How does Apache determine the FQDN?

apache2 hostname fqdn
Peter Stone picture Peter Stone · Apr 2, 2009 · Viewed 14.3k times · Source

I'm using Apache2, and when reloading/restarting the server I get this warning:

apache2: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using (my FQDN) for ServerName

Everything works fine, but I'm trying to figure out what's causing the error. I'm grabbing the source to see if can find it, but since my C's not very good....

Some notes:

  • If I change the system hostname, Apache uses the new hostname
  • I have a ServerName set; it's the same as the hostname
  • I have a static, unique IP - dig (hostname) returns (my ip), dig -x (my ip) returns (hostname)
  • My hosts file is correct

Versions:

Apache/2.2.9
Linux 2.6.24-23-xen x86_64
Description:    Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 (lenny)

Any ideas?

Answer

David Z picture David Z · Apr 2, 2009

Are you sure you have a ServerName directive with the proper value - outside any <VirtualHost> blocks? (You also need a ServerName inside each <VirtualHost> block, of course)

When Apache gives out that error message, usually it means that it's not finding a ServerName for the server as a whole. If you do have that directive set properly, I can't imagine why Apache would still be complaining...

Related questions

Apache2: 'AH01630: client denied by server configuration'

I get this error when trying to access localhost via a browser. AH01630: client denied by server configuration I checked my site folder permissions using: sudo chmod 777 -R * Here is my configuration file: <VirtualHost *:80> ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost DocumentRoot /…

Read More
Configure apache to listen on port other than 80

I use centOS server. I want to configure apache to listen on port 8079. I added LISTEN 8079 directive in httpd.conf. I opened port 8079 in iptables and restarted iptables. I even stopped iptables service. "netstat -nal | grep 8079" shows "tcp 0 0 :::8079 :::* LISTEN" If …

Read More
Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name

I have just installed Apache 2.2.17, and I am using it first time. Now when I try to start the server using the command service httpd start it gives me the message: httpd: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified …

Read More