Essential Mac OS X Panther Server Administration

Chapter 23. Web Services

The HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP) is, hands-down, the ubiquitous protocol of the Internet. For the most part, when people say the word “Internet” they think of the ever-present Web that has been a fixture of the computing landscape since the mid-nineties. And, almost as long as the public has been fascinated with the Web, the number one HTTP server has been the Apache httpd web server. Apache is not the fastest possible web server, but it is, without a doubt, the most flexible.

Due to its flexibility, and likely in no small part due to the number of system administrators that are comfortable with it, Apple has bundled the Apache web server into Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server. For the most part, there are two primary differences in Apple’s distribution of the Apache web server in Mac OS X Server:

• The configuration files are structured to work with the Server Admin tool.

• Apple provides a performance cache proxy.

In addition, the Apache web server comes configured out of the box to provide WebDAV (Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning) services. This setup allows your users to make changes to the files contained by your server directly without AFP access.

This chapter examines the Apache web server, especially noting how it is integrated with the server tools, and guides you through the unique differences on Mac OS X Server.

Web Services

The Apache web server, like most of the other Mac OS X Server services, can be controlled and configured with the Server ...