![]() | This article may be too technical for most readers to understand.(September 2010) |
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Original author(s) | Robert McCool |
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Developer(s) | Apache Software Foundation |
Initial release | 1995[1] |
Stable release | 2.4.62[2] ![]() |
Repository | |
Written in | C[3] |
Operating system | Unix-like, Microsoft Windows,[4] OpenVMS |
Type | Web server |
License | Apache-2.0 |
Website | httpd |
The Apache HTTP Server (/əˈpætʃi/ ə-PATCH-ee) is a free and open-source cross-platform web server software, released under the terms of Apache License 2.0. It is developed and maintained by a community of developers under the auspices of the Apache Software Foundation.
The vast majority of Apache HTTP Server instances run on a Linux distribution,[5] but current versions also run on Microsoft Windows,[6] OpenVMS,[7] and a wide variety of Unix-like systems. Past versions also ran on NetWare, OS/2 and other operating systems,[8] including ports to mainframes.[9]
Originally based on the NCSA HTTPd server, development of Apache began in early 1995 after work on the NCSA code stalled.[10] Apache played a key role in the initial growth of the World Wide Web,[11] quickly overtaking NCSA HTTPd as the dominant HTTP server. In 2009, it became the first web server software to serve more than 100 million websites.[12]
As of March 2022[update], Netcraft estimated that Apache served 23.04% of the million busiest websites, while Nginx served 22.01%; Cloudflare at 19.53% and Microsoft Internet Information Services at 5.78% rounded out the top four. For some of Netcraft's other stats, Nginx is ahead of Apache.[13] According to W3Techs' review of all web sites, in June 2022 Apache was ranked second at 31.4% and Nginx first at 33.6%, with Cloudflare Server third at 21.6%.[14]
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