Apache won't start. When it does, it breaks IIS.

[mrcoulson]

I installed XAMPP on a test machine running IIS a while ago. I changed the listen setting in httpd.conf to a different port and all was well. Today, I installed it on my Windows 2003 Server machine. If I install XAMPP while IIS is running, Apache won't start -- even if I change the port to 5858. If I install it with IIS off, it works and lets me change the port -- which I can prove by going to www.ourdomain.com:5858. Unfortunately, when I restart IIS, the IIS part of our site remains broken and won't load.

Apache is listening on port 5858 and IIS on 80. What else do I need to do to get these two things to play nicely? I can't just take our site down for a few months while I develop the new one that requires me to use Apache.

Jeremy

[dmphotography]

Jeremy,
The first problem is you're in the Linux section and Linux has nothing to do with IIS or Windows 2003. It's going to be hard to find support for that in this area.

Secondly,
Running two web servers simotaneously on the same server just isn't a good idea, especially on a production server. I would highly recommend running XAMPP on another PC, develop your website, then copy the xampp folder over when you're ready to go live with IIS disabled or removed. Understand XAMPP doesn't actually "install" anything. It just decompresses the files into the directory xampp, then usually puts a shortcut on your desktop as well as add start menu items. But most importantly, it can be ran from anywhere.

There is a note on the apachefriends.org site about how to fix it if you change it's directory, since it does make direct references to the installations paths in the settings files.

My advise to you if you're running a public server and wanting to run Apache would be to look into converting your server over to Linux. I personally believe this is by far the best option for a public web server due to the improved security structure of Linux over Windows just from a default configuration. I initially had my public server running Windows and XAMPP and once I looked into Linux, I switched over to Ubuntu and used the Synaptic Package Manager to install Apache/PHP/MySQL instead of XAMPP. XAMPP is great for developmental enviroments and CAN be configured for production use, but isn't designed for that.

The good news is you can still develop your site using XAMPP, then transfer the files over to a production environment when it's finished.

If you want to know more about Linux and how to set up XAMPP / Apache on it, check out my website in my signature.

Enjoy!

[mrcoulson]

Doh! I clicked the wrong link. That's embarrassing.

Anyway, I can't really disable IIS altogether at the launch of the Apache-based website because I have lots of .Net apps I've developed in the past couple of years that need to remain active until I can replace them. I have been investigating using a Linux web server with a test server a coworker loaned me, but the learning curve of Linux administration is steep and I'm afraid I will spend so much time just learning how to do things like run antivirus or connect via SSH that I'll run out of time to actually develop a website on it.

I shall read your link tomorrow. I am not ready yet to give up on either Linux or Windows. I am, however, glad to know at the outset of the project that XAMPP on Windows is not a production-level solution. Better to know now than in 6 months when I'm committed to something.

Thanks!

Jeremy