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Apache > HTTP Server > Documentation > Version 2.5 > Platform Specific Notes

Using Apache With Novell NetWare

This document explains how to install, configure and run Apache 2.0 under Novell NetWare 6.0 and above. If you find any bugs, or wish to contribute in other ways, please use our bug reporting page.

The bug reporting page and dev-httpd mailing list are not provided to answer questions about configuration or running Apache. Before you submit a bug report or request, first consult this document, the Frequently Asked Questions page and the other relevant documentation topics. If you still have a question or problem, post it to the novell.devsup.webserver newsgroup, where many Apache users are more than willing to answer new and obscure questions about using Apache on NetWare.

Most of this document assumes that you are installing Apache from a binary distribution. If you want to compile Apache yourself (possibly to help with development, or to track down bugs), see the section on Compiling Apache for NetWare below.

See also

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Requirements

Apache 2.0 is designed to run on NetWare 6.0 service pack 3 and above. If you are running a service pack less than SP3, you must install the latest NetWare Libraries for C (LibC).

NetWare service packs are available here.

Apache 2.0 for NetWare can also be run in a NetWare 5.1 environment as long as the latest service pack or the latest version of the NetWare Libraries for C (LibC) has been installed . WARNING: Apache 2.0 for NetWare has not been targeted for or tested in this environment.

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Downloading Apache for NetWare

Information on the latest version of Apache can be found on the Apache web server at https://www.apache.org/. This will list the current release, any more recent alpha or beta-test releases, together with details of mirror web and anonymous ftp sites. Binary builds of the latest releases of Apache 2.0 for NetWare can be downloaded from here.

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Installing Apache for NetWare

There is no Apache install program for NetWare currently. If you are building Apache 2.0 for NetWare from source, you will need to copy the files over to the server manually.

Follow these steps to install Apache on NetWare from the binary download (assuming you will install to sys:/apache2):

Follow these steps to install Apache on NetWare manually from your own build source (assuming you will install to sys:/apache2):

Apache may be installed to other volumes besides the default SYS volume.

During the build process, adding the keyword "install" to the makefile command line will automatically produce a complete distribution package under the subdirectory DIST. Install Apache by simply copying the distribution that was produced by the makfiles to the root of a NetWare volume (see: Compiling Apache for NetWare below).

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Running Apache for NetWare

To start Apache just type apache at the console. This will load apache in the OS address space. If you prefer to load Apache in a protected address space you may specify the address space with the load statement as follows:

load address space = apache2 apache2

This will load Apache into an address space called apache2. Running multiple instances of Apache concurrently on NetWare is possible by loading each instance into its own protected address space.

After starting Apache, it will be listening to port 80 (unless you changed the Listen directive in the configuration files). To connect to the server and access the default page, launch a browser and enter the server's name or address. This should respond with a welcome page, and a link to the Apache manual. If nothing happens or you get an error, look in the error_log file in the logs directory.

Once your basic installation is working, you should configure it properly by editing the files in the conf directory.

To unload Apache running in the OS address space just type the following at the console:

unload apache2

or

apache2 shutdown

If apache is running in a protected address space specify the address space in the unload statement:

unload address space = apache2 apache2

When working with Apache it is important to know how it will find the configuration files. You can specify a configuration file on the command line in two ways:

apache2 -f "vol:/my server/conf/my.conf"

apache -f test/test.conf

In these cases, the proper ServerRoot should be set in the configuration file.

If you don't specify a configuration file name with -f, Apache will use the file name compiled into the server, usually conf/httpd.conf. Invoking Apache with the -V switch will display this value labeled as SERVER_CONFIG_FILE. Apache will then determine its ServerRoot by trying the following, in this order:

The server root compiled into the server is usually sys:/apache2. invoking apache with the -V switch will display this value labeled as HTTPD_ROOT.

Apache 2.0 for NetWare includes a set of command line directives that can be used to modify or display information about the running instance of the web server. These directives are only available while Apache is running. Each of these directives must be preceded by the keyword APACHE2.

RESTART
Instructs Apache to terminate all running worker threads as they become idle, reread the configuration file and restart each worker thread based on the new configuration.
VERSION
Displays version information about the currently running instance of Apache.
MODULES
Displays a list of loaded modules both built-in and external.
DIRECTIVES
Displays a list of all available directives.
SETTINGS
Enables or disables the thread status display on the console. When enabled, the state of each running threads is displayed on the Apache console screen.
SHUTDOWN
Terminates the running instance of the Apache web server.
HELP
Describes each of the runtime directives.

By default these directives are issued against the instance of Apache running in the OS address space. To issue a directive against a specific instance running in a protected address space, include the -p parameter along with the name of the address space. For more information type "apache2 Help" on the command line.

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Configuring Apache for NetWare

Apache is configured by reading configuration files usually stored in the conf directory. These are the same as files used to configure the Unix version, but there are a few different directives for Apache on NetWare. See the Apache module documentation for all the available directives.

The main differences in Apache for NetWare are:

Additional NetWare specific directives:

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Compiling Apache for NetWare

Compiling Apache requires MetroWerks CodeWarrior 6.x or higher. Once Apache has been built, it can be installed to the root of any NetWare volume. The default is the sys:/Apache2 directory.

Before running the server you must fill out the conf directory. Copy the file HTTPD-STD.CONF from the distribution conf directory and rename it to HTTPD.CONF. Edit the HTTPD.CONF file searching for all @@Value@@ markers and replacing them with the appropriate setting. Copy over the conf/magic and conf/mime.types files as well. Alternatively, a complete distribution can be built by including the keyword install when invoking the makefiles.

Requirements:

The following development tools are required to build Apache 2.0 for NetWare:

Building Apache using the NetWare makefiles:

Additional make options

Additional environment variable options

Building mod_ssl for the NetWare platform

By default Apache for NetWare uses the built-in module mod_nw_ssl to provide SSL services. This module simply enables the native SSL services implemented in NetWare OS to handle all encryption for a given port. Alternatively, mod_ssl can also be used in the same manner as on other platforms.

Before mod_ssl can be built for the NetWare platform, the OpenSSL libraries must be provided. This can be done through the following steps:

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