ApacheCon Europe 2012

Rhein-Neckar-Arena, Sinsheim, Germany

5–8 November 2012

Apache HTTP Server 2.4 Problem Diagnosis

Jeff Trawick

Audience level:
Intermediate
Track:
Web Infrastructure

Tuesday 2 p.m.–2:45 p.m. in Level 1 Right

Description

What are the classic ways to debug such problems? How can you collect valuable information in a production environment How can you isolate problems to third-party modules? What end user features of httpd 2.4 can be utilized? How can you add additional code to utilize experimental features? What are the differences in capabilities between httpd 2.4 and httpd 2.2 or nginx 1.2?

Abstract

Resolving the classic web server problem symptoms is an occasional but important task for web server administrators and module developers. The crucial information needs to be captured as quickly as possible and put in the hands of the right person or vendor for comparison with known issues or diagnosis and resolution of new problems in a timely manner.

The core web server includes various logging mechanisms as well as accommodation for third-party modules which can capture additional information. Apache HTTP Server 2.4 brings additional logging capabilities as well as new ways to integrate third-party software for debugging, including the ability to capture information at the hook interface. The operating system and third parties provide additional tools which can be used to peek inside httpd processes or core dumps.

This session will provide coverage of the classic approaches but concentrate on how to make use of new features, including how to add custom code to the server to more fully utilize the debugging capabilities. For perspective, a summary of differences between core diagnosis features of httpd 2.4, httpd 2.2, and nginx 1.2 will be provided.