This is a copy of the C2Net Press Release from 05 Jan 1998
The Apache Web Server, from the Apache Group (http://www.apache.org/), now serves over half the domains on the Internet, according to the latest Netcraft Web Server Survey (http://www.netcraft.com/). According to the January 1998 survey, the Apache server and its derivatives serve 50.24% of the 1,834,710 sites found by Netcraft.
From its humble beginnings in early 1995 as a set of patches to the original NCSA Web Server, the Apache Web Server has steadily grown in popularity as well as power and capability. The Apache server was one of the first Web servers to implement the HTTP/1.1 protocol, for example. The Apache server has become established as the dominant Web server, far outpacing commercial offerings from the giants Microsoft and Netscape.
The key to the success of the Apache Web server is its dedicated development team. A core group of developers, known as the Apache Group, constantly update, fix, and improve the server in order to create the best server available.
Another key to the Apache server's impressive popularity is that it is freely available via the Internet. Webmasters can quickly and easily download the entire source code for the server to compile it themselves, or they can download various precompiled and "ready to run" versions. Since the source code is freely available, it is easy for webmasters to greatly enhance the Apache Web server's capability, either by adding numerous "modules" which extend the server's functions or by editing the actual server code to suit their needs.
"It really is a labour of love," said Jim Jagielski, member of the Apache Group. "Every one of us in the Group are committed to making Apache the best it can be. We are all experienced Net citizens and therefore have a real feel for what's needed. We also listen very intently to what is needed and desired by the Net community, so we can implement those features into Apache. And since we don't have the huge inertia of a commercial company to worry about, we can do it quicker and better than anyone else."
"One of the strengths of the Apache project is that many of the core team and key contributors are themeselves running high profile sites, and so know what is required from first hand experience," said Mike Prettejohn, Director of Netcraft, "in particular, the support for virtual domains, and the server's overall stability and resilience has made Apache the de facto choice for ISPs and hosting companies throughout the world."
"Apache is the ideal platform for building mission-critical web-based applications," said Sameer Parekh, President of C2Net Software, Inc., whose Stronghold Web Server is the most widely used commercial Apache-based server. "Apache confuses most industry analysts because they have forgotten that mission-critical Internet services, from web services to domain name services to electronic mail, have been running on free software since Day One."
The latest version of the Apache Web server is 1.2.4, which runs on most UNIX platforms. The next release of the Apache server, version 1.3, currently in beta test, will run on both UNIX and Microsoft Windows NT.
Netcraft (http://www.netcraft.com/) is an networking consultancy based in Bath, England and is well known worldwide for its Web Server Survey, which is widely considered a primary empirical metric for the number of web sites and the relative popularity of web server software on the internet.
C2Net Software, Inc. (http://www.c2.net/) is a leading provider of uncompromised network security software. Through its international offshore development programs, all C2Net products are exempt from U.S. government export restrictions, allowing the company to offer uncrippled, strong cryptography solutions to customers worldwide.
The Apache Group is a group of individuals who are committed to developing the best web server in the world and making it freely available.
