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3.4. Other Directives

Other housekeeping directives are listed here.

ServerName

ServerName fully-qualified-domain-name 
Server config, virtual host

The ServerName directive sets the hostname of the server; this is used when creating redirection URLs. If it is not specified, then the server attempts to deduce it from its own IP address; however, this may not work reliably or may not return the preferred hostname. For example:

ServerName www.example.com

could be used if the canonical (main) name of the actual machine were simple.example.com, but you would like visitors to see www.example.com.

UseCanonicalName

UseCanonicalName on|off
Default: on 
Server config, virtual host, directory, .htaccess

This directive controls how Apache forms URLs that refer to itself, for example, when redirecting a request for http://www.domain.com/some/directory to the correct http://www.domain.com/some/directory/ (note the trailing / ). If UseCanonical-Name is on (the default), then the hostname and port used in the redirect will be those set by ServerName and Port (not Apache v2). If it is off, then the name and port used will be the ones in the original request.

One instance where this directive may be useful is when users are in the same domain as the web server (for example, on an intranet). In this case, they may use the "short" name for the server (www, for example), instead of the fully qualified domain name (www.domain.com, say). If a user types a URL such as http://www/APACHE3/somedir (without the trailing slash), then, with UseCanonicalName switched on, the user will be directed to http://www.domain.com/somedir/. With UseCanonicalName switched off, she will be redirected to http://www/APACHE3/somedir/. An obvious case in which this is useful is when user authentication is switched on: reusing the server name that the user typed means she won't be asked to reauthenticate when the server name appears to the browser to have changed. More obscure cases relate to name/address translation caused by some firewalling techniques.

ServerAdmin

ServerAdmin email_address
Server config, virtual host

ServerAdmin gives Apache an email_address for automatic pages generated when some errors occur. It might be sensible to make this a special address such as server_probs@butterthlies.com.

ServerSignature

ServerSignature [off|on|email]
Default: off
directory, .htaccess

This directive allows you to let the client know which server in a chain of proxies actually did the business. ServerSignature on generates a footer to server-generated documents that includes the server version number and the ServerName of the virtual host. ServerSignature email additionally creates a mailto: reference to the relevant ServerAdmin address.

ServerTokens

ServerTokens
[productonly|min(imal)|OS|full]
Default: full
Server config

This directive controls the information about itself that the server returns. The security-minded webmaster may want to limit the information available to the bad guys:

productonly (from v 1.3.14)
Server returns name only: Apache

min(imal)
Server returns name and version number, for example, Apache v1.3

OS
Server sends operating system as well, for example, Apache v1.3 (Unix)

full
Server sends the previously listed information plus information about compiled modules, for example, Apache v1.3 (Unix) PHP/3.0 MyMod/1.2

ServerAlias

ServerAlias name1 name2 name3 ...
Virtual host

ServerAlias gives a list of alternate names matching the current virtual host. If a request uses HTTP 1.1, it arrives with Host: server in the header and can match ServerName, ServerAlias, or the VirtualHost name.

ServerPath

ServerPath path
Virtual host

In HTTP 1.1 you can map several hostnames to the same IP address, and the browser distinguishes between them by sending the Host header. But it was thought there would be a transition period during which some browsers still used HTTP 1.0 and didn't send the Host header.[22] So ServerPath lets the same site be accessed through a path instead.

[22]Note that this transition period was almost over before it started because many browsers sent the Host header even in HTTP 1.0 requests. However, in some rare cases, this directive may be useful.

It has to be said that this directive often doesn't work very well because it requires a great deal of discipline in writing consistent internal HTML links, which must all be written as relative links to make them work with two different URLs. However, if you have to cope with HTTP 1.0 browsers that don't send Host headers when accessing virtual sites, you don't have much choice.

For instance, suppose you have site1.example.com and site2.example.com mapped to the same IP address (let's say 192.168.123.2), and you set up the httpd.conf file like this:

<VirtualHost 192.168.123.2>
ServerName site1.example.com
DocumentRoot /usr/www/APACHE3/site1
ServerPath /site1
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost 192.168.123.2>
ServerName site2.example.com
DocumentRoot /usr/www/APACHE3/site2
ServerPath /site2
</VirtualHost>

Then an HTTP 1.1 browser can access the two sites with URLs http://site1.example.com / and http://site2.example.com /. Recall that HTTP 1.0 can only distinguish between sites with different IP addresses, so both of those URLs look the same to an HTTP 1.0 browser. However, with the previously listed setup, such browsers can access http://site1.example.com /site1 and http://site1.example.com /site2 to see the two different sites (yes, we did mean site1.example.com in the latter; it could have been site2.example.com in either, because they are the same as far as an HTTP 1.0 browser is concerned).

ScoreBoardFile

ScoreBoardFile filename
Default: ScoreBoardFile logs/apache_status 
Server config

The ScoreBoardFile directive is required on some architectures to place a file that the server will use to communicate between its children and the parent. The easiest way to find out if your architecture requires a scoreboard file is to run Apache and see if it creates the file named by the directive. If your architecture requires it, then you must ensure that this file is not used at the same time by more than one invocation of Apache.

If you have to use a ScoreBoardFile, then you may see improved speed by placing it on a RAM disk. But be aware that placing important files on a RAM disk involves a certain amount of risk.

Figure

Apache 1.2 and above: Linux 1.x and SVR4 users might be able to add -DHAVE_SHMGET -DUSE_SHMGET_SCOREBOARD to the EXTRA_CFLAGS in your Config file. This might work with some 1.x installations, but not with all of them. (Prior to 1.3b4, HAVE_SHMGET would have sufficed.)

CoreDumpDirectory

CoreDumpDirectory directory
Default: <serverroot>
Server config

When a program crashes under Unix, a snapshot of the core code is dumped to a file. You can then examine it with a debugger to see what went wrong. This directive specifies a directory where Apache tries to put the mess. The default is the ServerRoot directory, but this is normally not writable by Apache's user. This directive is useful only in Unix, since Win32 does not dump a core after a crash.

SendBufferSize



SendBufferSize <number>
Default: set by OS
Server config

SendBufferSize increases the send buffer in TCP beyond the default set by the operating system. This directive improves performance under certain circumstances, but we suggest you don't use it unless you thoroughly understand network technicalities.

LockFile

LockFile <path>filename
Default: logs/accept.lock
Server config

When Apache is compiled with USE_FCNTL_SERIALIZED_ACCEPT or USE_FLOCK_SERIALIZED_ACCEPT, it will not start until it writes a lock file to the local disk. If the logs directory is NFS mounted, this will not be possible. It is not a good idea to put this file in a directory that is writable by everyone, since a false file will prevent Apache from starting. This mechanism is necessary because some operating systems don't like multiple processes sitting in accept( ) on a single socket (which is where Apache sits while waiting). Therefore, these calls need to be serialized. One way is to use a lock file, but you can't use one on an NFS-mounted directory.

AcceptMutex

AcceptMutex default|method 
AcceptMutex default
Server config

The AcceptMutex directives sets the method that Apache uses to serialize multiple children accepting requests on network sockets. Prior to Apache 2.0, the method was selectable only at compile time. The optimal method to use is highly architecture- and platform-dependent. For further details, see http://httpd.apache.org/docs-2.0/misc/perf-tuning.html.

If AcceptMutex is not used or this directive is set to default, then the compile-time-selected default will be used. Other possible methods are listed later. Note that not all methods are available on all platforms. If a method is specified that is not available, a message will be written to the error log listing the available methods.

flock
Uses the flock(2) system call to lock the file defined by the LockFile directive

fcntl
Uses the fnctl(2) system call to lock the file defined by the LockFile directive

sysvsem
Uses SySV-style semaphores to implement the mutex

pthread
Uses POSIX mutexes as implemented by the POSIX Threads (PThreads) specification

KeepAlive



KeepAlive number
Default number: 5
Server config

Chances are that if a user logs on to your site, he will reaccess it fairly soon. To avoid unnecessary delay, this command keeps the connection open, but only for number requests, so that one user does not hog the server. You might want to increase this from 5 if you have a deep directory structure. Netscape Navigator 2 has a bug that fouls up keepalives. Apache v1.2 and higher can detect the use of this browser by looking for Mozilla/2 in the headers returned by Netscape. If the BrowserMatch directive is set (see Chapter 13), the problem disappears.

KeepAliveTimeout

KeepAliveTimeout seconds
Default seconds: 15
Server config

Similarly, to avoid waiting too long for the next request, this directive sets the number of seconds to wait. Once the request has been received, the TimeOut directive applies.

TimeOut

TimeOut seconds
Default seconds: 1200
Server config

TimeOut sets the maximum time that the server will wait for the receipt of a request and then its completion block by block. This directive used to have an unfortunate effect: downloads of large files over slow connections would time out. Therefore, the directive has been modified to apply to blocks of data sent rather than to the whole transfer.

HostNameLookups

HostNameLookups [on|off|double]
Default: off    
Server config, virtual host

If this directive is on,[23] then every incoming connection is reverse DNS resolved, which means that, starting with the IP number, Apache finds the hostname of the client by consulting the DNS system on the Internet. The hostname is then used in the logs. If switched off, the IP address is used instead. It can take a significant amount of time to reverse-resolve an IP address, so for performance reasons it is often best to leave this off, particularly on busy servers. Note that the support program logresolve is supplied with Apache to reverse-resolve the logs at a later date.[24]

[23]Before Apache v1.3, the default was on. Upgraders please note.

[24]Dynamically allocated IP addresses may not resolve correctly at any time other than when they are in use. If it is really important to know the exact name of the client, HostNameLookups should be set to on.

The new double keyword supports the double-reverse DNS test. An IP address passes this test if the forward map of the reverse map includes the original IP. Regardless of the setting here, mod_access access lists using DNS names require all the names to pass the double-reverse test.

Include

Include filename 
Server config

filename points to a file that will be included in the Config file in place of this directive. From Apache 1.3.14, if filename points to a directory, all the files in that directory and its subdirectories will be included.

Limit

<Limit method1 method2 ...>
...
</Limit>

The <Limit method > directive defines a block according to the HTTP method of the incoming request. For instance:

<Limit GET POST>
... directives ...
</Limit>

This directive limits the application of the directives that follow to requests that use the GET and POST methods. Access controls are normally effective for all access methods, and this is the usual desired behavior. In the general case, access-control directives should not be placed within a <Limit> section.

The purpose of the <Limit> directive is to restrict the effect of the access controls to the nominated HTTP methods. For all other methods, the access restrictions that are enclosed in the <Limit> bracket will have no effect. The following example applies the access control only to the methods POST, PUT, and DELETE, leaving all other methods unprotected:

<Limit POST PUT DELETE>
Require valid-user
</Limit>

The method names listed can be one or more of the following: GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, CONNECT, OPTIONS, TRACE, PATCH, PROPFIND, PROPPATCH, MKCOL, COPY, MOVE, LOCK, and UNLOCK. The method name is case sensitive. If GET is used, it will also restrict HEAD requests.

Generally, Limit should not be used unless you really need it (for example, if you've implemented PUT and want to limit PUT s but not GET s), and we have not used it in site.authent. Unfortunately, Apache's online documentation encouraged its inappropriate use, so it is often found where it shouldn't be.

<LimitExcept>

<LimitExcept method [method] ... > ... </LimitExcept>

<LimitExcept> and </LimitExcept> are used to enclose a group of access-control directives that will then apply to any HTTP access method not listed in the arguments; i.e., it is the opposite of a <Limit> section and can be used to control both standard and nonstandard/unrecognized methods. See the documentation for <Limit> for more details.

LimitRequestBody Directive

LimitRequestBody bytes
Default: LimitRequestBody 0
Server config, virtual host, directory, .htaccess

This directive specifies the number of bytes from 0 (meaning unlimited) to 2147483647 (2GB) that are allowed in a request body. The default value is defined by the compile-time constant DEFAULT_LIMIT_REQUEST_BODY (0 as distributed).

The LimitRequestBody directive allows the user to set a limit on the allowed size of an HTTP request message body within the context in which the directive is given (server, per-directory, per-file, or per-location). If the client request exceeds that limit, the server will return an error response instead of servicing the request. The size of a normal request message body will vary greatly depending on the nature of the resource and the methods allowed on that resource. CGI scripts typically use the message body for passing form information to the server. Implementations of the PUT method will require a value at least as large as any representation that the server wishes to accept for that resource.

This directive gives the server administrator greater control over abnormal client-request behavior, which may be useful for avoiding some forms of denial-of-service attacks.

LimitRequestFields

LimitRequestFields number
Default: LimitRequestFields 100
Server config

number is an integer from 0 (meaning unlimited) to 32,767. The default value is defined by the compile-time constant DEFAULT_LIMIT_REQUEST_FIELDS (100 as distributed).

The LimitRequestFields directive allows the server administrator to modify the limit on the number of request header fields allowed in an HTTP request. A server needs this value to be larger than the number of fields that a normal client request might include. The number of request header fields used by a client rarely exceeds 20, but this may vary among different client implementations, often depending upon the extent to which a user has configured her browser to support detailed content negotiation. Optional HTTP extensions are often expressed using request-header fields.

This directive gives the server administrator greater control over abnormal client-request behavior, which may be useful for avoiding some forms of denial-of-service attacks. The value should be increased if normal clients see an error response from the server that indicates too many fields were sent in the request.

LimitRequestFieldsize

LimitRequestFieldsize bytes
Default: LimitRequestFieldsize 8190
Server config

This directive specifies the number of bytes from 0 to the value of the compile-time constant DEFAULT_LIMIT_REQUEST_FIELDSIZE (8,190 as distributed) that will be allowed in an HTTP request header.

The LimitRequestFieldsize directive allows the server administrator to reduce the limit on the allowed size of an HTTP request-header field below the normal input buffer size compiled with the server. A server needs this value to be large enough to hold any one header field from a normal client request. The size of a normal request-header field will vary greatly among different client implementations, often depending upon the extent to which a user has configured his browser to support detailed content negotiation.

This directive gives the server administrator greater control over abnormal client-request behavior, which may be useful for avoiding some forms of denial-of-service attacks. Under normal conditions, the value should not be changed from the default.

LimitRequestLine

LimitRequestLine bytes
Default: LimitRequestLine 8190

This directive sets the number of bytes from 0 to the value of the compile-time constant DEFAULT_LIMIT_REQUEST_LINE (8,190 as distributed) that will be allowed on the HTTP request line.

The LimitRequestLine directive allows the server administrator to reduce the limit on the allowed size of a client's HTTP request line below the normal input buffer size compiled with the server. Since the request line consists of the HTTP method, URI, and protocol version, the LimitRequestLine directive places a restriction on the length of a request URI allowed for a request on the server. A server needs this value to be large enough to hold any of its resource names, including any information that might be passed in the query part of a GET request.

This directive gives the server administrator greater control over abnormal client-request behavior, which may be useful for avoiding some forms of denial-of-service attacks. Under normal conditions, the value should not be changed from the default.



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