Oracle Application Server 10g Essentials

Oracle-Supplied Modules

Oracle supplies some key, additional modules that turn Apache into the Oracle HTTP Server. Oracle has also made minor improvements to the code base in the area of security and other defect fixes.

The Oracle HTTP Server installs most but not all of the standard Apache modules. Those removed from Apache are either deprecated or have something to do with authentication. OracleAS Single Sign-On has replaced the removed authentication modules’ functionality.

What About Apache 2.0?

Those of you who are Apache administrators may be asking why Oracle is using the Apache Version 1.3 code base and not the Apache 2.0 code base. The reason is that at the time Oracle Application Server was first in the works (back in 2001), Apache 2.0 didn’t even exist. Oracle decided to use Apache Version 1.3 because, at that time, “it proved highly reliable, secure, and had great performance characteristics.”^[2] Apache Version 2.0 was released for production in April of 2002. Although it offers improved performance and important new features (e.g., support for IPv6), Oracle has stated that it is still “less reliable and has more security vulnerabilities than Version 1.3.” Oracle’s current plans are to use Apache 2.0 on Release 10.0.4 of Oracle Application Server, provided that Apache 2.0 is appropriately secure and defect-free at that time.

Third-Party Modules

Oracle includes the following third-party modules that aren’t part of the standard Apache distribution:

mod_fastcgi

mod_perl