man micro_httpd (Administration système) - really small HTTP server

NAME

micro_httpd - really small HTTP server

SYNOPSIS

micro_httpd directory

DESCRIPTION

micro_httpd is a very small HTTP server. It runs from inetd, which means its performance is poor. But for low-traffic sites, it's quite adequate. It implements all the basic features of an HTTP server, including:

*
Security against ".." filename snooping.
*
The common MIME types.
*
Trailing-slash redirection.
*
index.html
*
Directory listings.

All in 150 lines of code.

To install it, add a line like this to /etc/inetd.conf:

    micro_http  stream tcp nowait nobody  /usr/local/sbin/micro_httpd micro_httpd dir
Make sure the path to the executable is correct, and change "dir" to be the directory you want to serve. Then add a line like this to /etc/services:
    micro_http   port/tcp   #Micro HTTP server
Change "port" to the port number you want to use - 80, 8000, whatever. Then restart inetd by sending it a "HUP" signal, or rebooting.

On some systems, inetd has a maximum spawn rate - if you try to run inetd services faster than a certain number of times per minute, it assumed there's either a bug of an attack going on and it shuts down for a few minutes. If you run into this problem - look for syslog messages about too-rapid looping - you'll need to find out how to increase the limit. Unfortunately this varies from OS to OS. On FreeBSD, you add a "-R 10000" flag to inetd's initial command line. On some Linux systems, you can set the limit on a per-service basis in inetd.conf, by changing "nowait" to "nowait.10000".

Note that you can use micro_httpd to serve HTTPS, if you like, by running it from stunnel. First fetch and install stunnel - FreeBSD users can just go to /usr/ports/security/stunnel and do a "make cert ; make install". Then as root run:

    stunnel -p /usr/local/certs/stunnel.pem -d 443 
	-l /usr/local/sbin/micro_httpd -- 
	micro_httpd dir
Make sure the paths to the certificate and executable are correct, and again don't forget to change "dir" to the directory you want to serve.

AUTHOR

Copyright (C) 1999 by Jef Poskanzer <jef@mail.acme.com>. All rights reserved.