Apache 2.0 can be a real cast-iron bitch. It's got this cool
support for threading that you think will make your life easier but it
turns out to have all sorts of little API differences that break your
legacy apps, in really horrifyingly difficult to discern ways.
This might be the apps' fault or Apache's fault, but either way it
makes your life hard if you are used to things working smoothly under
Apache 1.3x and then get jolted into the cruel world of 2.x.
Red Hat has put out Apache 2.0 since at least Red Hat 8.0. Red
Hat 9 comes with Apache 2 as well. However, Red Hat knows about
the problems as well as anybody: the non-gratis Red Hat Enterprise
Linux distros come with Apache 1.3x! [UPDATE: Enterprise
Linux 2.x came with 1.3.x; Red Hat has made
the questionable choice of putting Apache 2 in Enterprise Linux
3.0 and removing things like the venerable Pine…]
It's clear that if you actually want stability, you should use 1.3
until the rest of the world catches up with Apache 2.0.
(Other people know this too: see http://linux.derkeiler.com/Mailing-Lists/RedHat/2003-07/0726.html and http://lists.freshrpms.net/pipermail/rpm-list/2003-May/004682.html )
If you want to downgrade your Red Hat 9 Apache version, you can
either try to compile, which is fairly straightforward once you find
the fixes I mention below, but if you want mod_perl and mod_ssl, and if
you are not very smart, like me, you really are better off using the
rpm packaged versions.
Unfortunately, the openssl 9.7 that comes with Red Hat 9 will
prevent you from installing mod_ssl 2.8 to go with Apache 1.3.
So, here's how to install Apache 1.3 with mod_perl and mod_ssl:
1. Erase the apache 2.0 rpm from the system. Nuke the dependent packages as well (mod perl, mod ssl, php, etc).
2. Get:
apache-1.3.27-2.i386.rpm
mod_perl-1.26-5.i386.rpm
mod_ssl-2.8.12-2.i386.rpm
openssl-0.9.6b-32.7.i386.rpm
Warning: these packages are
end-of-lifed and may present security hazards (read: your box could be
owned if you do this!). I am no longer running a box with these
packages and I suggest you do not either! I currently recommend
apachetoolbox (apachetoolbox.com) for a quick and relatively painless
recompile, rather than relying upon these old dusty rpms.
3. Install apache and mod_perl. Ensure that it works fine (sanity check).
4. Back up /usr/share/ssl/* to e.g. /usr/share/ssl9.7a/
5. Back up /usr/bin/openssl to e.g. /usr/bin/openssl9.7a
6. Install openssl with a suitable command line:
rpm -ivh openssl-0.9.6b-32.7.i386.rpm –excludedocs –oldpackage –force
7. Now back up /usr/share/ssl/* to /usr/share/ssl9.6b/ and restore ssl9.7a/
8. Back up /usr/bin/openssl to openssl9.6b and restore openssl9.7a
9. You should now have both openssl 9.6b and 9.7a installed on your system. You can verify this with rpm -q openssl
10. Now install the mod_ssl RPM.
Make sure you've used lokkit (or manually arranged) to open up both
port 80 and 443 or else you'll drive yourself crazy for 20 minutes,
like I did, wondering why http is running but not answering.