 1.3
=> Apache 2.0
=> Apache 2.1
=> Apache 2.2

Step # 1: Update FreeBSD ports collection

Type the following command to update FreeBSD ports collection:
# portsnap fetch update

Step # 2: Install Apache Web Server

Type the following commands:
# cd /usr/ports/www/apache22/
# make install clean
Select required options:

Fig.01: FreeBSD Apache v2.2 Config Options

Step 3: FreeBSD Configure Apache

Quick facts about Apache version 2.2 under FreeBSD:

1. Default HTTP port: 80
2. Default HTTPS (SSL) port: 443
3. Default DocumentRoot directory: /usr/local/www/apache22/data/
4. Default cgi-bin directory: /usr/local/www/apache22/cgi-bin/
5. Default Error Log File: /var/log/httpd-error.log
6. Default Access Log File: /var/log/httpd-access.log
7. Default suexec log (if compiled with suexec): /var/log/httpd-suexec.log
8. Default configuration file directory:/usr/local/etc/apache22/ and /usr/local/etc/apache22/extra/
9. Default configuration file: /usr/local/etc/apache22/httpd.conf

Turn on Apache service

Type the following command to turn on Apache22 service:
echo 'apache22_enable="YES"' >> /etc/rc.conf

Configure httpd.conf

Open httpd.conf file:
# cp /usr/local/etc/apache22/httpd.conf /root/httpd.conf.bak
# vi /usr/local/etc/apache22/httpd.conf
Bind Apache to specific IP addresses and/or ports, instead of the default. Let us bind to IP address called 202.4.2.1 and port 80:
Listen 202.4.2.1:80
Set your email address:
ServerAdmin vivek@nixcraft.com
Set servername (FQDN) such as www.nixcraft.com:
ServerName www.nixcraft.com
Save and close the file.

Start Apache server

To start Apache server v2.2, enter:
# /usr/local/etc/rc.d/apache22 start
Verify that port 80 is opened:
# sockstat -4 | grep :80

Open port 80 using PF firewall

WARNING! These examples may block access to your computer if not executed properly. If you are configuring FreeBSD and Apache first time, I strongly recommend skipping this step.

PF is OpenBSD firewall and available under FreeBSD. You need to configure pf using /etc/pf.conf file. Add following line to your /etc/pf.conf file:
pass in on $ext_if proto tcp from any to 202.4.2.1 port 80 flags S/SA synproxy state
Save and close the file. Reload pf firewall:
# /etc/rc.d/pf reload

Test your new setup

Fire a webbrowser and type your domain name such as www.nixcraft.com.