HTTPD

Open-source HTTP server for modern operating systems, including UNIX and Windows. Delivers secure, efficient, and extensible web services aligned with current HTTP standards through a modular architecture and configurable runtime behavior.

Apache httpd has been the most popular web server on the Internet since April 1996. As a project of the Apache Software Foundation since its 1995 launch, it powers a large share of websites and remains a default choice for enterprise deployments. It differentiates from alternatives like nginx through its mature ecosystem of modules, .htaccess per-directory configuration, and long track record of stability and backward compatibility.

Key features:

• Modular design with 80+ modules: mod_rewrite, mod_proxy, mod_ssl, mod_cache, and FastCGI/SCGI backends
• Multi-processing modules (MPMs) for tuning concurrency: prefork, worker, event
• Built-in SSL/TLS with OCSP stapling and HTTP/2 support via mod_http2
• Reverse proxy and load balancing with runtime balancer-manager and health checks
• Virtual hosts, per-directory configuration via .htaccess, and automated certificates via mod_md (ACME)
• Content caching, Brotli compression, and integration with Redis for session and SSL cache

Teams use httpd to serve static sites and dynamic applications, act as a reverse proxy in front of application servers, and host PHP or Python via FastCGI. It is often chosen for legacy stacks that rely on .htaccess rules, LDAP-based authentication, or existing Apache-specific configurations.