Do more with Apache via the Command Line!

The command line utility httpd (some debian based distros based use the apache command instead of the httpd command) is just used to stop/start/reload the Apache server daemon. But there is more to httpd than this. We present you with some command-line options that enable you to change and test your apache configuration without manually editing the httpd.conf file.Read on..

• Start up Apache using an alternative DocumentRoot:

This is useful if you’re trying out alternative versions of your web site, as it avoids editing the DocumentRoot option. Using the -c (Small C) option will overwrite your apache configuration file, whereas -C (Capital C) option will process the directive before the config files thus preventing the config file getting over-written.

sudo httpd -k start -c DocumentRoot /var/www/html_debug/”

• Start up Apache using an alternative config file:

sudo httpd -k start -f conf/new-config.conf

• Start up Apache using an some particular new module / test module: This command can be used to test some particular module before incorporating them full time into the httpd config file. For this, say you are testing a module mod1 then your new module mod1 will load only if the module mod1 is defined in the config file as:

<IfDefine loadmodule>

LoadModule mod1

<IfDefine>

sudo httpd -D mod1

After you’re done with any of these, issuing the following commands will restart the apache webserver with your normal settings / httpd configuration:

sudo httpd -k stop; sudo apachectl start

If this sounds like your situation, let's talk