Apache is one of the more prevalent web servers that are out on the internet, and some say that it runs more than half of the world's websites. These range from huge e-commerce sites to smaller hobby sites. The Apache web server is a free-for-download product that runs on multiple platforms and while there is a million resources out there to find how to manage and operate an Apache web server, it doesn't matter much if you cannot find what you need when you need it.

The Apache Cookbook is here to rescue you. It presents over 200 'recipes' covering a wide range of topics that will help you with real life situations. In fact these have come from real life situations that the authors were asked to solve. These are primarily useful to webmasters who are responsible for the entire server, but many are also useful to users who want to customize the behavior in their own directories. It is meant to be a practical reference as opposed to a theoretical one.

Apache Cookbook is 254 pages in length and is divided into 13 chapters.

Chapter 1, "Installation," covers the basics of installation of the Apache software. This includes both Windows and Linux installations. Here are 13 recipes on downloading, building, and upgrading your Apache web server. Chapter 2, "Adding Common Modules," will show you how to install some of the more common third party modules as well as generic instructions that apply to other modules that have less complex installation needs. There are 10 recipes in this topic.

Chapter 3, "Logging," includes recipes about recording the visits to your website and the error logging mechanism that is included with Apache. Included in these 21 recipes is how to get more details, how to rotate logs, and logging specific activities. Chapter 4, "Virtual Hosts," gives you insights on running multiple websites using a single Apache server install and a set of configuration files. These 12 recipes show you some of the ins and outs of virtual hosting in either an addressed-base or a name-base hosting format

Chapter 5, "Aliases, Redirecting, and Rewriting," describes how have resources served from some other location. Here addressed is mapping to a specific directory; called aliasing, mapping one URL to another URL; called redirecting, and altering the URL in some way; called rewriting. These 23 recipes are really aimed at webmasters. Chapter 6, "Security," examines the basic issues of securing your Apache web server against penetration and exposure from the outside world. It is all about allowing people to see what they should see, and not see what they should not see and these 33 recipes will help you work with file sizes, passwords, access, and security.