Virtual Private Server User Guide

The Apache Web Server

The Server Root

The base directory where the files, programs and directories that make Apache 

work is commonly referred to as the server root. On your VPS server, this is the /

usr/local/www directory. Everything relating to Apache and the Web sites that you 

host on your server are contained somewhere inside the branch of your server's 

directory tree.

For convenience, there is a symbolic link shortcut to Apache's server root 

directory. It is /www. Moving into the /www directory actually places you in the /usr/

local/www directory. You can verify this by entering the following commands at 

your shell prompt:

> cd /www

> pwd

/usr/local/www

For conciseness, we refer to the server root directory as the /www/ directory 

throughout the remainder of this guide. 

Important Directories and Files

Within Apache's server root are several important directories and symbolic links, 

which are discussed below:

/www/bin   This directory contains the executable programs that power the 

Apache Web server application. 

/www/conf   This directory contains the configuration files for Apache. These files 

control how Apache operates. The most notable of these configuration files are 

the httpd.conf, defaults.conf, vhosts.conf and mime.types. 

/www/logs   This directory contains log files for the Apache application itself. The 

most important one is the file called

error_log, which can be helpful in 

troubleshooting Apache if you experience problems. The log files in this directory 

should not be confused with the log files for the individual Web sites that you host 

on your server. The log files for specific Web sites are found elsewhere.

/www/vhosts   This important directory contains the home directories for each of 

the Web sites, or virtual hosts, that you host on your server   including the initial 

one that is set up at the time you order. Each virtual host's home directory is 

named after the domain name of the site, and it in turn contains a number of 

important directories:

htdocs   This directory is known as the document root for the virtual host. This is 

where you should put the Web pages, graphics, and other files that make up the 

Web site.

Technical Training Department

August 2004

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