Migrating to Apache httpd 2.4

Migrating to Apache httpd 2.4

Bascom Bridge’s Migrating to Apache httpd 2.4 training teaches experienced Apache httpd 2.0 and 2.2 administrators how to take full advantage of the new features of Apache httpd 2.4 and reviews key concepts.

Note: The course outline shown is a sample and training is eagerly tailored to focus on the new features most important to you.

APACHE HTTPD 2.4 TRAINING OBJECTIVES

All Apache httpd 2.4 training participants learn how to:

• How to migrate to and tune the Event MPM (multiprocessor module) for optimal performance
• Zip content on the wire with mod_deflate
• Secure the server using mod_security
• Set limits on the content and size of requests
• Use new SSL features, including SNI
• Proxy and load balance traffic to Apache Tomcat, JBoss, or other servers (optional)
• Use mod_rewrite to manipulate URLs and conditionally process incoming requests
• Serve HTTP/2 traffic and take advantage of the protocol’s new features
• Take advantage of other exciting new Apache httpd 2.4 features

APACHE HTTPD 2.4 TRAINING PREREQUISITES

All attendees must be completely comfortable in a Linux bash shell environment and with the basics of Apache httpd administration, including:

• Starting, stopping, and restarting the server
• Making basic configuration changes
• Use of IfModule, Location, Directory, and Files containers within httpd.conf
• Including other .conf files from httpd.conf
• Fundamental SSL concepts, including public and private keys and server certificates
• Ideally, at least some prior familiarity with mod_rewrite

APACHE HTTPD 2.4 TRAINING MATERIALS

All Apache httpd training students receive a copy of Apress’ Pro Apache and related courseware.

SOFTWARE NEEDED FOR EACH PC:

• 64-bit operating system with at least 8GB RAM and 15GB hard drive space
• The course can be taught directly on Windows or in a Linux, Solaris, or MacOS X VM running on top of VMware, VirtualBox, or Hyper-V. A prepared VM containing your standard distribution of Linux (or its freely licensed equivalent) can be provided upon request
• Internet access for all attendees and the instructor
• For classes delivered online, all participants need either dual monitors or a separate device logged into the online session so that they can do their work on one screen and watch the instructor on the other. A separate computer connected to a projector or large screen TV would be another way for students to see the instructor’s screen simultaneously with working on their own.

APACHE HTTPD 2.4 TRAINING OUTLINE

• Introduction
• Understanding the Event MPM and the Transition from Worker to Event
  • Architecture differences, including the importance of epoll
  • Use of asynchronous connections and monitoring these with mod_status
  • Switching from Prefork to Worker in RHEL 7
  • Tuning the Event MPM (ThreadsPerChild, ThreadLimit, Start Servers, ServerLimit, MinSpareThreads, MaxSpareThreads, MaxRequestWorkers, ListenBacklog, etc.)
• mod_deflate
  • Why gzip text content on the wire?
  • Controlling what gets gzipped
  • Controlling memory and CPU resources dedicated to gzipping
  • Testing mod_deflate
• mod_security fundamentals
  • Installation and basic configuration
  • Rule sets
  • Using mod_security to eliminate the Server: header and other common security clean-up items
  • Understanding the mod_security lifecycle and a top-level overview of how to use mod_security to protect applications
• Setting Limits on Requests
  • LimitInternalRecursion
  • LimitRequestBody
  • LimitRequestFields
  • LimitRequestFieldSize
  • LimitRequestLine
  • LimitXMLRequestBody
  • Using mod_ratelimit to limit client bandwidth
• SSL with mod_ssl and SNI
  • Overview of SSL
  • Generating a certificate signing request
  • Protecting your server’s private key
  • Installing a certificate
  • Generating a self-signed certificate for testing purposes
  • Requiring SSL for specific URLs
  • Understanding which protocols and ciphers to permit
  • Apache SNI and allowing use of SSL with multiple virtual hosts
  • Client certificates
• Coverage of mod_proxy and/or mod_jk for proxying traffic to a back-end Tomcat or JBoss server if requested
• mod_rewrite
  • Regular expressions primer (in-depth – will spend 40 minutes to ensure students deeply understand and are comfortable with regular expressions)
  • Why rewrite URLs?
  • Turning on the rewrite engine
  • Configuring mod_rewrite logging
  • RewriteRule and RewriteCond
  • Common URL rewriting tasks
    • Redirecting http requests to https
    • Mapping URL pieces to query string parameters
    • Filtering requests by IP
    • Other common rewriting tasks
• Monitoring Apache httpd
  • Monitoring Apache httpd with mod_status
  • Understanding Extended Status
  • mod_status differences in Apache httpd 2.4
• HTTP/2 (experimental)
  • Overview of the protocol and browser support
  • Introducing mod_http2
  • Enabling mod_http2
  • Controlling minimum workers, maximum workers, and work idle times
  • Controlling timeouts
  • Configuring push
  • Other features
• Walkthrough of Additional Apache httpd 2.4 New Features
  • Finer-grained control of LogLevel on a per-module or per-directory basis
  • Conditional configuration via <If>, <ElseIf>, and <Else>
  • Changes to virtual hosting
  • Defining and using variables in your configuration
  • Overview of 20 new modules added in 2.4
  • Extensive enhancements to other existing modules
  • Walkthrough of https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/upgrading.html and the process of porting a 2.2 configuration to 2.4
• Conclusion