Support Online
MirrorLooking Glass
GenixNodeGenixNode
Client Panel
Skip to main content

Apache Configuration for Ubuntu and Debian

Apache is a powerful and modular web server that runs more than half of the websites on the internet. In this guide, you will learn Apache's file hierarchy, global settings, virtual host configurations and module management step by step.

What Will You Learn in This Guide?​

  • How the Apache file structure works
  • How to optimize global settings
  • Creating and managing Virtual Host
  • Enable/disable modules
  • How to customize Apache for your own projects

1. Getting to Know Apache File Structure​

Apache keeps its configuration files in the /etc/apache2/ directory.

To list:

ls -f /etc/apache2

This command lists the Apache configuration folder.

1.1 Important directories​

apache2.conf → Main global configuration file ports.conf → Port definitions sites-available/ → Virtual host stubs sites-enabled/ → Active virtual hosts mods-available/ / mods-enabled/ → Apache modules conf-available/ / conf-enabled/ → Additional configuration files

Apache uses a modular architecture rather than a single monolith configuration file.

2. Examining the apache2.conf File​

Open the main configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/apache2.conf

This file contains the following settings:

Global Apache ayarları
Modüllerin yüklenme kuralları
VirtualHost yapılandırmalarının dahil edilmesi
Örnek yapılandırma
IncludeOptional mods-enabled/*.load
IncludeOptional mods-enabled/*.conf
Include ports.conf
IncludeOptional conf-enabled/*.conf
IncludeOptional sites-enabled/*.conf

This structure allows Apache to load all configuration files dynamically.

3. Editing Global Apache Settings​

###Timeout

Default value:

Timeout 300

On most systems, 30–60 seconds is more appropriate.

###KeepAlive

When KeepAlive is on, multiple HTTP requests can be processed over a single connection.

KeepAlive On

MaxKeepAliveRequests​

Default:

MaxKeepAliveRequests 100

The value 0 means sınırsız.

###KeepAliveTimeout

The amount of time the server will wait for the new request.

KeepAliveTimeout 5

Checking MPM (Multi-Processing Module) Type​

a2query -M

Sample output:

event

The MPM module determines how Apache manages connections.

4. Virtual Host Configuration​

Open the default hosts file:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf

Example VirtualHost:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html
</VirtualHost>

4.1 Creating a Virtual Host for Your Own Domain​

Create a new VirtualHost:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/ornek.com.conf

Example configuration:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName ornek.com
    ServerAlias www.ornek.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/ornek.com/public_html
</VirtualHost>

5. Directory Rules (Directory)​

An example directory configuration in apache2.conf:

<Directory /var/www/>
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
    AllowOverride None
    Require all granted
</Directory>

This block determines directory access permissions.

Alias and ScriptAlias​

Alias

It is used to publish a static directory under a different URL.

Alias "/icerik/" "/usr/local/apache/icerik/"
ScriptAlias

Specifies the directory where CGI scripts will be run.

ScriptAlias "/cgi-bin/" "/usr/lib/cgi-bin/"

6. Enabling Sites and Modules​

Activating the site:

sudo a2ensite ornek.com.conf

Disabling the site:

sudo a2dissite 000-default

Activate module:

sudo a2enmod rewrite

Disable module:

sudo a2dismod rewrite

Restarting Apache:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

This command applies the changes made.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)​

What does a2ensite do?

Activates a VirtualHost configuration file.

What does AllowOverride None mean?

Prevents .htaccess files from changing the configuration.

Why is Apache MPM important?

It determines how the server handles concurrent connections and directly affects performance.

Why is there more than one Virtual Host on a server?

To host multiple websites with a single IP address.

What is the difference between Alias ​​and ScriptAlias? Alias redirects static files ScriptAlias is used for executable CGI scripts

Result​

With this guide, you learned Apache's modular architecture, file structure, global settings and virtual host management.

Now you can optimize Apache for your own projects and easily host different websites on a single server.

You can achieve high performance for your projects by testing these configurations on the GenixNode platform.