<strong>What is Apache Server | Comprehensive guide</strong>

When choosing a new hosting company for your website, you may face a problem in understanding some programming terms, especially for beginner programmers, and one of the most popular terms that you may encounter is Apache Server. You will find most hosting companies offering the term Apache Server as one of the hosting features, and certainly a question may occur to you: Do you really need an Apache Server on your website and is it among the important standards or not? Therefore, in today’s article, we will explain to you the meaning of the term Apache Server in a practical way and with more than one illustrative example, while clarifying the importance and mechanism of its use on the website, as well as its most important advantages and disadvantages. Thus, the article will be a comprehensive guide for you, so continue reading with us.

What is a web server? Before we learn about Apache Server, we must first understand the meaning of the web server on which various servers, such as the Apache server, depend. A web server is a part of an integrated computer that you rent at a specific cost from hosting companies for a specific period in order to act as an intermediary between the website files stored on the hosting company’s server and the web browser in order to display the required pages to your website visitors upon request.

Thus, when a visitor to your website enters a specific page, for example, the About Us page on our website, he types the page URL in the web browser https://www.wpar.net/about-us. After that, the browser sends an HTTP or HTTPS request to the web server with the required files: Python, Java, PHP, and many others. Then the web server responds to the request with the required data of texts, images, videos, etc., and thus the page appears in front of the visitor, as shown in the following image: 01 - The client requests pages from and to the web browser and the web server performs that process. It appears almost simple for simple requests, but it is more complex and slow for multiple requests, so web servers need auxiliary programs or servers. The most famous of these servers is the Apache Server, which helps process all HTTP or HTTPS requests to and from the web server in a fast, smooth and orderly manner. Now that we know the meaning of a web server, let us learn more about the Apache Server, so continue reading with us.

What is Apache Server? Apache Server is a free program or server used on a web server. Some may call it a web server, and this is considered a common mistake. It is not a separate web server, but an additional server on web servers. It can be said that the Apache Server is the oldest operating server since 1995 AD and was developed in multiple stages until it became the most used operating server with a percentage of more than 31% of all websites around the world by the Apache Software Foundation. The Apache Server is highly compatible with various web servers, especially those based on the Windows or Linux operating system, based on the TCP/IP communication protocol, as it processes all request processes between the web browser and the web server in a more organized and smooth manner and can handle a large number of requests at one time.

So in the previous example, when the visitor accesses the https://www.wpar.net/about-us page from the web browser, the web browser sends a request to the Apache Server instead of the web server. Then the Apache server sends the request to the web server and then re-receives the data from it and sends it to the web browser to display it to the visitor. The Apache Server is highly customizable, and this is one of the most important factors for its wide spread. This is because it is an open source server and thus makes it easy for developers to build their own configurations and modify it to meet the needs of the website for different applications, for example, LAMP, MySQL, or PHP, as well as compatibility with SSL security certificates, and much more. It also provides you with many additional functions and services that improve the performance of the web server, for example the following: the ability to determine the user’s geographical location.

User IP address customization options. Availability of the Internet Protocol IPv6. Providing the FTP data transfer protocol, and the Apache Server can be modified and configured on your website server by accessing and modifying htaccess, but most of the time you will find the server prepared in advance from the hosting company you are dealing with.

Features of the Apache Server: As we mentioned in the introduction, the Apache Server is one of the most popular servers used on web servers because it provides you with a wide range of features, the most important of which are the following: 02 - Features of the open source Apache Server: The Apache Server is an open source server and therefore programmers can obtain the original code completely free of charge and modify it to suit the needs of their customers and use it on the personal or commercial level. Reliable and stable server: The Apache server was released in 1995 AD, as we explained previously, and it was developed in multiple stages. This means that it has nearly 30 years of experimental testing and examination, and during that period it demonstrated an excellent level of stability in multiple request processes, and it is used on the largest sites today, for example, the Facebook platform. Ease of setup and use: Apache Server is easy to configure and use on websites, suitable for beginners.

Advanced security level: The Apache Software Foundation works to develop the security level and improve and close vulnerabilities on a renewed basis in order to provide the best security level for users. It also supports different authentication options and SSL / TLS security certificates. Multi-platform: Apache Server supports many different platforms, for example Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac, and many others. It is worth noting that it is fully compatible with the WordPress operating system as well. Rather, you will find a large group of WordPress plugins based on the assumption that you are using Apache as the main server on your website’s server. Multiple programming languages: The Apache server is compatible with many famous programming languages, for example, PHP, Python, Java, HTML, and many others.

A huge knowledge base: As we mentioned previously, the Apache Server is the most widely used web server and therefore includes a huge popular base. In return, you will find a huge knowledge base such as educational explanations and solutions to common problems on the YouTube platform or various websites, so it is more suitable for beginners. Because of the previous points, you will find that most websites and hosting companies rely on the Apache server on their web servers. There are also some negatives that you may encounter while using the Apache server, and this is what we will explain in the next paragraph, so continue reading with us.

Disadvantages of Apache Server: It is located in a server

Apache Server has some defects that may affect your website during use, and the most important of these defects are the following points: Security vulnerabilities: As we explained previously, the Apache Server provides the possibility of multiple customization and configuration, which is one of its most important features, but in return, this may lead to the presence of new security vulnerabilities on your website, so it is preferable to test the Apache server by specialized programmers after modification before starting use. Large traffic: A small number of sites face a problem with server connectivity due to the Apache Server, especially when there is very large traffic on the website, so this point must be taken into consideration when examining your website’s connection problems. Periodic updates: The Apache Server receives a large number of periodic updates on a frequent basis, and you must consider obtaining these updates in order to ensure that all security vulnerabilities are closed on a renewed basis. In most cases, the hosting company does this for you, but you must follow up.

Unnecessary services: There are a group of additional services and modules on the Apache Server that are not necessary, and stopping them helps improve the performance of the website, but you will find it relatively difficult to identify them and stop them without affecting the server in general. In this way, we have learned about the most important advantages and disadvantages of the Apache Server. Certainly, you will find that the disadvantages are a small part compared to the advantages, but you now have a comprehensive personal vision that can judge the server for yourself and determine whether it is suitable for your website or if you need an alternative. It is worth noting that there are good options available that overcome most of the previous disadvantages, and we will explain them in the next paragraph, so continue reading with us. Alternatives to the Apache Server: If one of the previous defects affects decisions about the Apache Server, there are some alternatives that address those defects, and the most important of these alternatives is the following: 03 - Alternatives to the Apache Server. Nginx Server: The Nginx server is the biggest competitor to the Apache Server, as more than 30% of websites on the Internet rely on it. It was previously known as Engine - Apache provides a free, open source package and another paid package known as Nginx Plus. It addresses most of the problems of the Apache server, especially the mechanism for dealing with sites with large traffic that exceeds 10,000 visitors at the same time without problems. Therefore, some major platforms rely on it, for example, the Netflix platform, the Pinterest platform, and many others.

Tomcat Server: The Tomcat server is a free, open source web server released by the Apache Software Foundation, which is the same company as the Apache server, with the aim of improving performance for sites that serve Java web applications or dynamic sites that rely heavily on Java applications. Therefore, it can be said that the Tomcat server is an improved version of the Apache Server dedicated to websites with dynamic interfaces. LiteSpeed ​​server: The LiteSpeed ​​server is an advanced server that helps deal with traffic movements more flexibly compared to previous servers, as it works to store previous traffic movements and thus returns to them when the visitor returns to the same page again instead of requesting them new. It also works to compress website pages automatically and thus works to reduce the pressure on the web server while increasing the speed of loading pages. Of course, all of the previous alternatives have some disadvantages as well, as they are a previous equation of disadvantages and advantages, so you must research them in detail to compare the advantages and disadvantages and determine the most appropriate option for you.

How to determine the main server on your website. Now that we have fully learned about the Apache Server, you can search your website and determine the main server that the hosting company relies on to operate your website. You can do this easily by entering the main website interface and entering developer mode, and this varies from one browser to another. For example, the Google Chrome browser. You can enter developer mode by clicking on the options points at the top of the browser and choosing More Tools, then choosing Developer Tools, or you can access it using the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + I, as shown in the following image: 04 - Entering developer mode in the Google Chrome web browser, and then you choose the Network tab from the top menu, and from there you choose the name of the website. Here it will be www.wpar.net from Name menu to show the connection details to the website, as shown in the following image: 05 - Connection details to the WordPress website in Arabic to specify the direct connection server. After that, choose the Headers tab and start searching for the connection server with the word Server, as shown in the following image: 06 - Connect to the Apache Server on the website. It is clear from the previous image of the Server: Apache part indicated by the red box that the WordPress website in Arabic depends on the Apache server to connect to the web server, and so you can specify The main server on your website. Conclusion: Apache Server is one of the basic web server elements that works to organize and facilitate dealing with the largest possible number of requests at the same time.

Certainly, the term Apache Server may be complicated at first, but when you read the article in the sequence presented, you will find things clear and you will be able to identify the advantages and disadvantages of the Apache Server, the mechanism of work on web servers, and the difference between it and web servers. In this way, we have reached the conclusion of the article. If you have a special question or inquiry, do not hesitate to comment below the article, and you will be answered by technical support specialists as soon as available, God willing.