dev server: post-install apache setup
now that apache is up and running, i want to set up its working environment. the target is not to have internet access to the server since its for development purposes only; to set the server so that it does not start up automatically when i turn on my workstation; and to put an “on/off switch” so i can turn the server on or off at will.
zonealarm
i have zonealarm doing minor firewalling duties (smoothwall does most of the work). i set it so that apache doesn’t have access to the internet nor act as a server to the internet; access and serving duties are only approved to the trusted zone. for more info on zonealarm zones you can refer to the user forums or the support center at the zonealarm tech support.
apache startup settings
apache, by default, runs when the computer starts up. to change this behavior i had to change its startup settings in the windows services. to call up windows services go to the control panel, launch administrative tools and then launch services. you should be able to see something similar as shown below
to edit the apache service, double click on apache and you should see a dialog box like the one below
i set my startup type as manual so that apache doesn’t start until i say so and then i clicked on the stop button to stop the service.
apache monitor
there’s this little program that comes with apache 2 that monitors apache services running on the computer. it can start, stop or restart an apache 
service and call up the windows services program. it resides on the sytem tray and it works with apache 1.3 servers. nice. the bad thing is that its not available as a separate download. so i
- downloaded apache 2
- installed the thing
- copied the apache monitor executable (apachemonitor.exe) from version 2’s apache\bin subdirectory to the 1.3.37 apache\bin subdirectory
- created a shortcut for it in the startup folder
- uninstalled apache 2
now i can start/stop/restart apache any time i want to.
