FastCGI Setup Overview

This document is only a quick overview of how I set up Apache. See the FastCGI website (www.fastcgi.com) for more complete information. Other servers that support FastCGI should also work as long as they only send one request at a time to each application server. This may seem to be a significant limitation but the current FastCGI implementation for Apache does this. Version 2 of Apache may change this, in which case there would have to be some significant changes to the application modules.

Apache needs to have the FastCGI module loaded in the appropriate places:

	.
	.
	.
	#  Additional modules, not included by default
	LoadModule fastcgi_module     lib/apache/mod_fastcgi.so
	.
	.
	.
	#  Additional Modules, not included by default
	AddModule mod_fastcgi.c
	.
	.
	.

At the end of the configuration file tell Apache that this directory (which must exist) is executable:

	# FastCGI setup
	
	Options ExecCGI
	

Finally, give directions to the application servers (dsial2 is one of out Alpha systems, you need to use your own name or address):

	ExternalAppClass /var/www/html/vms/TEST -host dsial2:8001
	
	SetHandler fastcgi-script
	 

	ExternalAppClass /var/www/html/vms/ALTTEST -host dsial2:8002
	
	SetHandler fastcgi-script
	 
Restart Apache and now when either submit button in TEST.HTML is clicked, the data will go to port 8001 on dsial2.