Apache configuration

The configuration of the Apache HTTP Server (Apache) can vary between OS distributions; see the documentation specific to your installation of Apache. For example, on Mac OS X, you may have to enable Web Sharing within the Sharing control panel in System Preferences.

1. Locate your system's Apache configuration.

   Common configuration directories include:

   • /etc/httpd/conf/
   • /etc/apache2/
   • /Applications/XAMPP/etc/

   Within the configuration path, the main Apache configuration file is usually named one of the following:

   • httpd.conf
   • apache2.conf
   Tip

   A longer discussion on the possible locations and names of Apache configuration files is available here: https://wiki.apache.org/httpd/DistrosDefaultLayout

2. Set up an Apache virtual host (vhost) for your installation.

   If your Apache configuration directory contains the directories sites-available and sites-enabled:

   1. Copy the appropriate virtual host definition below into the file sites-available/swarm.

   2. Enable the Swarm virtual host definition.

      $ sudo a2ensite swarm

   Otherwise, copy the virtual host definition below into the bottom of the main Apache configuration file, httpd.conf or apache2.conf.

   Virtual host definition example for Apache 2.4:

   <VirtualHost *:80>
       ServerName myswarm.host
       ServerAlias myswarm
       ErrorLog "/path/to/apache/logs/myswarm.error_log"
       CustomLog "/path/to/apache/logs/myswarm.access_log" common
       DocumentRoot "/path/to/swarm/public"
       <Directory "/path/to/swarm/public">
           AllowOverride All
           Require all granted
       </Directory>
   </VirtualHost>

   Note

   See Apache's virtual host documentation for details: https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/vhosts/

3. Customize the virtual host definition.
   1. Replace myswarm.host with the hostname for Swarm on your network. This may require adjusting the DNS configuration on your network.

   2. Replace myswarm with the name of the subdomain hosting Swarm. Many administrators choose swarm.

      Note

      The string myswarm in the log file paths: this should match the subdomain name and prefix for the log files, to help coordinate the active host with the log files for that host. Doing this is particularly useful when your Apache server hosts multiple instances of Swarm.

   3. Replace /path/to/apache/logs with the path where your Apache stores its log files. Apache's log files are typically named access_log and error_log.
   4. Replace /path/to/swarm with the path to the Swarm directory.

4. Verify that the correct Apache modules are enabled.

   • To query whether the PHP and Rewrite modules are active, use the apachectl utility to list all of the active modules (this may be named apache2ctl on your system):

     $ apachectl -t -D DUMP_MODULES

   • Simply look for php7_module and rewrite_module in the output. If you see them, skip ahead to step 5.

   • If the Apache utility a2enmod is installed, use it to enable the PHP and Rewrite modules:

     $ sudo a2enmod php7 rewrite

   • Without the a2enmod utility, edit the Apache configuration file by hand. Locate your Apache configuration file for modules and either uncomment or add the following lines:

     LoadModule  php7_module     libexec/apache2/libphp7.so
     LoadModule  rewrite_module  libexec/apache2/mod_rewrite.so

   • Note that your Apache installation may have different paths for the location of its modules (the .so files).

5. Restart your web server.

   • To ensure that the Apache configuration changes you made become active, restart the web server.

     $ sudo apachectl restart

   • Query Apache's active virtual hosts and modules to confirm your changes are in effect:

     $ apachectl -t -D DUMP_VHOSTS
     $ apachectl -t -D DUMP_MODULES

   Important

   Apache must be configured to use the prefork MPMMulti-Processing Module, a component of the Apache web server that is responsible for binding to network ports, accepting requests, and dispatch operations to handle the request. because P4PHP does not support threaded operation.

   The prefork MPM is the default for Linux and OSX Apache installations, so you may not have to do anything.

   For more information on Apache MPMs and configuration, see: https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/mpm.html

6. Configure PHP, see PHP configuration.