In this issue

The big topic of discussion this week has been the interaction between subrequests and filtered I/O in Apache 2.0. In Apache 1.3 when a subrequest was made (for instance, to gather in a "include" document in an server-parsed page), the response could be written directly to the network. In Apache 2.0 the situation is different, as the response must pass through the filter chain, to allow other filters to process the response. A severe bug in this complex interaction was un-earthed this week and is not yet fixed, although several fixes are being discussed.

A major change to the processing of 'graceful restarts' in Apache 2.0 has been committed by Ryan Bloom. A "pipe of death" is used between the parent and child processes to tell the children when to exit. To force the child processes to wake up if they are waiting for a new connection, the code takes the unusual step of making a connection to the listening port (e.g. port 80).

Last week in Apache Week issue #249, we reported that crackers gained access to apache.org but no evidence of source of binary modifications were found. Kurt Seifried at SecurityPortal analyses how Apache.org was compromised, interviews Brian Behlendorf, President of the Apache Software Foundation, and concludes that it is all a matter of trust.

In this section we highlight some of the articles on the web that are of interest to Apache users.

Are your Web servers up to the strain of real-world usage? "HTTP Benchmarking" describes a sample benchmarking setup and shows you how to use httperf and Autobench to stress-test your systems.

This first of three part Apache Web server tutorial is mainly for Apache newbies as it is a basic introduction to what a Web server is, how Web communication works, and the Apache configuration file and directives.

"Nuking The Competition" discusses deploying and customising the free PHP-Nuke system to your requirements. If you are currently using Apache, MySQL, and PHP, getting this powerful and flexible content management system off the ground is a breeze. Its many features include online polls, user registration, threaded discussion board, a search engine, user-based personalisation, an integrated banner rotator, plus it allows users to post articles and comments to your Web site.

This occasional section contains short announcements of jobs that require significant Apache experience. To see more jobs or find out how to submit your vacancy visit the Apache Week Jobs section.

Freelance technical documentor (Any)

We are seeking people knowledgeable in Apache Administration for a short term freelance technical documentation role. Role involves creating tests and testing methods to measure aptitude of the subject. For serious inquiries contact Jeff at jeffs@green-tree.com.