Preface

Audience

This guide is written for Oracle9i Application Server developers and system administrators who are responsible for configuring and tuning the Oracle HTTP Server powered by Apache.

Assumptions

There are many sources of information on configuring and tuning web servers, Apache in particular. This guide refers to those sources when expedient, and, where practical, quantifies the performance gains resulting from configuration actions found in those sources. Any recommendations not validated by our in-house testing are cited as such, with attribution to the original source.

All of our in-house tests were run on a dedicated 100 Mbps network, in order to achieve repeatable test results. Your results will vary based on network configuration and contention characteristics. Sun Performance and Tuning: Java and the Internet by Adrian Cockroft and Richard Petit provides a good discussion of the impact of different network configurations on performance.

Conventions

This manual uses the following typographical conventions:

Convention Example Explanation

bold

tnsnames.ora
runInstaller
www.oracle.com

Identifies file names,
utilities,
processes,
and URLs

italics

file1

Identifies a variable in text; replace this place holder with a specific value or string.

angle brackets

<filename>

Identifies a variable in code; replace this place holder with a specific value or string.

courier

./httpd -d .

Text or a command to be entered exactly as it appears. Also used for functions.

square brackets

[-c string]
[on|off]

Identifies an optional item.
Identifies a choice of optional items, each separated by a vertical bar (|), any one option can be specified.

braces

{yes|no}

Identifies a choice of mandatory items, each separated by a vertical bar (|).

ellipses

n,...

Indicates that the preceding item can be repeated any number of times.

Convention	Example	Explanation
bold	tnsnames.ora runInstaller www.oracle.com	Identifies file names, utilities, processes, and URLs
italics	file1	Identifies a variable in text; replace this place holder with a specific value or string.
angle brackets	`<filename>`	Identifies a variable in code; replace this place holder with a specific value or string.
courier	`./httpd -d .`	Text or a command to be entered exactly as it appears. Also used for functions.
square brackets	`[-c string]` `[on\|off]`	Identifies an optional item. Identifies a choice of optional items, each separated by a vertical bar (\|), any one option can be specified.
braces	`{yes\|no}`	Identifies a choice of mandatory items, each separated by a vertical bar (\|).
ellipses	n,...	Indicates that the preceding item can be repeated any number of times.

The term, Oracle Server, refers to the database server product from Oracle Corporation.

The term, oracle, refers to an executable or account by that name.

The term, oracle, refers to the owner of the Oracle software.

Oracle Services and Support

A wide range of information about Oracle products and global services is available from:

http://www.oracle.com

The sections below provide URLs for selected services.

Oracle Support Services

Technical Support contact information worldwide is listed at:

http://www.oracle.com/support

Templates are provided to help you prepare information about your problem before you call. You will also need your CSI number (if applicable) or complete contact details, including any special project information.

Product and Documentation

For U.S.A customers, Oracle Store is at:

http://store.oracle.com

Links to Stores in other countries are provided from this site.

Product documentation can be found at:

http://docs.oracle.com

Customer Service

Global Customer Service contacts are listed at:

http://www.oracle.com/support

Education and Training

Training information and worldwide schedules are available from:

http://education.oracle.com

Oracle Technology Network

http://technet.oracle.com

OTN delivers technical papers, code samples, product documentation, self-service developer support, and Oracle key developer products to enable rapid development and deployment of application built on Oracle technology.