Apache 2.4.1 was released in Feb 2012 with much great enhancement and new features. The latest version as I write is 2.4.10 released in July 2014. In this article, I will talk about some of the significant enhancement, new features included in Apache 2.4 version.
Enhancement
KeepAliveTimeout: It’s possible to specify KeepAliveTimeout in milliseconds with this version. To do so, just add KeepAliveTimeout directive in httpd.conf file. Ex: Memory Usage: Apache 2.4 claims to use less memory than 2.2.x Event MPM: Event MPM (Multi-Processing Module) is now fully supported. In an earlier version, it was experimental. mod_ssl: support OCSP stapling, can share SSL session data between servers through Memcached. mod_proxy: Location and LocationMatch block in ProxyPass directive offer the significant performance advantage.
New Modules
mod_heartmonitor, mod_lbmethod_heartbeat: This allows mod_proxy_balancer to check the number of active connections on the backend server and perform load balancing. mod_auth_form: This will enable you to use HTML login form to restrict access. This module has a dependency on mod_session, and these make use of HTTP cookies. mod_allowmethods: Now you can restrict HTTP methods in your Apache instance with the simple configuration. mod_ratelimit: if you are running a web server on low bandwidth or just want to limit the bandwidth, this module is for you. This can restrict client bandwidth to your configured location in httpd.conf file. Ex: – Note – rate-limit is in KiB/s mod_data: This module converts response body into an RFC2397 data URL. Data URL is useful when you want to reduce the number of connections while loading page/application. This can also be included in PHP languages. I believe above are significant changes in Apache 2.4. You may also refer the official Apache 2.4 page for complete details.
