308 Technique 42: Keeping an Apache Server in Top Form

You can set up Apache by installing individual RPM packages with the rpm command, but the process goes a lot faster with a tool like Synaptic or the Fedora Package Manager. Resolving the dependencies manually can seem to take forever.

Using Synaptic to download and install Apache

Manually satisfying all the dependencies of a program like Apache can be a real pain and timeconsuming. You have to round up and install each RPM package before the next will allow you to continue. Using a tool like Synaptic can save you a ton of time when you need to install a complex program with many dependencies.

Synaptic is the right tool for downloading or updating any of the software on your system. Technique 19 is all about using Synaptic to keep your software current. Check it out for details about downloading and installing Synaptic. It’s a definite timesaver.

If you’ve installed Synaptic on your system, a painfree installation of Apache is just a few clicks away. To download and install Apache, follow these steps:

1. Open a terminal window and enter the following command:

# synaptic

You’re prompted to enter the root password.

2. Enter the root password and click OK.

Synaptic opens.

3. Click the Update button (on the toolbar).

Synaptic connects to each repository and updates the local index that tells Synaptic which programs are available (see Figure 42-1).

4. Enter httpd in the Find field in the upper-right corner of the window.

Synaptic finds the first package whose name starts with httpd.

•Figure 42-1: Updating the Synaptic packages.

5.Click the Find Next arrow (the right arrow just to the right of the Find field) to move through the matches that Synaptic finds and then click the Install Latest Version button when you find the following packages:

httpd-manual httpd

If you already have either of these packages installed on your system, the Install Latest Version button will be labeled Update instead. Update your versions of Apache as long as you’re here. It only takes a minute.

6. Click the Execute button (on the toolbar).

A Summary dialog opens, as shown in Figure 42-2.

7. Click Proceed to start the download.

A dialog opens, showing the progress as Synaptic retrieves the package files. When the download completes, the installation begins.

When Synaptic is finished with the installation, another dialog signals that the installation is complete (see Figure 42-3).

8. Close the dialog and Synaptic.

Your installation of Apache and its dependencies is complete!

Setting Up Apache — Quick! 309

Fedora Package Manager, YAST, or Rpmdrake) to install Apache instead of downloading Apache from the Web. In this section, we show you how to install Apache using the Fedora Package Manager.

If you’re running SuSE Linux, the procedure is similar — use System YAST Install and Remove Software; choose the Selections filter and click Simple Webserver. Mandrake users can install Apache using Rpmdrake (Main Menu System Configuration Packaging Install Software).

If you happen to have a copy of Red Hat Linux Fedora For Dummies, by Jon ‘maddog’ Hall and Paul G. Sery (published by Wiley), you already have the Fedora distribution on DVD; you can install Apache from that DVD. Just insert the disc, enter the root password when prompted, and follow along.

To install Apache from the Fedora install discs, fol-

low these steps:

• Figure 42-2: Synaptic, waiting to install new packages.

• Figure 42-3: The installation is complete.

Installing Apache from disc

If you have a set of installation discs for your Linux distribution, you can use the installer program (the

1.

2.

3.

Open the Main Menu and choose System Settings Add/Remove Applications.

A dialog opens, prompting you for the root password.

Enter the root password and click OK.

A dialog opens and confirms that Fedora is checking the system package status. The Package Management window opens.

Scroll down to the Servers section and check the Web Server box (see Figure 42-4).

If you plan on incorporating other programs (like PHP or PostgreSQL) into your Web server, you can save time by adding them now. Click the Details button to the right of the Web Server entry to view the package contents. Check the boxes next to any additional packages you’d like to add. When you’re finished, click the Close button to return to the Package Management window.