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      <h3>Apache HTTP Server Version 1.3</h3>
        <p><small><em>Is this the version you want?  For more recent
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    <h1 align="CENTER">Running Apache for Windows as a Service</h1>

    <p>Apache can be run as a service on Windows NT/2000. (There is
    also some experimental support for similar behavior on
    <a href="#win95svc">Windows 95/98</a>, introduced with Apache
    1.3.13).</p>

    <p>Installing Apache as a service should only be done once you
    can successfully run it in a console window. See <a
    href="windows.html">Using Apache with Microsoft Windows</a>
    before you attempt to install or run Apache as a service.
    Changes to the httpd.conf file should always be followed by
    starting Apache as a console window. If this succeeds, the
    service should succeed.</p>

    <p><strong>NOTE: Prior to version 1.3.13, the configuration was
    <em>not tested</em> prior to performing the
    installation</strong>, and a lack of service dependencies often
    caused the console window to succeed, but the service would
    still fail. See <a href="#service">below</a> if you are having
    problems running a version of Apache prior to 1.3.13 to resolve
    the issue. If you have this problem with version 1.3.13 or
    greater, first try uninstalling (-u) and re-installing (-i) the
    Apache service.  Better yet, upgrade to the most recent version.</p>
    <hr />

    <p>To start Apache as a service, you first need to install it
    as a service. Multiple Apache services can be installed, each
    with a different name and configuration. To install the default
    Apache service named "Apache", choose the "Install as Service for
    All Users" option when launching the Apache installation package.
    Once this is done you can start the "Apache" service by opening 
    the Services window (in the Control Panel, hidden in "Administrative
    Tools" on Windows 2000), selecting Apache, then clicking
    on Start. Apache will now be running, hidden in the background.
    You can later stop Apache by clicking on Stop. As an
    alternative to using the Services window, you can start and
    stop the "Apache" service from the command line with</p>
<pre>
  NET START APACHE
  NET STOP APACHE
</pre>

    <p>See <a href="#signal">Controlling Apache as a Service</a>
    for more information on installing and controlling Apache
    services.</p>

    <p><strong>Apache, unlike many other Windows NT/2000 services,
    logs most errors to its own error.log file, in the logs folder
    within the Apache server root folder. You will find few Apache
    error details in the Windows NT Event Log. Only errors as
    Apache attempts to start are captured in the Application Event
    Log.</strong></p>

    <p>After starting Apache as a service (or if you have trouble
    starting it) you can test it using the same <a
    href="windows.html#test">procedure</a> as for running in a
    console window. Remember to use the command:</p>
<pre>
  apache -n "service name"
</pre>

    <p>to assure you are using the service's default
    configuration.</p>

    <h2><a id="service" name="service">Running Apache for Windows
    as a Service</a></h2>

    <p><strong>Note: The -n option to specify a service name is
    only available with Apache 1.3.7 and later.</strong> Earlier
    versions of Apache only support the default service name
    'Apache'.  Only version 1.3.21 supports Windows 2000 ability
    to 'rename' the display name of a service.</p>

    <p>You can install Apache as a Windows NT service as
    follows:</p>
<pre>
    apache -i -n "service name"
</pre>

    <p>To install a service to use a particular configuration,
    specify the configuration file when the service is
    installed:</p>
<pre>
    apache -i -n "service name" -f "\my server\conf\my.conf"
</pre>

    <p>You can pass any other arguments, such as -d to change the
    default server root directory, -D, -C or -c to change config
    file processing, etc. Since these are stored in the registry
    and are difficult to modify, use this command to clear the
    options and replace them with a new list of options;</p>
<pre>
    apache -k config -n "service name" -f "\my server\conf\my.conf"
</pre>

    <p>To remove an Apache service, use:</p>
<pre>
    apache -u -n "service name"
</pre>

    <p>The default "service name", if one is not specified, is
    "Apache".</p>

    <p>Once a service is installed, you can use the <samp>-n</samp>
    option, in conjunction with other options, to refer to a
    service's configuration file. For example:</p>

    <p>To test a service's configuration file and report the
    default options for the service (configured with -i, -k install
    or -k config) use:</p>
<pre>
    apache -n "service name" -t
</pre>

    <p>To start a console Apache using a service's configuration
    file and its default options, use:</p>
<pre>
    apache -n "service name"
</pre>

    <p>Effective with Apache release 1.3.15, the -k install option
    was added as an alias to -i, and the -k uninstall option was
    added as an alias to -u. The original -i and -u options are
    deprecated in Apache 2.0. These aliases were added to ease the
    transition for administrators running both versions.</p>

    <h2><a id="depends" name="depends">Important Note on service
    dependencies:</a></h2>

    <p>Prior to Apache release 1.3.13, the dependencies required to
    successfully start an installed service were not configured.
    After installing a service using earlier versions of Apache,
    you must follow these steps:</p>
<pre>
    Run regedt32
    Select <u>W</u>indow - "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE on Local Machine" from the menu
    Double-click to open the SYSTEM, then the CurrentControlSet keys
    Scroll down and click on the Apache servicename
    Select <u>E</u>dit - Add <u>V</u>alue... from the menu
    Fill in the Add Value dialog with 
        <u>V</u>alue Name: DependOnGroup 
        <u>D</u>ata Type: REG_MULTI_SZ
        and click OK
    Leave the Multi-String Editor dialog empty and click OK
    Select <u>E</u>dit - Add <u>V</u>alue... from the menu
    Fill in the Add Value dialog with 
        <u>V</u>alue Name: DependOnService
        <u>D</u>ata Type: REG_MULTI_SZ
        and click OK
    Type the following list (one per line) in the Multi-String Editor dialog
        Tcpip
        Afd
        and click OK
</pre>

    <p>If you are using COM or DCOM components from a third party
    module, ISAPI, or other add-in scripting technologies such as
    ActiveState Perl, you may also need to add the entry Rpcss to
    the DependOnService list. To avoid exposing the TCP port 135
    when it is unnecessary, Apache does not create that entry upon
    installation. Follow the directions above to find or create the
    DependOnService value, double click that value if it already
    exists, and add the Rpcss entry to the list.</p>

    <p>Other installations may require additional dependencies.
    If any files required at startup reside on a network drive, you
    may need to first configure the service to depend on the network
    redirector (usually lanmanworkstation) and follow the directions
    below under the "User Account for Apache Service to Run As" section.</p>

    <p>Attempting to use both IIS and Apache, on the same port but on
    two different IP addresses may require the W3SVC (IIS) to start prior 
    to Apache, because IIS tries to glom onto all IP addresses (0.0.0.0) 
    as it starts, and will fail if Apache has already started on a 
    specific IP address.</p>

    <p>Apache 1.3.21 introduces a MUCH simpler way to add a dependency.
    The -W "servicename" argument modifies the -k install or -k config
    commands to configure a dependency for Apache.  Multiple -W arguments
    may be given, but they should all occur after the -k option.
    For example, to add the LanmanWorkstation dependency to an installed
    "Apache" service, use this command:</p>
<pre>
    apache -k config -n Apache -W LanmanWorkstation
</pre>

    <h2>User Account for Apache Service to Run As (NT/2000)</h2>

    <p>When Apache is first installed as a service (e.g. with the
    -i option) it will run as user "System" (the LocalSystem
    account). There should be few issues if all resources for the
    web server reside on the local system, but it has broad
    security privileges to affect the local machine!</p>

    <blockquote>
      LocalSystem is a very privileged account locally, so you
      shouldn't run any shareware applications there. However, it
      has no network privileges and cannot leave the machine via
      any NT-secured mechanism, including file system, named pipes,
      DCOM, or secure RPC.
    </blockquote>

    <p><strong>NEVER grant network privileges to the SYSTEM
    account!</strong> Create a new user account instead, grant the
    appropriate privileges to that user, and use the 'Log On As:'
    option. Select the Start Menu -&gt; Settings -&gt; Control
    Panel -&gt; Services -&gt; apache service ... and click the
    "Startup" button to access this setting.</p>

    <blockquote>
      A service that runs in the context of the LocalSystem account
      inherits the security context of the SCM. It is not
      associated with any logged-on user account and does not have
      credentials (domain name, user name, and password) to be used
      for verification.
    </blockquote>

    <p>The SYSTEM account has no privileges to the network, so
    shared pages or a shared installation of Apache is invisible to
    the service. If you intend to use <em>any</em> network
    resources, the following steps should help:</p>

    <ul>
      <li>Select Apache from the Control Panel's Service dialog and
      click Startup.</li>

      <li>Verify that the service account is correct. You may wish
      to create an account for your Apache services.</li>

      <li>Retype the password and password confirmation.</li>

      <li>Go to User Manager for Domains.</li>

      <li>Click on Policies from the title bar menu, and select
      User Rights.</li>

      <li>Select the option for Advanced User Rights.</li>

      <li>
        In the drop-down list, verify that the following rights
        have been granted to the selected account: 

        <ul>
          <li>Act as part of the operating system</li>

          <li>Back up files and directories</li>

          <li>Log on as a service</li>

          <li>Restore files and directories</li>
        </ul>
      </li>

      <li>Confirm that the selected account is a member of the
      Users group.</li>

      <li>Confirm the selected account has access to all document
      and script directories (minimally read and browse
      access).</li>

      <li>Confirm the selected account has read/write/delete access
      to the Apache logs directory!</li>
    </ul>

    <p>If you allow the account to log in as a user, then you can
    log in yourself and test that the account has the privileges to
    execute the scripts, read the web pages, and that you can start
    Apache in a console window. If this works, and you have
    followed the steps above, Apache should execute as a service
    with no problems.</p>

    <p><strong>Note: error code 2186</strong> is a good indication
    that you need to review the 'Log On As' configuration, since
    the server can't access a required network resource.</p>

    <h2><a id="trouble" name="trouble">Troubleshooting Apache for
    Windows as a Service</a></h2>

    <p>When starting Apache as a service you may encounter an error
    message from Windows service manager. For example if you try to
    start Apache using the Services applet in Windows Control Panel
    you may get the following message;</p>
<pre>
  Could not start the apache service on \\COMPUTER
  Error 1067; The process terminated unexpectedly.
</pre>

    <p>You will get this error if there is any problem starting
    Apache. In order to see what is causing the problem you should
    follow the instructions for <a href="windows.html#test">Testing
    Apache at the Command Prompt</a>.</p>

    <p>Also, Apache 1.3.13 now records startup errors in the
    Application Event Log under Windows NT/2000, if Apache is run
    as a service. Run the Event Viewer and select <u>L</u>og ...
    <u>A</u>pplication to see these events.</p>

    <p><strong>Check the Application Event Log with the Event
    Viewer in case of any problems, even if no error message pops
    up to warn you that an error occurred.</strong></p>

    <h2><a id="cmdline" name="cmdline">Running Apache for Windows
    from the Command Line</a></h2>
    For details on controlling Apache service from the command
    line, please refer to <a href="windows.html#cmdline">console
    command line</a> section. 

    <h2><a id="signal" name="signal">Controlling Apache as a
    Service</a></h2>

    <p>Multiple instances of Apache can be installed and run as
    services. Signal an installed Apache service to start, restart,
    or shutdown/stop as follows:</p>
<pre>
    apache -n "service name" -k start
    apache -n "service name" -k restart
    apache -n "service name" -k shutdown
    apache -n "service name" -k stop
</pre>

    <p>For the default "Apache" service, the -n Apache option is
    still required, since the -k commands without the -n option are
    directed at Apache running in a console window. The quotes are
    only required if the service name contains spaces.</p>

    <p><strong>Note: the -k stop alias for the -k shutdown command
    was introduced in Apache version 1.3.13.</strong> Earlier
    versions of Apache will only recognize the -k shutdown option.
    Prior to 1.3.3, Apache did not recognize <em>any</em> -k
    options at all!</p>

    <p>Note that you may specify startup options on the apache -k
    start command line, including the -D, -C and -c options. These
    affect the processing of the service configuration, and may be
    used with an &lt;IfDefine&gt; block to conditionally process
    directives. You may also override the server root path or
    configuration file with the -d or -f options. The options
    should also be passed to the -k restart command, but they are
    ignored if the service is running, and only processed if the
    service is started.</p>

    <p>The service also appears in the Service Control applet on
    Windows NT/2000. For NT, this is found in the Settings -&gt;
    Control Panel -&gt; Services entry, and on 2000 it is found in
    the Settings -&gt; Control Panel -&gt; Administrative Tools
    -&gt; Services entry. Here you can select the desired Apache
    service to start or stop it. Pass additional options such as
    -D, -C and -c, or override the default -d or -f options in the
    Start Parameters box before clicking the Start button. These
    options behave identically to the apache -k start command.</p>

    <p>In addition, you can use the native Windows NT/2000 command
    NET to start and stop Apache services:</p>
<pre>
    NET START "service name"
    NET STOP "service name"
</pre>

    <p>Again, quotes are only required if the service name contains
    spaces. There is no way using the NET START command to pass
    additional options such as -D, -c or -C using the NET START
    command. If options are required, use one of the other two
    methods instead.</p>

    <h2><a id="win95svc" name="win95svc">Experimental
    Windows 95/98 Service</a></h2>

    <p><strong>Note: The service options for Windows 95 and 98 are
    only available with Apache 1.3.13 and later.</strong> Earlier
    versions of Apache only supported Apache in a console window
    for Windows 95/98.</p>

    <p>There is some support for Apache on Windows 95/98 to behave
    in a similar manner as a service on Windows NT/2000. It is
    <em>experimental</em>, if it works (at all) the Apache
    Software Foundation will not attest to its reliability or
    future support. Proceed at your own risk!</p>

    <p>Once you have confirmed that Apache runs correctly at the <a
    href="windows.html#test">Command Prompt</a> you can install,
    control and uninstall it with the same commands as the Windows
    NT/2000 version.</p>

    <p>There are, however, significant differences that you should
    note:</p>

    <p>Apache will attempt to start and if successful it will run
    in the background. If you run the command</p>
<pre>
   Apache -n "service name" -k start
</pre>

    <p>via a shortcut on your desktop, for example, then if the
    service starts successfully a console window will flash up but
    immediately disappears. If Apache detects any errors on startup
    such as a incorrect entries in the httpd.conf file, then the
    console window will remain visible. This may display an error
    message which will be useful in tracking down the cause of the
    problem, and you should also review the error.log file in the
    Apache logs directory.</p>

    <p>Windows 95/98 does not support NET START or NET STOP
    commands so you must use Apache's Service Control options at a
    command prompt. You may wish to set up a shortcut for each of
    these commands so that you can just choose it from the start
    menu or desktop to perform the required action.</p>

    <p>Apache and Windows 95/98 offer no support for running the
    Apache service as a specific user with network privileges. In
    fact, Windows 95/98 offers no security on the local machine,
    either. This is the simple reason that the Apache Software
    Foundation never endorses the use of Windows 95/98 as a public
    httpd server. These facilities exist only to assist the user in
    developing web content and learning the Apache server, and
    perhaps as a intranet server on a secured, private network.</p>
        <hr />

    <h3 align="CENTER">Apache HTTP Server</h3>
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