.htaccess created or modified: do I have to restart Apache? [duplicate] - apache

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Do you have to restart apache to make re-write rules in the .htaccess take effect?
(7 answers)
Closed 7 years ago.
I am trying to debug some .htaccess problems on Apache but I am new to mod_rewrite.c. I would like to know whether I need to restart Apache in XAMPP whenever I make modifications to the .htaccess files, or whether these are parsed and applied whenever a web page is served independently of whether Apache is restarted.

A restart is not required for changes to .htaccess. Something else is wrong.
Make sure your .htaccess includes the statement
RewriteEngine on
which is required even if it's also present in httpd.conf. Also check that .htaccess is readable by the httpd process.
Check the error_log - it will tell you of any errors in .htaccess if it's being used.
Putting an intentional syntax error in .htaccess is a good check to make sure the file is being used -- you should get a 500 error on any page in the same directory.
Lastly, you can enable a rewrite log using commands like the following in your httpd.conf:
RewriteLog "logs/rewritelog"
RewriteLogLevel 7
The log file thus generated will give you the gory detail of which rewrite rules matched and how they were handled.
Do you have to restart apache to make re-write rules in the .htaccess take effect?

Related

Apache mod_rewrite logging

I can't get mod_rewrite to log anything about what it's doing. You can imagine that this makes debugging mod_rewrite... challenging. I've followed the "instructions" at http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/mod_rewrite.html (I'm running 2.2.22 on a Mac), except that they're missing critical details like... which of the config files to put the configuration in, and in which level of XML elements.
RewriteLog "/tmp/rewrite.log"
RewriteLogLevel 8
Where do I put these directives so that I actually get logging about what mod_rewrite is doing? /tmp/rewrite.log is created, so Apache has some clue about what I want, but it logs nothing at all to this file.

Virtual Hosts (Apache) with mod_rewrite issues

I am trying to fix this whole day without success, so I hope someone might be able to help me. I have an app at http://localhost/, and it uses Pylons for the app I am hosting. In addition to that, I need to host a PHP/MySQL site, so I had to use Apache too.
My current setup is that I use haproxy with this config for the Apache backend:
backend apache
mode http
timeout connect 4000
timeout server 30000
timeout queue 60000
balance roundrobin
server app02-8002 localhost:8002 maxconn 1000
This is triggered by this:
acl image url_sub images
use_backend apache if image
So, when I open my IP/images, it will trigger that and open Apache then, with port 8002.
For Apache, I created virtual hosts, and this is the "image" one:
<VirtualHost *:8002>
ServerAdmin my#email.com
ServerName image
ServerAlias image
DocumentRoot /srv/www/image/public_html/
ErrorLog /srv/www/image/logs/error.log
CustomLog /srv/www/image/logs/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>
So, that all works nicely, when I type IP/images it open the /srv/www/image/public_html. But then the issues come. As I am using the image uploading script, it involves a lot of rewriting, so I had to enable that mod. This is the .htaccess which is located in the public_html/images folder (I somehow had to make this subfolder too, to "match" the URL with the actual location in the public_html.
SetEnv PHP_VER 5_3
RewriteEngine On
# You must define your installation directory and uncomment the line :
RewriteBase /images/
RewriteRule ^([a-zA-Z]+)\.(jpg|gif|png|wbmp)$ controller/Resizer.php?m=original&a=$1&e=$2 [L]
RewriteRule ^(icon|small|medium|square)\/([a-zA-Z]+)\.(jpg|gif|png|wbmp)$ controller/Resizer.php?m=$1&a=$2&e=$3 [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteRule (.*) application.php?request=$1 [L,QSA]
So, basically, this is somethow not working. I suppose there is a conflict between this virtual host, subdirectory, rewriting or something, but I can't seem to isolate it.
It is a bit confusing that when I open the IP/images/xxxx.jpg it opens the image, which is located in the public_html/images/upload/original folder, so the rewrite is working. The the other rules seem not to be working. All of the thumbnails and smaller versions are not rendering properly (with the icon, small, medium, square), so that makes the site quite unsusable.
Here is the link of the development server: http://localhost/images/
Thanks in advance for your time and help!
The first thing you should do is determine whether mod_rewrite is in fact part of the problem by accessing one of the failing URLs directly via its rewritten form and verifying that you get the expected result.
Indeed, the problem might simply be that the PHP script for the smaller resolutions "doesn't work" while it does for the original size ones. The first of the following URLs nicely served me an image; the second one is supposed to give me a smaller version of the same image, but served me an HTTP 500:
http://106.186.21.176/images/controller/Resizer.php?m=original&a=q&e=png
http://106.186.21.176/images/controller/Resizer.php?m=small&a=q&e=png
I got the same result (HTTP 500) for any of the smaller-size format names mentioned in your post, which matches your problem description.
Once you've verified that the script works as expected, it's likely that the problem is with mod_rewrite. If so, enable rewrite logging: use the RewriteLog directive to activate it, and RewriteLogLevel to control its verbosity. Especially at the higher log levels, it can give you very detailed information about exactly what it's doing. This should make the problem readily apparent from the logs.
Also, if possible, try to avoid configuring mod_rewrite rules in .htaccess files -- move them into your main server config file instead. The reason is explained on Apache mod_rewrite Technical Details, section "API phases":
Unbelievably mod_rewrite provides URL manipulations in per-directory context, i.e., within .htaccess files, although these are reached a very long time after the URLs have been translated to filenames. It has to be this way because .htaccess files live in the filesystem, so processing has already reached this stage. In other words: According to the API phases at this time it is too late for any URL manipulations. To overcome this chicken and egg problem mod_rewrite uses a trick: When you manipulate a URL/filename in per-directory context mod_rewrite first rewrites the filename back to its corresponding URL (which is usually impossible, but see the RewriteBase directive below for the trick to achieve this) and then initiates a new internal sub-request with the new URL. This restarts processing of the API phases.
Again mod_rewrite tries hard to make this complicated step totally transparent to the user, but you should remember here: While URL manipulations in per-server context are really fast and efficient, per-directory rewrites are slow and inefficient due to this chicken and egg problem. But on the other hand this is the only way mod_rewrite can provide (locally restricted) URL manipulations to the average user.
In general, not using .htaccess at all has the added advantage that you can tell Apache to not even bother and disable the functionality all together, which save Apache from having to scan each directory level it serves from for the .htaccess files.

what impact will it does on site performance if .htaccess file is loaded with hundred's of URL redirection..?

I have to redirect bulk of pages to new URL's and if I put all them in .htaccess file, will it get overload and decrease site's performance..??
Please let me know if there are any alternatives to dynamically edit .htaccess file.
Thanks
First notice that using .htaccess files or even allwing the use of .htaccess file is decreasing performances. As you are telling Apache to make I/O on the filesystem, seeking for .htaccess files on the directory tree. So for a better performance having a AllowOverride None on a <Directory /> (so from the root directory) is better, and of course you should'nt modify the AllowOverride setting in any subdirectory.
Now, if you a .htacess with a lot of rules, or a <Directory /path/to/my/directory> with a lot of rules, which is quite the same, except the second version will be read on startup and not for every request, then you will of course slow down youyr apache process as he must check all the rules. But this is usually quite fast. The best thing is to track it via some tools like autobench, httpperf, webinject, ab, etc.
There is a way in mod_rewrite to speed up the rewriting process when you all a lot of rules using the same scheme. It's RewriteMap. When using rewriteMap with a hash file you will of course have something with better speed. But rewriteMap requires that you forget about .htaccess dumb files and that you really use apache configuration files to edit your apache configuration (/etc/apache/*). So you need an adminisstrative access on this configuration.
And at the end of your question you are talking about editing dynamically your .htaccess. If your rewrites are really dynamic I would forget about using the webserver to handle that, and push the rewriting policy into the application code (PHP/C#/etc). Or you could also use the prg: option of rewriteMap and write your own perl, python or anything else daemon script, called by apache's mod-rewrite on each request, providing the rewrite policy. And the rewriting performance will then depend on your programing skills.
I belived, it will not degrade the perfomance in huge , althout the overload on apache server will definately increses....It's also depend on your bandwidth and speed of RAM on your server, if it is good then, I belived you will find any mager issue..
In my local environment, I am using WAMP, which allow me add /remove module dynamically, you can use cpanel also, which allow you add/edit many items dynamically for your apache server
http://docs.cpanel.net/twiki/bin/view/EasyApache3/WebHome
In Addition, you can active and set your virtual host setting uncommeting below lines from your httpds.conf file
LoadModule vhost_alias_module modules/mod_vhost_alias.so
Virtual hosts
Include conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf and afterword you can add you all your hundres of virtual host in same file i.e conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf

Clean URL's not working, mod_rewrite module installed

I just installed a fresh copy of Drupal 6.19 to get to speed on how to write modules. But for some reason the rewrite module isn't working for Drupal.
What I have checked:
$ apachectl -M >> it is installed
php_info() on current server >> says rewrite is installed also
I also double-checked the .htaccess file in my Drupal root folder
UPDATE: checked httpd.conf for AllowOverride All
I'm out options here. Looked everywhere but the Drupal settings aren't letting me to enable the settings and their test is simply visiting a site that should work if the rewrite module was there.
My specs:
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Using built-in Apache with PHP5
Thanks!
Last but not least, you must authorize your virtual host or directory to use .htaccess.
AllowOverride All
Update:
I can't figure out your exact problem but it's always worth testing that Apache is actually parsing your .htaccess file. Make a syntax error on purpose and see if you get a 500 Internal Server Error message. Also, test mod_rewrite with a simple redirection rule that doesn't involve Drupal.
Two more things to check:
Verify that your .htaccess is readable for your apache processes (Yes, I read that you double checked it, but did that include the file permissions?)
Enable rewrite logging - this might give you some hints on where it fails. Start with a log level of 5 and increase/decrease as needed. (Don't forget to turn it off again later, as it is a huge performance hog ;)
Also, I'd try to simplify the test scenario - start with a simple rewrite directive in a vhost configuration. Once that works, move it to a .htaccess in the top-level of the vhosts document root, then to sub directories (if needed/used).
Make sure that if the install is in a sub-directory that the username is part of the rewriteBase
# Modify the RewriteBase if you are using Drupal in a subdirectory or in a
# VirtualDocumentRoot and the rewrite rules are not working properly.
# For example if your site is at http://example.com/drupal uncomment and
# modify the following line:
RewriteBase /~username/drupal**
If you running your Drupal installation in a sub-folder like: example.com/drupal, then enable "RewriteBase /" in your .htaccess file, it might help you.
A clean url could be something like www.example.com/fisherman instead of www.example.com/data/pages/fisherman.php
Some installations of apache have clean URL functionality out of the box. There are 2 steps that need to be configured correctly for it to work.
Enable rewrite module
Allow .htaccess file overrides
Both steps require SSH root access to your server. So if you are on shared host this probably won't work for you. Open your terminal:
Enable rewrite module
To enable the rewrite module, you can type the following command
sudo a2enmod rewrite
Now type
sudo service apache2 restart
to enable the changes. You can check if it’s working by typing
sudo apache2ctl –M
A list will appear. Look for “rewrite_module”.
http://codeontrack.com/enable-clean-urls-apache/
Look for this Line in your httpd.conf file
#LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so
If commented
Just uncomment it restart apache server then try enabling in drupal administer Clean URL Section
I added the following to my .htaccess file and it was solved. My problem was specifically hapening with Rackspace / CentOS image
Options -MultiViews
As Álvaro G. Vicario mentioned, the first thing to do is at the top of the .htaccess file add something like ghfdiddfdjf which should throw an internal error. If it doesn't, you know the .htaccess file isn't being read. Mine wasn't, and I found the following fix:
In the etc/apache2/sites-enabled folder, there was a file called default-000. It was in this file that I changed AllowOverride All in 2 places in the file.

Do you have to restart apache to make re-write rules in the .htaccess take effect?

I have pushed my .htaccess files to the production severs, but they don't work. Would a restart be the next step, or should I check something else.
A restart is not required for changes to .htaccess. Something else is wrong.
Make sure your .htaccess includes the statement
RewriteEngine on
which is required even if it's also present in httpd.conf. Also check that .htaccess is readable by the httpd process.
Check the error_log - it will tell you of any errors in .htaccess if it's being used.
Putting an intentional syntax error in .htaccess is a good check to make sure the file is being used -- you should get a 500 error on any page in the same directory.
Lastly, you can enable a rewrite log using commands like the following in your httpd.conf:
RewriteLog "logs/rewritelog"
RewriteLogLevel 7
The log file thus generated will give you the gory detail of which rewrite rules matched and how they were handled.
No:
Apache allows for decentralized management of configuration via special files placed inside the web tree. The special files are usually called .htaccess, but any name can be specified in the AccessFileName directive... Since .htaccess files are read on every request, changes made in these files take immediate effect...
From the apache documentation:
Most commonly, the problem is that AllowOverride is not set such that your configuration directives are being honored. Make sure that you don't have a AllowOverride None in effect for the file scope in question. A good test for this is to put garbage in your .htaccess file and reload. If a server error is not generated, then you almost certainly have AllowOverride None in effect.
Only if you have not added the mod_rewrite module to Apache.
You only need to restart Apache if you change any Apache ".conf" files.
I have the same issue and it seems PiedPiper post about AllowOverride were most helpful. Check your httpd.conf file for "AllowOverride" and make sure it is set to All.
In case of .htaccess restart is not required if it is not working probable reasons include.
AllowOverride May not be set which user can set inside httpd.conf or might have to contact server admin.
Check the file name of .htaccess it should be .htaccess not htaccess.txt see here for guide how to create one.
Try to use Options -Indexes or deny all kind of simple directive to see if it is working or not.
clear browser cache everytime if having rule for redirects or similar if previous redirect is cached it appears as if things are not working.
What's in your .htaccess? RewriteRules? Check that mod_rewrite is installed and enabled.
Other stuff? Try setting AllowOverride to 'all' on that directory.