OS X Server's Apache uses the old httpd.conf

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Level 4

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OS X Server's Apache uses the old httpd.conf

Hi!

I had been running Apache on my MBP with 10.8 sans OS X Server.

But I sprung the $20 for OS X Server 2.2.1 recently. I see that Server's Apache mostly lives in /Library/Server/Web/ , and is supposed to use Config/apache2/httpd_server_app.conf instead of the old /etc/apache2/httpd.conf .

Yet when I toggle apache in the OS X Server.app, it's reading config from that old httpd.conf .

What do I want to change to make sure Server.app is starting up its own version and configuration of httpd?

(I don't have any existing configuration that I need to migrate; I just want to start with a clean version of OS X Server. That will be a lot easier for me to handle across my multiple environments and (hopefully) a new CPU in the near future ;-)

(Looks like this post was curious about the same thing, but he got no love)

MacBook Pro, OS X Server, 10.8

Posted on Sep 3, 2013 9:03 PM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

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Sep 3, 2013 10:04 PM in response to AlanNYC

Yet when I toggle apache in the OS X Server.app, it's reading config from that old httpd.conf .

How do you know that?

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Answer 2

AlanNYC Author

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Sep 4, 2013 3:57 AM in response to Linc Davis

That's a good question.

I infer it by browsing to http://localhost/. The page that comes up is in the doc root specified in /etc/apache2/httpd.conf /Library/WebServer/Documents/index.html.en . (And similarly I can browse to other files I place in that directory). And then if I edit that conf file and restart Apache, the changes are apparent.

Is there something in a log that would help me directly determine that? Where is Server.app configured?

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

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Sep 4, 2013 6:13 AM in response to AlanNYC

What do you get from this:

sudo launchctl list org.apache.httpd

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Answer 4

AlanNYC Author

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Sep 4, 2013 6:47 AM in response to Linc Davis

What should I expect?

{ "Label" = "org.apache.httpd"; "LimitLoadToSessionType" = "System"; "OnDemand" = false; "LastExitStatus" = 0; "PID" = 54408; "TimeOut" = 30; "ProgramArguments" = ( "/usr/sbin/httpd"; "-D"; "FOREGROUND"; "-D"; "WEBSERVICE_ON"; ); };

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Answer 5

Linc Davis

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209,739 points

Sep 4, 2013 6:59 AM in response to AlanNYC

That's wrong. Did you start the web server from Server.app or in some other way?

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Answer 6

AlanNYC Author

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Sep 4, 2013 7:52 AM in response to Linc Davis

Man, that was a helpful nudge; thanks Linc.

At some point in the past I set up Apache to come up automatically. I was about to type "I can't remember which recipe I would have followed", but seems I did it this time by installing Web Sharing.prefPane .

Now I've toggled Apache off (in both Server.app and that prefPane. I removed the prefPane.

But I still get the same result from launchctl.

What should I see in launchctl?

Any thoughts on where I should look next?

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Answer 7

AlanNYC Author

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Sep 4, 2013 8:12 AM in response to AlanNYC

I got it here: http://clickontyler.com/blog/2012/02/web-sharing-mountain-lion/

There's an executable in the package, but I don't know how to figure out what it's doing. Nothing helpful in any of the other package contents that I can see. But that's just me.

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Answer 8

AlanNYC Author

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Sep 4, 2013 9:28 AM in response to AlanNYC

This thread was helpful for prescribing a brute force method.

With all Server's services stopped and the app closed, I deleted /var/db/.ServerSetupDone and /Library/Preferences/com.apple.servermgr* .

Server.app then launches into its guided setup mode, and that has Apache apparently back in its vanilla state and reading from confs at /Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2/ .

In particular, launchctl returns:

{ "Label" = "org.apache.httpd"; "LimitLoadToSessionType" = "System"; "OnDemand" = false; "LastExitStatus" = 0; "PID" = 25; "TimeOut" = 30; "ProgramArguments" = ( "/usr/sbin/httpd"; "-D"; "FOREGROUND"; "-f"; "/Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2/httpd_server_app.conf"; "-D"; "WEBSERVICE_ON"; ); };

and browsing to localhost loads the expected content (i.e., the files I have at /Library/Server/Web/Data/Sites/Default).

So that was brute force, and I'd like to know how to manipulate Server.app a little more precisely, but it's mostly academic.

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