Where are my Apache FrontPage extensions?

Where are my Apache FrontPage extensions?

See also Apache topics.

17 September 1998

To date, I’ve managed to install Apache and get it running.  No worries there.   But for some reason, the Front Page extensions are not loaded.  Strange.   I’ve been able to do that before.

Killing Apache

Tonight, I started Apache using the instructions I used last time:

cd /usr/local/sbin
./httpd

Now I want to stop the server.  Well, that’s easier said than done.  First I try the manual.  In the section Stopping and Restarting Apache, it contains the following example:

kill -TERM `cat /usr/local/apache/logs/httpd.pid`

Unfortunately, my installation of Apache doesn’t place the .pid file in the above directory.  But the setting which dictates the location of the .pid file is contained in the httpd.conf.  But there is that?  The following command will locate your httpd.conf file:

find / file=httpd.conf | grep httpd.conf

It turns out that my installation directory was /usr/local/etc/apache.   So I open the file /usr/local/etc/apache/httpd.conf and search for .pid.   This reveals that the file I want is  /var/run/httpd.pid.

Trying the extensions again

I’ve decided to blindly try installing again.  Perhaps the extensions will go in this time.  So I follow the instructions from last time.  But first, I removed the old directory by doing a:

rm -r <directory>

Still no luck.  I give up

18 Sept: trying again

Actually, I haven’t given up.  I did a search on the mailing list archives and found a suggestion to use the FreeBSD port of apache-fp.  So here I go.  But first, a de-install.

cd /usr/ports/www/apache-fp.131
make deinstall
cd ..
rm -r apache-fp.131

Then the install.  Following the instructions for Compiling ports from the Internet, I grabbed the port and compiled it.  The compile worked.  But running it did not.  It complained about the contents of httpd.conf, specifically line 27.  I checked the file.  Ahhhhh!  It’s still the old one.  The deinstall didn’t remove everything.  Time for some manual removals.

I did the following:

rm -r /usr/local/etc/apache
rm -r /usr/local/frontpage

Note that I installed virtual webs.  And basically answered with the default answers for all questions.  Then I restarted the apache server.

cd /usr/local/sbin
./httpd

OK!  That worked.  At least it started.  Now for the browser test.   I start Netscape and browse to my FreeBSD box.  Got it!  The "Test Page for Apache Installation on Web Site".

The final test.  See if FrontPage Explorer can open the root web.   File->Open, More Webs, FreeBSD… WOO HOO!  It works.

Conclusions

Forget about the non-FreeBSD port of Apache.  I just couldn’t get it to work.   Yet the FreeBSD apache-fp port worked the first time (well, first time from a clean disk).

However, the version I am running is not the latest Apache engine.

cd /usr/ports/www/apache-fp
make deinstall
make install

During the setup, I specified the same virtual directories as I said before.