Webserver Software and Degree of Control

Depending on the hosting provider you choose you may have very little or a fair amount of configuration to do before your website will be ready for debut.

Apache & IIS

Apache is the open source web server software that runs on *Nix platforms. It is currently the dominant software used across the Internet. Though there are other programs that could be used, most likely your hosting provider will be running Apache. The other dominant software is Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS). This material completely ignores anything Microsoft related, so if you’re looking for information on that you’ll be disappointed.

On Apache servers, most of the changes that you will want to make are done through the httpd.conf file. This file is rarely accessible on shared hosting accounts, is usually accessible on virtual private servers, and always available on dedicated servers.

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