Introduction

The Apache HTTP server is one of the most popular web servers in the world. In this guide, we’ll explain how to install an Apache web server on your Ubuntu 20.04 server.

Installation Steps

Step 1 — Updating the Package Index

First, update the package index to ensure you have the latest repository information:

sudo apt updateCopy

Install Apache by running the following command:

sudo apt install apache2Copy

sudo ufw app listCopy

Available applications:
  Apache
  Apache Full
  Apache Secure
  OpenSSH

sudo ufw allow 'Apache'Copy

sudo ufw statusCopy

Status: active

To                         Action      From
--                         ------      ----
OpenSSH                    ALLOW       Anywhere                  
Apache                     ALLOW       Anywhere                
OpenSSH (v6)               ALLOW       Anywhere (v6)             
Apache (v6)                ALLOW       Anywhere (v6)

Checking Your Web Server

At the end of the installation process, Ubuntu 20.04 starts Apache. The web server should already be up and running.

Check with the systemd init system to make sure the service is running by typing:

sudo systemctl status apache2Copy

Output:

● apache2.service - The Apache HTTP Server
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/apache2.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Thu 2020-04-23 22:36:30 UTC; 20h ago
       Docs: https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/
   Main PID: 29435 (apache2)
      Tasks: 55 (limit: 1137)
     Memory: 8.0M
     CGroup: /system.slice/apache2.service
             ├─29435 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
             ├─29437 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
             └─29438 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start

As confirmed by this output, the service has started successfully. However, the best way to test this is to request a page from Apache.

You can access the default Apache landing page to confirm that the software is running properly through your IP address. If you do not know your server’s IP address, you can get it a few different ways from the command line.

Try typing this at your server’s command prompt:

hostname -ICopy

You will get back a few addresses separated by spaces. You can try each in your web browser to determine if they work.

Another option is to use the Icanhazip tool, which should give you your public IP address as read from another location on the internet:

curl -4 icanhazip.comCopy

When you have your server’s IP address, enter it into your browser’s address bar:

http://your_server_ip

You should see the default Ubuntu 20.04 Apache web page:

This page indicates that Apache is working correctly. It also includes some basic information about important Apache files and directory locations.

Managing the Apache Process

Now that you have your web server up and running, let’s go over some basic management commands using systemctl.

Stopping Apache

To stop your web server, type:

sudo systemctl stop apache2Copy

Starting Apache

To start the web server when it is stopped, type:

sudo systemctl start apache2Copy

Restarting Apache

To stop and then start the service again, type:

sudo systemctl restart apache2Copy

Reloading Apache

If you are simply making configuration changes, Apache can often reload without dropping connections. To do this, use this command:

sudo systemctl reload apache2Copy

Enabling or Disabling Apache at Boot

By default, Apache is configured to start automatically when the server boots. If this is not what you want, disable this behavior by typing:

sudo systemctl disable apache2Copy

To re-enable the service to start up at boot, type:

sudo systemctl enable apache2Copy

Apache should now start automatically when the server boots again.

Setting Up Virtual Hosts (Recommended)

Create the Directory for Your Domain

Create the directory for your domain as follows:

sudo mkdir /var/www/your_domainCopy

Assign Ownership

Next, assign ownership of the directory with the $USER environment variable:

sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/your_domainCopy

Set Permissions

The permissions of your web roots should be correct if you haven’t modified your umask value, which sets default file permissions. To ensure that your permissions are correct and allow the owner to read, write, and execute the files while granting only read and execute permissions to groups and others, you can input the following command:

sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/your_domainCopy

Create a Sample Index Page

Next, create a sample index.html page using nano or your favorite editor:

sudo nano /var/www/your_domain/index.htmlCopy

Inside, add the following sample HTML:

<html>
    <head>
        <title>Welcome to Your_domain!</title>
    </head>
    <body>
        <h1>Success!  The your_domain virtual host is working!</h1>
    </body>
    </html>Copy

Save and close the file when you are finished.

Create a Virtual Host Configuration File

In order for Apache to serve this content, it’s necessary to create a virtual host file with the correct directives. Instead of modifying the default configuration file located at /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf directly, let’s make a new one at /etc/apache2/sites-available/your_domain.conf:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/your_domain.confCopy

Paste in the following configuration block, which is similar to the default, but updated for our new directory and domain name:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost
    ServerName your_domain
    ServerAlias www.your_domain
    DocumentRoot /var/www/your_domain
    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
    </VirtualHost>Copy

Save and close the file when you are finished.

Enable the New Site and Disable Default Site

Let’s enable the file with the a2ensite tool:

sudo a2ensite your_domain.confCopy

Disable the default site defined in 000-default.conf:

sudo a2dissite 000-default.confCopy

Test Configuration and Restart Apache

Next, let’s test for configuration errors:

sudo apache2ctl configtestCopy

You should receive the following output:

Syntax OK

Restart Apache to implement your changes:

sudo systemctl restart apache2Copy

Apache should now be serving your domain name. You can test this by navigating to http://your_domain, where you should see something like this:

Apache virtual host example