Ultimately, the configurations of each of the VMS Web servers come down to a few text files. In this chapter we'll discuss the file names and locations for each server, and, more important, give an overview of the underlying concepts and structure of each file. This will be vital in understanding the configuration file excerpts given as examples throughout the rest of the book. We'll also discuss some of the most basic configuration directives, the ones that tell the servers what ports to listen to, where to find the files to serve, and how to redirect browsers to the right location for content that has moved. Finally, we'll discuss command-line control and Web-based control for each server.

Simultaneous with or after reading this chapter, I suggest browsing through the annotated sample configuration files in the appendices. This chapter plus the annotated sample files can give you a quick start in getting a server up to play with.

5.1 CSWS

The main CSWS configuration file is HTTPD.CONF, usually found in APACHE$COMMON:[CONF]HTTPD.CONF. There are other files in APACHE$COMMON:[CONF]. (If you're looking at an Apache book for UNIX, it will tell you that you can specify a different location for the configuration files as a command-line argument when starting Apache. That's not an available option under VMS, and APACHE$COMMON is a sensible location anyway. Apache books will also tell you about various third-party Apache configuration tools, but they won't work with VMS either.)

Individual modules (mod_perl, mod_ssl, mod_php) have their own configuration files,...