How to manage the Apache web server service

The Apache web server service can be managed using various commands depending on the Linux distribution you are using. In Ubuntu, the service is typically called apache2, while in Red Hat-based systems, it is known as httpd. These different names can lead to confusion when performing tasks like starting or restarting the service.

Linux systems historically used different methods to manage services. While older systems relied on System V Init scripts, most modern distributions now use systemd for service management. Systemd offers a unified approach to managing services like Apache across different Linux distributions.

In platforms that adopt systemd, System V Init scripts remain available for compatibility purposes. Additionally, Red Hat-based Linux distributions provide a service command offering similar functionalities.

Method	Command
System V. Init scripts	/etc/init.d/httpd [start\|restart\|stop\|status]
Systemd	systemctl [start\|restart\|reload\|stop\|status] httpd
service command	service httpd [start\|restart\|stop\|status]
Apache binary	apachectl [start\|restart\|stop\|status]

Different platform might use different binary/script names such as apache, apache2, apachectl or apache2ctl instead of httpd in the above example.
Related: Apache binary name for different distribution

Steps to start, restart, reload and stop Apache service from command line:

Stop Apache service using Apache binary.

$ sudo apache2ctl stop
AH00558: apache2: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using 127.0.1.1. Set the 'ServerName' directive globally to suppress this message

Start Apache service using System V. Init scripts.

$ sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 start
[ ok ] Starting apache2 (via systemctl): apache2.service.

Restart the Apache service using systemd.
```
$ sudo systemctl restart apache2
```
Reload Apache configuration without stopping the service using systemd.
```
$ sudo systemctl reload apache2
```

Check the Apache service status using systemd.

$ sudo systemctl status apache2
● apache2.service - The Apache HTTP Server
   Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/apache2.service; enabled; vendor preset:
   Active: active (running) since Mon 2020-01-06 05:26:10 UTC; 14s ago
     Docs: https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/
  Process: 1846 ExecStart=/usr/sbin/apachectl start (code=exited, status=0/SUCCE
 Main PID: 1874 (apache2)
    Tasks: 55 (limit: 4591)
   Memory: 5.7M
   CGroup: /system.slice/apache2.service
           ├─1874 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
           ├─1875 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
           └─1876 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start

Jan 06 05:26:10 host systemd[1]: Starting The Apache HTTP Server...
Jan 06 05:26:10 host apachectl[1846]: AH00558: apache2: Could not reliably deter
Jan 06 05:26:10 host systemd[1]: Started The Apache HTTP Server.

Disable Apache from starting on boot using systemd.

$ sudo systemctl disable apache2
Synchronizing state of apache2.service with SysV service script with /lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install.
Executing: /lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install disable apache2
Removed /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/apache2.service.

Enable Apache to start on boot using systemd.

$ sudo systemctl enable apache2
Synchronizing state of apache2.service with SysV service script with /lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install.
Executing: /lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install enable apache2
Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/apache2.service → /lib/systemd/system/apache2.service.

Author: Mohd Shakir Zakaria
Mohd Shakir Zakaria is an experienced cloud architect with a strong development and open-source advocacy background. He boasts multiple certifications in AWS, Red Hat, VMware, ITIL, and Linux, underscoring his expertise in cloud architecture and system administration.

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