Configuring Apache 2.0 -- Beginning - Configuration File

The configuration file for Apache does several things.  First of all, it defines the basic, default configuration that the server uses to define its actions.  It also defines the virtual file system that the server will expose to Web users, how this file system will be named, and the security that applies to each directory and file. This task can be confusing at times, but with a good understanding of each option, it becomes much easier. The configuration file takes this basic form:

Basically, what this means is anything outside of a “Directory” or “Virtual Host” directive will be interpreted as a configuration option that applies to the entire server. Within each of those above tags, configuration options apply only to that directory or virtual host. This allows for a great deal of customizability in what sort of behavior occurs at each possible level in the server configuration.

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