Professional Apache 2.0

A series of Apache 1.x products got the world through the Internet economy bubble. Now, Apache 2.0 is here for the long-haul work of making Internet businesses profitable over time. Apache 2.0 represents significant improvements in functionality and ease of use, and Professional Apache 2.0 shows you how to capitalize on them. If you've been unable to glean the information you need from the online documentation, or if you want something more substantial than a URL to refer to when there's a problem, you'll be happy to have this book on your reference bookshelf. A lot of what's here is as relevant to older versions of Apache as to version 2.0, and the new stuff gets the in-depth attention it deserves.

The work of Peter Wainwright and his team (Wainwright wrote several of Wrox Press's well-regarded Perl books) is typical of the Wrox approach to subjects. Different people wrote various sections, and they've all been edited into the "guided tour" format (let's try this, then this, and now look at this...). That style works well for teaching and documenting Apache, largely because most of the sections include a balance of explanatory text, command summaries, and configuration file listings. The style seems a bit scattershot from time to time, but it's easy to zero in on what you need via the index. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to set up, use, and adjust the version 2.0 release of Apache Web server. Much of the authorial team's work deals with setting up Apache to minimize security holes and maximize performance, but other sections deal with the ins and outs of new features like IPv6 address management and Multi-Processing Modules (MPMs).