LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

Installing Apache

Like the majority of open source software, Apache gives you two choices when it comes to installation: you can download the source and compile it yourself, or you can install a binary package. The binary packages are precompiled versions of Apache that come either from your software vendor (as is the case with most Linux distributions) or directly from the Apache Foundation itself (see http://www.apache.org/dist/httpd/binaries). Your first decision is therefore whether to choose a binary or a source distribution.

A source distribution has a number of advantages. First and foremost, it allows you to configure exactly what you want compiled into Apache and what you don't want. The configuration options before the actual compilation give you the ability to add or remove dozens of modules distributed with Apache. Another good reason for going with a source installation is that you may have third-party modules in source that must be compiled against the Apache source tree. If this is the case, you have to use the Apache source code in order to compile these modules.

The biggest disadvantage of a source installation (other than the potential complexity of the installation itself, if you are not familiar with such things) is package management. The easiest way to maintain a Unix-based system is to utilize the built-in package management tools to install, upgrade, and remove software for your operating system. If you install any package from source , you're bypassing ...