An intranet offers a fairly cheap and easy way to network your office-certainly easier than the traditional NetWare approach. It's also the perfect way to publish all sorts of company documents. That's why an intranet is never in place for long before someone realizes it should host an internal Web site. And not long after that, you'll probably open up that internal site to your customers and even the entire Internet.

But what's the best Web server software to use? Ask most IS mavens-especially those who run their intranets with Linux or some other Unix variant-and the overwhelming majority will answer, "Apache!" And why not? Apache is fast and flexible, and it can be endlessly modified with a number of tools. According to industry watcher Netcraft (www.netcraft.com), a whopping 45 percent of the Internet's Web servers are powered by some version of Apache.

So why spill ink over a product that's already known in the networking world? The big news is that Apache 1.3 (evaluated here in a beta version) will run on Windows 95 and NT as well as Unix. That means if your intranet uses both Windows and Unix, you won't need two Web server packages. The runner-up good news is the arrival of the comparably featured version 1.2.5 for Unix users, a maintenance release that includes some nice enhancements that improve manageability.

Oh yes, one more thing. Apache is free. You can download the software from various sites on the Internet, including the Apache HTTP Server Project (www.apache.org), which put together these latest upgrades. Not only can you download the software, you can grab the source code, too, so your IS staff can customize your Web server any number of ways.

I know, I know. Microsoft includes its Internet Information Server (IIS) for free with Windows NT. But you're getting that "free" Web server for the price of the Windows NT license. Besides, IIS's cross-platform talents are limited, and so are its tools for creating Web content. What's more, Microsoft doesn't share the IIS source code, so you can't customize IIS for your environment.

Support and Features

Recently, I spent some time looking at Apache 1.2.5 (on Linux and Solaris platforms) and the prerelease version of Apache 1.3 on Windows 95 and NT machines. I was impressed by Apache's features (including its interoperability with NT and Unix), ease of setup, level of support you can get from the Apache community, and number of third-party add-ons.

Apache isn't backed by a huge company, but the Usenet newsgroups (comp.infosystems.www.servers.unix) devoted to Apache provide better support than many large companies do with toll-free lines and technical support staff. If you want it, there are a number of third-party support organizations that provide hands-on help for a fee. (Go to www.apache.org/info/support.cgi.) But I suspect few Apache users will need this assistance. Apache's documentation is so lucid that even a novice networker can get up and running quickly.

Both versions of Apache were a breeze to install and configure. Although Apache still uses a command-line interface (a graphical front end is in the works), it comes with well-documented configuration files and detailed, HTML-based help. Network administrators with complex Web serving requirements will appreciate the management features built into Apache. For example, Apache lets you manage multiple Web servers as if they were one and perform maintenance remotely. Real-time performance measurement tools are also part of the package. And thanks to support for service under Windows NT, administrators can even automate the start-up and shutdown of the Web server.

Previous versions of Apache logged only the barest details (usually in the form of arcane error messages) in a single file. Apache 1.2.5 and Apache 1.3 can open multiple log files and record more details (such as IP address and port), which makes it easier for network administrators to chase down problems.

There are plenty of other welcome enhancements for network managers. Version 1.2.5 patches seven security problems that have been identified in earlier versions. The update offers more online help, so network managers should spend less time pawing through documentation. And Apache 1.2.5 now supports specific browsers, allowing network applications to take certain actions based on the browser being used. Aside from its Windows support, version 1.3 adds a spell checker that corrects errors-misspellings, miscapitalizations, missing letters-when a document is requested from the server.

Apache is also compatible with Microsoft's Internet Server API (ISAPI) and Netscape's Web Server API (NSAPI). ISAPI and NSAPI compatibility is a huge time-saver because applications written for these two dominant server standards will now run on Apache setups without a hiccup. (OK, maybe there's one hiccup. Because Apache doesn't keep ISAPI resident in memory all the time, numerous application requests may slow down network performance. A fix is reportedly on its way.)

Creating Applications

One thing IS departments love about Apache is that you can customize it to fit your environment. As you might expect, Apache 1.2.5 and 1.3 can easily serve up HTML documents and use a variety of development and scripting languages, such as Perl and Rexx.

There are also a number of third-party add-ons that make developing intranet applications a lot easier. New to Apache is Apache JServ, which is based on Java Servlets using JavaSoft's Java Development Kit 1.1. There's HTTP 1.1 support, of course, and support for NSAPI. Support for Microsoft's ActiveX and Active Server technologies is in the works.

All in all, the latest releases of Apache are attractive solutions for anyone who wants to run a Web site. You get cross-platform support, adherence to the important standards, and a fast, powerful Web server that's easy to set up and maintain. And the price is right. If you're looking for a Web server, definitely take a look at Apache.

© 1998 Maggie Biggs. All rights reserved.
Maggie Biggs is a senior analyst at the InfoWorld Test Center, where she evaluates emerging application and database technologies. You can reach her at maggie_biggs@infoworld.com or care of Computer Currents.