How to Restart Apache on CentOS

What is Apache?

Apache is a popular open-source web server software that is widely used on Linux systems. It is used to serve web pages and other content over the Internet or a local network.

Apache is known for its flexibility, performance, and security. It can be used to host websites and web applications of all sizes, from small personal blogs to large enterprise applications. It supports a wide range of technologies, including PHP, Python, Perl, and Ruby, and can be easily extended with modules to add additional functionality.

Apache is highly configurable and can be customized to meet the specific needs of your web server. It can be run on a variety of platforms, including Linux, Unix, and Windows, and is available in multiple languages.

Overall, Apache is a reliable and powerful web server software that is widely used on Linux systems. It is easy to install and manage and is an excellent choice for hosting web content on a Linux server.

How to Restart Apache on CentOS

To restart Apache on CentOS, you can use the systemctl command. Here are the steps:

1. First, open a terminal window and log in as the root user or use sudo to run the following commands as root.
2. Check the status of the Apache service using the following command:

systemctl status httpd

This will show you whether the Apache service is running or not.

3. If the Apache service is running, you can use the following command to gracefully restart it:

systemctl restart httpd

This will stop the Apache service, wait for all current requests to be completed, and then start the service again.

4. If the Apache service is not running, you can start it using the following command:

systemctl start httpd

5. You can verify that the Apache service has been restarted by checking its status again using the systemctl status httpd command.

You have successfully restarted Apache on CentOS using the systemctl command.

Note: If you are using a version of CentOS that is older than 7, you may need to use the service command instead of systemctl managing the Apache service. For example:

service httpd restart