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Wed 25 Jul 2007
Apache on Server Core
By Michael Pietroforte | 3 Comments | Permalink | Trackback | Previous | NextMark Wilson installed Apache on Windows Server 2008 Server Core and it seems to work without problems. All you have to do is to run msiexec /i apache.msi. Now, you might ask why Microsoft made IIS available on Server Core if Apache works, anyhow. 
I mean, you can’t use ASP.NET on Server Core. So if you want more than just static HTML pages you have to work with PHP or another solution for dynamic web pages.
Seriously, I think that IIS is the better option on a Windows box. However, I would always go for a LAMP solution when it comes to Web technology. The only reason, I can think of for running Apache on Windows is that you have some apps that work better with the Open Source web server and you don’t want Linux in your network.
Hi Michael,
For me, Apache on Server Core was an experiment – it was actually a Microsoft employee who I first heard mention that it was possible (and that’s why IIS was added as a role). I agree that IIS on Windows makes more sense – my point was really that if Apache runs on a stripped down (read more secure) version of Windows Server, then many other products could too. Server Core could be a really useful option for key infrastructure servers.
Hi Mark, it is interesting that MS added IIS because Apache works on Server Core. The official statement is because of “customer demand�. I doubt, though, that there are many Windows server apps that run on Server Core. Apache is not really a typical Windows application.
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