Day 19: Install and Configure Web Application | 100 Days of DevOps

Content:

Today I worked on setting up a web server using Apache (httpd) and configuring it to host multiple static websites on a custom port. This task focused on preparing the infrastructure before application deployment by installing the web server, configuring it, deploying website files, and ensuring they are accessible via specific URLs.

What I Learned

• How to install and manage Apache (httpd) on a Linux server

• How to change the default port of Apache

• How to deploy multiple websites on a single server

• How to use Alias to map URLs to directories

Steps I Followed :

1. Connected to Application Server

ssh steve@stapp02

This command is used to securely connect to the remote application server where Apache will be installed.

2. Installed Apache Web Server

sudo dnf install httpd

This installs the Apache HTTP server along with all required dependencies.

3. Started and Enabled Apache Service

sudo systemctl start httpd
sudo systemctl enable httpd

• start → starts the Apache service immediately

• enable → ensures Apache starts automatically on reboot

4. Configured Apache to Run on Custom Port

Edited the Apache configuration file:

sudo vi /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

Changed:

Listen 80

to:

Listen 3003

This allows Apache to serve content on port 3003 instead of the default port 80.

Now restart and observe the lsitening port

sudo systemctl restart httpd

sudo systemctl status httpd

5. Copied Website Files from Jump Host

scp -r thor@jump-host:/home/thor/beta /tmp/
scp -r thor@jump-host:/home/thor/apps /tmp/

This copies the website backups from the jump host to the application server.

6. Moved Files to Web Directory

sudo mv /tmp/beta /var/www/html/
sudo mv /tmp/apps /var/www/html/

Apache serves content from /var/www/html, so both websites were placed here.

7. Set Correct Permissions

sudo chown -R apache:apache /var/www/html/beta
sudo chown -R apache:apache /var/www/html/apps

This ensures Apache has proper access to serve the files.

8. Configured URL Mapping Using Alias

Edited Apache config again:

sudo vi /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

Added inside <IfModule alias_module>:

Alias /beta /var/www/html/beta
Alias /apps /var/www/html/apps

Added directory permissions:

<Directory /var/www/html/beta>
    Require all granted
</Directory>

<Directory /var/www/html/apps>
    Require all granted
</Directory>

This maps:

• /beta → beta website

• /apps → apps website

9. Restarted Apache Service

sudo systemctl restart httpd

This applies all configuration changes.

10. Verified Setup

curl http://localhost:3003/beta/
curl http://localhost:3003/apps/

Both commands returned HTML content, confirming the websites are accessible.

My Understanding

This task helped me understand how a web server works as a bridge between users and application content. Configuring Apache to run on a custom port showed how flexible server setups can be. Using Alias made it clear how multiple applications can be hosted on a single server without needing separate configurations for each.

What I Found Interesting

I found it interesting how easily multiple websites can be hosted on a single server using simple configurations. The concept of mapping URLs to directories using Alias was especially useful and gave me a deeper understanding of how web servers handle requests internally.

📌 Full notes: GitHub link