Server General
General settings for the whole server. When a path information is required, it can be either absolute or relative to $SERVER_ROOT. $SERVER_ROOT is the location where LiteSpeed web server was installed. For examples, it can be your_home_dir/lsws, /opt/lsws etc. The web server executable is under $SERVER_ROOT/bin.
 
Table of Contents
Server Process Server Name   Running As   Priority   Chroot Path   Enable chroot   Max I/O Buffer Size   Swapping Directory   Auto Restart   
General Settings MIME File   Edit MIME File   Index Files   Show Server Version   Administrators' email   
Server Log File Name   Log Level   Debug Level   Rolling Size   Enable stderr Log   
Access Log File Name   Log Referrer   Log User Agent   Rolling Size   Keep Days   
HT Access Allow Override   Access File Name   
Expire Settings Enable Expires   Expires Default   Expires By Type   
 
Server NameGo to top
Description: A unique name for this server.
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Running AsGo to top
Description: Specifies the user/group that the server process running as. This value was set during the installation and in order to change it, you have to do an upgrade installation through the Installer program install.sh.
Apply: Reinstall required.
Tips: [Security] If the server is started by a super user (like "root"), the ownership of the server process should be changed to an un-privileged user/group without log-in shell. User nobody is a good choice on most systems.
PriorityGo to top
Description: Specifies priority of the server process. Value range from [-20] to [20], lower number means higher priority.
Syntax: int
Apply: Restart required.
Tips: Usually should be above 0.
Chroot PathGo to top
Description: [Professional Edition Only] Specifies the directory where the chroot environment rooted. Only "root" user can run the web server in chroot mode. Whether to run in chroot mode is controlled by Enable chroot option. The installer program will set up initial chroot environment automatically. This entry is read-only in the web interface, and if you want to change it, please run the installer again.
In chroot environment, the web server and its children processes cannot access file system outside of the chroot jail. Chroot is an advanced security feature and additional administration may be required to make it work properly. All required executables, libraries, configuration files and devices files should be recreated within the chroot jail.
As the root directory is changed, you need to pay special attention to the path configuration when an absolute path is used. A Unix domain socket or swapping directory is always relative to the new root directory. All other path configurations are always relative to the real root.
Apply: Reinstall required.
Tips: [security] Use chroot for better security.
Enable chrootGo to top
Description: [Professional Edition Only] Specifies whether to start web server in chroot mode. The new root directory was set by Chroot Path during installation.
Apply: Restart required.
Max I/O Buffer SizeGo to top
Description: Specifies the maximum buffer size that is used to store request body and dynamically generated response. When this limit is reached, server will start to create temporary swapping files under Swapping Directory.
Syntax: Integer number
Apply: Restart required.
Tips: [Performance] Set it large enough to accommodate all concurrent requests/replies. This can avoid swapping to hard drives when there is enough free memory in the server machine.
Swapping DirectoryGo to top
Description: Specifies the directory where the swapping files should be placed. When web server started in chroot mode, it is relative to the new root directory, otherwise it is relative to the real root.
LiteSpeed web server uses virtual memory to reduce the memory usage. Virtual memory is used to store big request bodies and dynamically generated responses. The swapping directory should be placed on a disk with enough space.
Syntax: Absolute path.
Apply: Restart required.
Tips: [Performance] Place the swapping directory on a faster disk.
    Use separate disks for your web pages, log files, database and swapping directory.
Auto RestartGo to top
Description: Enable automatically recreating a new server process when current server exits abnormally.
When this option is enabled, there are two instances of server process "lshttpd". The parent process monitors the child process and will create a new child process if the current one exits abnormally. However, if current child process exits normally, the parent process will exit as well. You can use the shell command lswsctrl stop or directly kill the child process; the parent process will exit assuming that you do want to shut down the server. If the server is started by a super user, the child process will change its ownership based on Running As configuration, and the parent process will not change its user/group.
Apply: Restart required.
Tips: [Security] Parent process's job is only monitoring the child; it will not interact with outside world. Therefore, it is safe to stay as a super user.
     [Reliability] It is an extra layer of protection to minimize the server down time. It is recommended to turn it on.
MIME FileGo to top
Description: Specifies the file that contains the MIME settings for this server. It always relative to the real root when an absolute path is given in chroot mode.
Syntax: File name which can be an absolute path or relative to $SERVER_ROOT.
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Tips: Click the file name to edit the MIME settings
Edit MIME FileGo to top
Description: You can edit (add/modify/delete) the mime entries in that MIME file. Click on the file name will bring up the edit screen. Same mime type allows multiple suffixes.
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Tips: Use the last blank entry to enter a new one. To remove one entry, first select it and then click "Delete".
Index FilesGo to top
Description: Specifies the server level index file names. The specified index files will be searched sequentially when a URL is mapped to a directory. You can customize it at virtual host level.
Syntax: comma-separated list of name of index files
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Tips: [Performance] Only set index files that you really need.
Show Server VersionGo to top
Description: Specifies whether to show the detailed server version number in the response header. When set to No, only LiteSpeed is shown in the server string.
Syntax: Select from radio box
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Tips: [Security] Set to No if you do not want others know which version of LiteSpeed is being used.
Administrators' emailGo to top
Description: Specifies email address of administrators of this server. It is a comma-separated list. If specified, administrators will receive an email upon important events, for instance, when server is restarted automatically due to crash if Auto Restart is enabled.
Syntax: comma-separated list of email address.
Apply: On the fly with reload.
File NameGo to top
Description: Specifies the server log file.
Syntax: File name which can be an absolute path or relative to $SERVER_ROOT.
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Tips: [Performance] Place log file on a faster disk.
     Use separate disks for your web pages, log files, database and swapping directory.
Log LevelGo to top
Description: Specifies the level of logging. Available levels are ERROR, WARNING, NOTICE, INFO and DEBUG from high to low. Only messages with higher level than current setting will be logged.
Syntax: Select from drop down list
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Tips: [Performance] Use DEBUG only if you have to. Debug logging includes detailed information for each request and response; it has great impact on server performance and may fill up disk space quickly.
Debug LevelGo to top
Description: Specifies the level of debugging log. If the log level is DEBUG, server will use this to control debugging level.
Syntax: Select from drop down list
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Tips: [Performance] Important! Always set it to NONE if you do not need debugging. It has severe impact to the performance of the web server.
Rolling SizeGo to top
Description: Specifies when the current log file needs to be rolled over. When the file size is over the limit, the current log file will be renamed to your_log_name.mm_dd_yyyy(.sequence) in the same directory and a new log file will be created. The actual size of the rotated log file could be a little bigger.
Syntax: Integer number
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Tips: Append "K", "M", "G" to the number for kilo-, mega- and giga- bytes
Enable stderr LogGo to top
Description: Specifies whether to write to log stderr output from CGI processes. If enabled, it will be logged in the same direcotry as the server log with the fixed name "stderr.log". If disabled, all stderr output will be discarded.
Syntax: Select from radio box
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Tips: Turn it on if you need to debug your CGI application.
File NameGo to top
Description: Specifies the server level access log file. You can customize it at virtual host level.
Syntax: File name which can be an absolute path or relative to $SERVER_ROOT.
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Tips: [Performance] Put access log file on a separate or faster disk.
Log ReferrerGo to top
Description: Specifies whether to log Referrer HTTP header or not.
Syntax: Select from radio box
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Tips: [Performance] Turn it off if you do not care.
Log User AgentGo to top
Description: Specifies whether to log UserAgent HTTP header or not.
Syntax: Select from radio box
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Tips: [Performance] turn it off if you do not care.
Keep DaysGo to top
Description: Specifies for how many days the access log file will be preserved. Only rotated log file older than specified days will be removed, the current log file will not be touched no matter how many day's data it contains. If you want to keep all the old access log files or want to maintain by yourself, set this value to 0.
Syntax: Integer number
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Allow OverrideGo to top
Description: Specifies what directives in an access control file is allowed. An access control file can be placed in a directory to control the accessibility to files under that directory.
When nothing is checked, inherited default settings will be used. When nothing but "None" is checked, access control file will be ignored.
When Access Control is checked, directives "Order", "Allow" and "Deny" are allowed.
When Authentication is checked, directives "AuthGroupFile", "AuthName", "AuthType", "AuthUserFile", "Require" are allowed.
Allow Override configuration is available in three levels: server level, virtual host level and context level. If server level configuration is not checked, the controlled directives will be disabled for the whole server no matter whether it is enabled or not at lower levels. If server level is enabled, virtual host will inherit same settings by default, similarly context level will inherit virtual host settings. In other words, lower level can disable a setting which is enabled by upper level, but cannot enable a setting which is disabled by upper level.
Syntax: Select from checkbox
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Tips: [Performance] If no need for access control files, uncheck all.
Access File NameGo to top
Description: Specifies the name of the access control file. The file will be used only if Allow Override is enabled. Default name is .htaccess. Access file name must be started with "." to prevent content being served by web server.
Syntax: file name with leading "."
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Enable ExpiresGo to top
Description: Specifies whether to generate Expries header for static files. If enabled, Expires header will be generated based on Expires Default and Expires By Type. This can be set at server, virtual host and context level. Lower level settings will override higher level ones, i.e. context settings will override the virtual host settings and virtual host settings will override the server settings.
Syntax: Select from radio box
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Expires DefaultGo to top
Description: Specifies default settings for Expires header generation. This setting is effective when Enable Expires is set. It can be overridden by Expires By Type. Do not set this default at server or virtual host level unless you have to, since it will generate Expires header for all pages. Most of time this is set at context level for certain directories that do not change often. If there is no default settings, no Expires header will be generated for types not specified in Expires By Type.
Syntax: A|Mseconds
After base time(A|M) plus specified seconds, it will expire. Base time "A" means the client's access time and "M" means the file's last modified time.
Apply: On the fly with reload.
Expires By TypeGo to top
Description: Specifies Expires settings for individual MIME types.
Syntax: Comma-delimited list of "MIME-type=A|Mseconds". After base time(A|M) plus specified seconds, it will expire. Base time "A" means the client's access time and "M" means the file's last modified time. MIME-type can accept wildcard "*", like image/*.
Apply: On the fly with reload.