Apache is an integral part of many web servers. As cross-platform software, it is often used as a LAMP system, a combination of Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP, to manage dynamic websites. Review our instructions and learn about situations requiring an Apache restart and how to do it.
Under what circumstances might it be necessary to restart Apache?
Apache is open source web server software, and several associated modules are offered. Apache modules enhance the functions of this web server. In particular, you can opt for Apache SSL for digital certificates or for modules aimed at improving the performance of the Apache web server.
For configure modules, it is usually necessary to restart Apache to activate them and allow them to work without errors. The Apache process may also hang and, again, a restart is usually required. Below are other scenarios that may require a reboot:
- installing updates
- modifying the Apache configuration file
- testing other applications
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What should you pay attention to before restarting?
To restart the Apache web server without facing any problems, we advise you to back up all important server files. It is particularly recommended to create a backup copy of the Apache configuration file. Review all running applications and close them before restarting. If you are configuring the Apache web server, verify that the operating system is up to date and that all security patches have been installed.
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Restart Apache
Before you begin, make sure you are logged in as root or as a user who can use the sudo command. You should also know that the commands for managing the Apache service depend on the distribution, as well as the system and session manager. On older systems, the service manager is ” SysVinit “, against ” SystemD » on newer systems.
Apache is not installed on the local server? Log in to the server using SSH and enter “root”, or your username and password:
$ ssh -l root PASSWORDbash
Restart Apache under Ubuntu and Debian: SystemD
“ apache2 » corresponds to the Apache service under Ubuntu and Debian.
To launch Apache, run the command below:
$ sudo systemctl start apache2bash
This process can be interrupted in a similar way:
$ sudo systemctl stop apache2bash
To restart Apache, you must use the command “ systemctl restart “.
$ sudo systemctl restart apache2bash
Restart Apache under Ubuntu and Debian: SysVinit
SysVinit uses “init.d” scripts as well as the “ service » for Apache control.
$ sudo service apache2 start # Apache-Start
$ sudo service apache2 stop # Apache-Stop
$ sudo service apache2 restart # Apache-Restartbash
Restart Apache under RHEL/CentOS: SystemD
The syntax remains identical to that used for Ubuntu and Debian. The only difference is that the Apache process is named “ httpd » on Red Hat-based Linux systems.
Launch Apache:
$ sudo systemctl start httpdbash
Interrupt Apache:
$ sudo systemctl stop httpdbash
Restart Apache:
$ sudo systemctl restart httpdbash
Restart Apache under RHEL/CentOS: SysVinit
On older systems that use SysVinit, the “ apache2 » is again replaced by “ httpd “.
$ sudo service httpd start # Apache-Start
$ sudo service httpd stop # Apache-Stop
$ sudo service httpd restart # Apache-Restartbash
