Chapter 1. Introduction

Table of Contents
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Acknowledgments

The Official Red Hat Linux Apache/SSL Installation Guide is intended to get you started running your Red Hat Linux Apache/SSL Server. It is not meant to be complete and exclusive documentation for any of the programs included with this package. When necessary, this guide will point you to the appropriate places where you can find more in-depth documentation on particular subjects.

This guide will show you how to install the included programs, as well as the basic options for configuring your Apache Web server. You will also be walked through the steps necessary to get both test and signed certificates, as well as how to install a certificate to use with your Red Hat Linux Apache/SSL Server.

After reading and following the steps in this guide, your secure server will be running using a test certificate. If you've followed our instructions for requesting a certificate from the certificate authority (CA) of your choice, you'll be ready for secure e-commerce as soon as your CA-provided certificate arrives.

The Red Hat Linux Apache/SSL Server includes the latest versions (at the time of this writing) of Apache (version 1.3.9) and the mod_ssl security module. The most significant improvement in Apache (from version 1.2 to version 1.3) is the inclusion of support for Dynamic Shared Objects (DSOs). DSO support means that Apache modules can be loaded at runtime. Since the modules are only loaded into server process space when needed, Apache's overall memory use will be significantly reduced.

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