How to Install Apache Web Server on Ubuntu 24.04

Introduction

Apache is an open-source web server application that enables the delivery of static and dynamic web applications on a server. It's highly customized, supports multiple modular extensions, and can work as a reverse proxy or load balancer to deliver web applications or backend services on your server.

This article explains how to install the Apache web server on Ubuntu 24.04 and securely deliver web applications using virtual host configurations on your server.

Prerequisites

Before you begin:

• Deploy an Ubuntu 24.04 instance on Vultr.
• Create a new domain A record pointing to the server IP address. For example, app.example.com.
• Access the server using SSH and log in as a non-root user with sudo privileges.
• Update the server.

Install Apache

The Apache web server package is available in the default repositories on Ubuntu 24.04. Follow the steps below to install the latest Apache version using the default APT package manager and enable the web server to automatically start at boot time.

1. Update the server's package index.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo apt update

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

2. Install the Apache web server package.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo apt install apache2 -y

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

3. View the installed Apache web server version.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ apachectl -v

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Output:

   Server version: Apache/2.4.58 (Ubuntu)
   Server built:   2024-07-11T14:41:54

4. Allow connections on the HTTP port 80 through the default UFW firewall configurations.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo ufw allow 80/tcp

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

5. Access your public server IP using a web browser such as Chrome and verify that the default Apache web page displays.

   http://SERVER-IP

   

Manage the Apache System Service

Apache runs with the apache system service profile that manages the web server runtime processes on your server. Follow the steps below to enable the Apache web server to start at boot time, and verify the system service status.

1. Enable the Apache service to automatically start at boot time.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo systemctl enable apache2

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Output:

   Synchronizing state of apache2.service with SysV service script with /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install.
   Executing: /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install enable apache2

2. Start the Apache web server.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo systemctl start apache2

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

3. View the Apache service status and verify that it's active on your server.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo systemctl status apache2

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Output:

   ● apache2.service - The Apache HTTP Server
        Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/apache2.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
        Active: active (running) since Thu 2024-07-18 00:04:53 UTC; 41s ago
          Docs: https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/
      Main PID: 4137 (apache2)
         Tasks: 55 (limit: 1061)
        Memory: 6.0M (peak: 6.1M)
           CPU: 31ms
        CGroup: /system.slice/apache2.service
                ├─4137 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
                ├─4139 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
                └─4140 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start

4. Stop the Apache web server.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo systemctl stop apache2

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

5. Restart the Apache web server.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo systemctl restart apache2

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

Create a new Apache Virtual Host

The Apache web server delivers web applications using virtual host configurations on your server. The default virtual host listens for incoming connections using all server IP addresses on the default HTTP port 80. Follow the steps below to disable the default virtual host and create a new virtual host to listen for connection requests using your domain on the default HTTP port 80.

1. Create a new Apache virtual host configuration file in the /etc/apache2/sites-available/ directory using a text editor such as nano. For example, website.conf.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/website.conf

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

2. Add the following contents to the file. Replace app.example.com with your domain and webmaster@example.com with your web administrator email.

   APACHECONF

   Copy

   <VirtualHost *:80>
       ServerAdmin webmaster@example.com
       ServerName app.example.com
   
       DocumentRoot /var/www/html/website
       DirectoryIndex index.html index.php
   
       ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
       CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
   
       <Directory /var/www/html/website>
           Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
           AllowOverride All
           Require all granted
       </Directory>
   </VirtualHost>

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Save and close the file.

   The above Apache configuration creates a new virtual host that delivers web application files from the /var/www/html/website directory using your domain app.example.com. Within the configuration:

   • <VirtualHost *:80>: Sets the virtual host listening address. The value 80 enables the HTTP port 80.
   • ServerAdmin webmaster@example.com: Specifies the web server administrator email address to send critical errors and alerts.
   • ServerName example.com: Sets the virtual host domain to use for delivering web applications on your server.
   • DocumentRoot /var/www/html/website: Sets the virtual host web root directory that contains the web application files to serve on your domain.
   • DirectoryIndex index.html: Specifies the default index web application file to serve when the virtual host domain app.example.com is accessed.
   • ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log: Sets a custom log file to store your virtual host error logs.
   • CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined: Sets the virtual host access log file location using the combined log format.
   • <Directory /var/www/html/example>: Defines the configurations to apply on the web root directory requests.
   • Options Indexes FollowSymLinks: Allows directory listing Indexes and symbolic links FollowSymLinks.
   • AllowOverride All: Allows .htaccess files to override the Apache virtual host configurations.
   • Require all granted: Allows all domain users to access the web root directory files.

3. Disable the default Apache virtual host configuration.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo a2dissite 000-default

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

4. Enable the new Apache virtual host configuration.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo a2ensite website

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

5. Test the Apache configuration for errors.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo apachectl configtest

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Output:

   Syntax OK

6. Create the web root directory /var/www/html/website referenced in your virtual host configuration.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo mkdir -p /var/www/html/website

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

7. Create a new sample HTML application index.html file in the web root directory.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo nano /var/www/html/website/index.html

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

8. Add the following contents to the file.

   HTML

   Copy

   <!DOCTYPE html>
   <html lang="en">
   <head>
       <meta charset="UTF-8">
       <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
       <title>Apache Web Server</title>
   </head>
   <body>
       <h1>Greetings from Vultr</h1>
   </body>
   </html>

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Save and close the file.

   The above HTML code displays Greetings from Vultr message when the application is accessed using your virtual host domain app.example.com

9. Grant the web server user and group www-data ownership privileges to the /var/www/html/website web root directory.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/website

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

10. Restart the Apache web server to apply your configuration changes.

    CONSOLE

    Copy

    $ sudo systemctl restart apache2

    Explain Code

    Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

Secure the Apache Web Server

The Apache web server listens for connection requests on the HTTP port 80 by default. HTTP enables unencrypted requests between your web server and a user's browser. HTTPS enables encrypted connections using valid SSL certificates to authenticate the web server with the user's browser. Follow the steps below to secure the Apache web server with trusted Let's Encrypt SSL certificates to enable encrypt network connections and forward all HTTP requests to HTTPS.

1. Install the Certbot Let's Encrypt client package using the Snap package manager.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo snap install certbot --classic

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

2. Request a new Let's Encrypt SSL certificate on your server using your virtual host domain. Replace app.example.com with your actual domain and hello@example.com with your email address.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo certbot --apache --agree-tos --redirect -d app.example.com -m hello@example.com

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Your output should be similar to the one below when successful.

   Successfully received certificate.
   Certificate is saved at: /etc/letsencrypt/live/app.example.com/fullchain.pem
   Key is saved at:         /etc/letsencrypt/live/app.example.com/privkey.pem
   This certificate expires on 2024-10-15.
   These files will be updated when the certificate renews.
   Certbot has set up a scheduled task to automatically renew this certificate in the background.
   
   Deploying certificate
   Successfully deployed certificate for app.example.com to /etc/apache2/sites-available/website-le-ssl.conf
   Congratulations! You have successfully enabled HTTPS on https://app.example.com

3. Test the Certbot SSL certificate renewal process.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo certbot renew --dry-run

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Output:

   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
   Processing /etc/letsencrypt/renewal/publishqueue.ddns.net.conf
   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
   Account registered.
   Simulating renewal of an existing certificate for publishqueue.ddns.net
   
   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
   Congratulations, all simulated renewals succeeded: 
     /etc/letsencrypt/live/publishqueue.ddns.net/fullchain.pem (success)
   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

4. Restart the Apache web server to apply your SSL configuration changes.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo systemctl restart apache2

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

Set Up Firewall Rules

Uncomplicated Firewall (UFW) is active and enabled on Vultr Ubuntu 24.04 servers by default. Follow the steps below to configure the UFW utility and allow network connections using the Apache web server firewall profile.

1. List all available UFW application profiles.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo ufw app list

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Verify that the default Apache profile apache is available similar to the following output:

   Apache
   Apache Full
   Apache Secure
   OpenSSH

2. Allow the Apache Full profile to enable both HTTP port 80 and HTTPS port 443 connections through the firewall.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo ufw allow 'Apache Full'

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

3. Reload UFW to apply the firewall changes.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo ufw reload

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

4. View the firewall status and verify that the new rules are available.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo ufw status

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Output:

   To                         Action      From
   --                         ------      ----
   22/tcp                     ALLOW       Anywhere
   Apache Full                ALLOW       Anywhere
   22/tcp (v6)                ALLOW       Anywhere (v6)
   Apache Full (v6)           ALLOW       Anywhere (v6)

5. Access your virtual host domain app.example.com in a new web browser window and verify that Apache serves your HTML application with a Greetings from Vultr message.

   https://app.example.com

   

Conclusion

You have installed the Apache web server on an Ubuntu 24.04 server. Apache enables you to host static websites and integrate with dynamic content processors such as PHP to serve modern web applications such as WordPress on your server. In addition, you can use the Apache web server as a reverse proxy to securely deliver your backend services using the mod_proxy extension on your server. For more information and configuration options, visit the Apache documentation.