This article was originally published at https://www.blog.duomly.com/6-most-popular-backend-questions-and-answers-for-beginners/#what-is-apache-web-server-tutorial-for-beginners

What is the apache web server?

The older brother of NGINX is Apache Web Server. It's one of the most popular ones and a very old web server, as it exists for about 25 years.

Like other web services, Apache performs the behind the scenes actions that return the website from the server to the browser.

When the user opens the browser and enters the website's address, he would like to see the request is sent to the server, and the server returns the proper resources to the browser. Apache is the software that takes part in the process and proves a smooth and secure HTTP communication between those two parties.

Apache has a modular structure and is highly customizable. Server admins can turn on and off the web server's additional features, and custom server configuration can be set through the .htaccess files.

The main disadvantage of the Apache Web Server is performance issues when the website has very heavy traffic.

The other web services that can be used are NGINX or Tomcat Apache.

Thank you for reading,
Anna from Duomly