Hello folks. With Debian 11 ready for download then the process of supporting it begins. So, in this short post, you will learn how to install Apache web server on Debian 11.
What is Apache web server?
The first thing to say is that when we talk about Apache web server, we are talking about httpd because that is what it is really called. What happens is that this project is sponsored and supported by the Apache Foundation that gives it the nickname.
You can also learn about the speed difference regarding Apache VS NGINX.
So, according to the official website of httpd we have the following definition.
The Apache HTTP Server Project is an effort to develop and maintain an open-source HTTP server for modern operating systems including UNIX and Windows. The goal of this project is to provide a secure, efficient, and extensible server that provides HTTP services in sync with the current HTTP standards.
So, it is one of the most widely used web servers in the world because it is secure, fast, and easy to administer. As expected, it is also compatible with many programming languages and therefore web applications.
The installation and administration of Apache are possible thanks to the powerful documentation that is available to everyone. I recommend you take a look at it
Install Apache web server on Debian 11
So, connect to your Debian 11 server and if you haven’t updated it, you can do it in the following way:
apt update apt upgrade
You have to run these commands as the root user. In case you can use sudo then just use it before the commands I will show you
One of the best things about Apache is that we can find it in the official repositories of many distributions including Debian.
So, you can search the repositories as follows:
apt search apache2
And as result, you will see a lot of Apache-related packages.
To install Apache web server on Debian 11, just run the following command:
apt install apache2 Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree... Done Reading state information... Done The following additional packages will be installed: apache2-bin apache2-data apache2-utils libapr1 libaprutil1 libaprutil1-dbd-sqlite3 libaprutil1-ldap libgdbm-compat4 liblua5.3-0 libperl5.32 mailcap mime-support perl perl-modules-5.32 Suggested packages: apache2-doc apache2-suexec-pristine | apache2-suexec-custom www-browser perl-doc libterm-readline-gnu-perl | libterm-readline-perl-perl make libtap-harness-archive-perl Recommended packages: ssl-cert The following NEW packages will be installed: apache2 apache2-bin apache2-data apache2-utils libapr1 libaprutil1 libaprutil1-dbd-sqlite3 libaprutil1-ldap libgdbm-compat4 liblua5.3-0 libperl5.32 mailcap mime-support perl perl-modules-5.32 0 upgraded, 15 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded. Need to get 9,725 kB of archives. After this operation, 55.6 MB of additional disk space will be used. Do you want to continue? [Y/n]
This way, after accepting the installation, it will start. As it is a lightweight web server, the process should not take too long.
Managing the Apache webserver service and testing the installation
By default, upon completion of the Apache installation, the service will be started and enabled. In any case, you can check the status of the service by running:
systemctl status apache2
● apache2.service - The Apache HTTP Server
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/apache2.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Tue 2021-08-17 21:54:55 CEST; 22s ago
Docs: https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/
Main PID: 1963 (apache2)
Tasks: 55 (limit: 2277)
Memory: 9.1M
CPU: 44ms
CGroup: /system.slice/apache2.service
├─1963 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
├─1965 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
└─1966 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
Aug 17 21:54:55 osradar systemd[1]: Starting The Apache HTTP Server...
Aug 17 21:54:55 osradar apachectl[1962]: AH00558: apache2: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using 127.0.1.1. Set the 'ServerName'>ug 17 21:54:55 osradar systemd[1]: Started The Apache HTTP Server.
As you can see, the service is running correctly. If you want to stop it, run
systemctl stop apache2
And to start it:
systemctl start apache2
When making changes in the Apache configuration or some of its modules, you will have to restart the service to apply them. To do this, run
systemctl restart apache2
Now, we have to verify that the installation was successful and the best way is to use it.
So, the normal thing is that you are using a Firewall in Debian 11, in case you are, then make sure that the ports 80 and 443 are available.
In case you are using UFW then you can do it in the following way:
ufw allow 80 ufw allow 443
Now yes, you can open a web browser and visit http://your-server-ip and see the following screen
This way, the Apache web server is ready to use.
Install PHP with Apache web server on Debian 11
Apache’s utility is to serve websites. If these websites are static, that is, they are not created with a programming language, then there is no need to install anything else.
Realistically, however, the websites include functionality created in a programming language such as PHP. This language is one of the most popular and that is why it is convenient to install it together with Apache.
So, to install PHP and the add-on module with Apache, just run the following command
apt install php php-cli libapache2-mod-php Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree... Done Reading state information... Done The following additional packages will be installed: libapache2-mod-php7.4 libsodium23 php-common php7.4 php7.4-cli php7.4-common php7.4-json php7.4-opcache php7.4-readline psmisc Suggested packages: php-pear The following NEW packages will be installed: libapache2-mod-php libapache2-mod-php7.4 libsodium23 php php-cli php-common php7.4 php7.4-cli php7.4-common php7.4-json php7.4-opcache php7.4-readline psmisc 0 upgraded, 13 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded. Need to get 4,490 kB of archives. After this operation, 19.3 MB of additional disk space will be used. Do you want to continue? [Y/n]
For the Apache webserver to recognize the module that allows it to work with PHP, it is necessary to restart the service.
systemctl restart apache2
And now, Apache and PHP are installed and working perfectly. To check this, create a file with PHP extension in the Apache root directory which is /var/www/html/.
nano /var/www/html/test.php
Inside this file, add some PHP code such as the phpinfo() method.
<?php phpinfo(); ?>
Save the changes and close the editor.
Now try to open it from the web browser http://your-server-ip/test.php
So, the Apache web server is working correctly.
Conclusion
Apache web server is a very popular server whose installation allows novices to explore everything about this world. It can also be used in docker images for application deployment.
