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I've read in multiple locations that the Apache setup that Apple provides by default in 10.5 and 10.6 is not really something you would want to use in a production environment because of security concerns. I'm curious if there are differences in the default presentation in Snow Leopard Server such that it would be recommended to run it without significant modification / rolling a custom Apache install.

Thanks!

Aaron
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1 Answers1

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There are some advantages to using the provided Apache installation

  • It's there, no install required
  • You can use the server admin tools to set up your sites
  • It can be updated by Apple Updates

But for any serious use I would recommend installing your own...

  • The server admin only goes so far, any normal amount of tweaking still needs to be done in the config files
  • You have the choice of version 1.3, 2 or 2.2
  • Apple are not particularly quick at updating Apache - if ever (same goes for MySQL PHP etc)
  • The Apple admin console has been known to overwrite your changes to the config files
  • If you are used to *NIX, Apple installs everything in weird places...
  • Any big changes in configuration may break other Apple programs that rely on the provided Apache (Software update, Wiki Server...)

Going beyond the scope of your question - I would probably not recommend running Apache on OS X server at all - but if you have to, install your own.

Edit: My 10.6.0 Server has the following versions

  • Apache 2.2.11
  • MySQL 5.0.82
  • PHP 5.3.0
Jon Rhoades
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  • Do you happen to know the versions that are used in Snow Leopard Server (Apache, PHP, MySQL)? – Aaron Dec 20 '09 at 18:39