What's the Status of Apache on Windows NT?

Beta versions of Apache 1.3 are available for Windows NT in source form and as a easy-to-install binary for Windows NT. A separate document describes how to install, configure and run Apache 1.3b6 (or later) under Microsoft Windows.

August 11th, 1997

The next non-maintenance release of Apache will be version 1.3. This will work on Windows NT and Windows 95. Apache 1.3 is currently in alpha testing and available only as source. When it is released it will be distributed as a real Windows application, precompiled and with an easy install procedure.

In addition to the new features in 1.3 common to both Unix and Windows, the Windows version will add the following Windows-specific capabilities:

• Proper Windows-style install procedure with pre-compiled binaries
• Ability to run ISAPI server extensions (apart from filters)
• Use of multithreading on Windows
• Ability to load modules as "dll" files specified in the configuration files at runtime. So there will be no need to recompiled Apache to add modules.

Apache has been ported to a very wide array of Unix boxes - in fact, we're not aware of any Unix boxes which Apache can't run on. This has been possible by making conservative architecture decisions, by modularizing the code as much as possible, and sticking to POSIX and ANSI wherever possible (and functional).

However, due to the code's legacy, and use of metaphors and systems which are Unix-specific (such as, having multiple processes all accept()ing connections to the same port), the road to porting to Windows NT has not been a pretty one. Several attempts have been made, both by Apache Group members and outside folks, but due to a lack of stability and a clear consensus on how to manage a true cross-platform development project, NT is not yet a standard platform supported by Apache.

This could change - in fact, our current plan for Apache 2.0 is to include compatibility with Windows NT, as well as other design changes to enable other ports to other platforms as well. As well as Windows NT, we are considering versions of Apache that run on the MacOS and others.

When will 2.0 come out? Not for a while yet - 1.2 is on its way to being finalized, and while 2.0 work has begun it'll be awhile before it's got all the features in 1.2, since we're working with a significantly revamped code base to allow for multithreading. But sometime in the first half of 1997, we hope - we have test versions of it running already.

In the meantime, folks interested in working on an NT port can send mail to apache@apache.org - when 2.0 work begins in earnest we'll probably start an NT-specific list to address porting issues.