Rich Bowen

Areas of Expertise:

Apache

Biography

Rich Bowen is a member of the Apache Software Foundation, working primarily on the documentation for the Apache Web Server. He lives in Lexington, Kentucky, where he spends his free time GeoCaching. He also enjoys flying kites and reading stuff by Charles Dickens and his contemporaries.

Rich is a coauthor of Apache Administrators Handbook and Apache Cookbook.

Rich, or DrBacchus--his handle on IRC--also spends entirely too much time on #apache. You can find him on the web at http://www.drbacchus.com/journal/.

Books

Apache Cookbook by Rich Bowen , Ken Coar Second Edition December 2007 Print: $34.99 Ebook: $27.99 Bundle: $45.49 (4) (Read Reviews)	What's New in Apache Web Server 2.2? by Rich Bowen February 2007 Print: $9.99
Apache Cookbook by Ken Coar , Rich Bowen November 2003 Print: $29.95 Ebook: $23.99 Bundle: $38.94 (4) (Read Reviews)

Articles

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Making Apache httpd Logs More Useful
Publish Date: Feb. 1, 2007Apache httpd's standard text logfiles are well understood and useful, but they don't always give you enough information to troubleshoot problems. Apache 2.x provides several new modules that produce more logfile information--the number of bytes transferred, the rewrite rule matching, which requests complete and why, and the complete output of all headers. Rich Bowen explores these options. Caching Dynamic Content with Apache httpd
Publish Date: Nov. 16, 2006Dynamic websites tend to be easier to manage than large collections of similar static files, but they often get many times more reads than they do writes. Every database hit and page generation can eat up precious CPU cycles. Rich Bowen shows off mod_cache, which trades disk space or memory for CPU and can help improve performance on your servers. Sending Apache httpd Logs to Syslog
Publish Date: Oct. 12, 2006Apache httpd's standard text logfiles are well understood and useful, but sometimes they're not the best option. The mature and flexible Unix syslog system offers plenty of opportunities to improve reporting and security. Rich Bowen explains how to join these two systems together. A Day in the Life of #Apache
Publish Date: Sep. 8, 2005Rich Bowen is back with another installment in his occasional series based on conversations on #apache. In this article, Rich discusses a particular Apache Web Server annoyance, the Options directive, and he explains how it works and why it does what it does. Rich is a coauthor of O'Reilly's Apache Cookbook A Day in the Life of #Apache
Publish Date: Apr. 28, 2005Rich Bowen is back with another installment in his ongoing series based on conversations on #apache. This week, he provides examples of using RewriteMap--which are lacking in its documentation and online--in this mini-tutorial. Rich is a coauthor of O'Reilly's Apache Cookbook. A Day in the Life of #Apache
Publish Date: Mar. 24, 2005If you've tried editing in WebDAV, you've likely encountered a permissions problem, as well as the problem of needing to edit your PHP files. Rich Bowen has a simple and effective solution to both of these problems in his latest #apache column. Rich is a coauthor of O'Reilly's Apache Cookbook. A Day in the Life of #Apache
Publish Date: Feb. 17, 2005Rich Bowen is back after a hiatus with another column based on his conversations on the IRC channel #apache. Rich explains why it is in fact possible to run name-based SSL virtual hosts on Apache. Rich is a coauthor of O'Reilly's Apache Cookbook. A Day in the Life of #Apache
Publish Date: Sep. 23, 2004In this month's column, Rich Bowen tackles an Apache security issue. Learn how to configure Apache to send a different Server response so no one can identify what version of Apache you're running or any of the modules you have installed. The less information your server reveals, the safer it will be from crackers. Rich is a coauthor of O'Reilly's Apache Cookbook. A Day in the Life of #Apache
Publish Date: Aug. 19, 2004Rich Bowen is back this month after a brief summer hiatus with his latest column based on his conversations on the IRC channel #apache. Want to know how to make your web site faster? Rich has some tips to enhance your server's performance. Rich is a coauthor of O'Reilly's Apache Cookbook. A Day in the Life of #Apache
Publish Date: Jun. 17, 2004In Rich Bowen's latest column based on his conversations on the IRC channel #apache, he attempts to answer a question that comes up at least once a day, but which doesn't have one clear answer: whether to use Apache 1.3 or 2.0. Find out why the answer is not a simple one. Rich is a coauthor of O'Reilly's Apache Cookbook. A Day in the Life of #Apache
Publish Date: May. 27, 2004File permissions are a major topic of conversation on #apache -- the IRC channel on which Rich Bowen often lends a helping hand. In this latest article in the series based on his #apache conversations, Rich covers the hows and whys to setting up file permissions on Unix machines. Rich is a coauthor of Apache Cookbook. A Day in the Life of #Apache
Publish Date: Apr. 22, 2004In this latest installment in the series based on his conversations on the IRC channel #apache, Rich Bowen walks through three error condition scenarios administrators have encountered and shows what to do about them, in order to create a more welcoming, less "Forbidden" web site for end users. Rich is the coauthor of O'Reilly's Apache Cookbook. A Day in the Life of #Apache
Publish Date: Mar. 18, 2004In this latest installment in the series based on his conversations on the IRC channel #apache, Rich Bowen takes you on an interesting trip through the history of mod_imap, and why some modules hang around long after they're no longer in use. Rich is a coauthor of O'Reilly's Apache Cookbook. A Day in the Life of #Apache
Publish Date: Feb. 26, 2004Rich Bowen tackles yet another common Apache dilemma in the latest installment in this series based on his conversations on the IRC channel, #apache. This week he delves into the sometimes confusing world of modules: when to enable them, when to disable them, and why. A Day in the Life of #Apache
Publish Date: Jan. 8, 2004In this installment of his new series based on conversations on the IRC channel, #Apache, Rich Bowen tackles configuration issues in the sometimes bewildering world of virtual hosts. By the time he's through, Rich will have even the most confused Apache administrator creating a functioning virtual host configuration. Rich is coauthor of the recently released Apache Cookbook.

Blog

Rich's blog posts are hosted at:
http://wooga.drbacchus.com/

mod_pony

June 25 2009

mod_pony has been a pretty long-standing joke on #httpd on Freenode, and has also made a number of appearances in conference presentations of mine when I wanted to refer to an imaginary module for some reason.I'm pleased to announce that there is now actually a mod_pony. It really doesn't do… read more

Hypocrisy

June 23 2009

What you see here is the cover of the new People magazine.Other than the quote, which is sure to be a favorite of her daughter once she can read, this looks like a promotion for teen pregnancy. She's beaming, obviously very pleased with herself. Girls everywhere are going to be… read more

The Perfect Bag

June 22 2009

I've been on a search for the perfect bag for quite some time.I carry a lot of stuff, and I hate having my pants pockets loaded down. There's the wallet and phone and pens and ipod, for starters. But there's also the keys and knife and ... Am I becoming… read more

Slowloris

June 21 2009

No doubt you've heard of Slowloris, the HTTP DOS tool that will take down an Apache web server. I recommend reading the update at that site, which describes in some detail how it works.Note that this condition is also covered in the Apache documentation, and, according to svn, that was… read more

OS 3, CalDav: update

June 18 2009

In addition to Shep's helpful comment, right after I posted my last entry I discovered that the settings at m.google.com/sync apply to the Exchange sync. Apparently the Exchange sync worked in OS 2.2, so there was no reason to upgrade at all, if I had just known that.Of course, there… read more

OS 3.0 and CalDAV

June 18 2009

I had one single motivation for upgrading my iPod Touch to OS 3.0 - CalDAV. According to very vague reports I had read before, it would "support CalDAV", although the actual explanations of what that meant varied somewhat.But iCal on the Mac started supporting CalDAV - actually allowing editing of… read more

mod_rewrite misinformation

June 16 2009

I wrote a book about mod_rewrite. Perhaps you have a copy. If so, thanks.Additionally, I spend a lot of time on IRC (freenode.org, #httpd) answering mod_rewrite questions. And I speak at various conferences, frequently on the topic of mod_rewrite.mod_rewrite isn't in fact, terribly difficult. However, it is made more difficult… read more

William Purvis and Fountain Pens

June 15 2009

Today I saw an ad for the UNCF that indicated that the fountain pen was invented by an African American, William Purvis. This struck me as wildly improbable, since fountain pens have been around considerably longer than there were non-native persons living on the North American continent, and certainly before… read more

Out Of Touch Lexingtonians

June 11 2009

Once again the rich folks in Lexington are talking out of both sides of their mouths, and it really irritates me.They claim that they oppose the sidewalks on Tates Creek Road because it will spoil the grass, because it will be dangerous for people to walk there, and because the… read more

Sveasoft vs Cisco

June 10 2009

I have a WRT54G, the ancient 2.2 version of the hardware, back before there was an L edition. I've been running the Sveasoft Alchemy firmware on it for years and years. I don't even remember when I installed it.Yeah, I know, there are some folks with ideological reasons why I… read more

Tandoori Chicken

May 31 2009

We spent most of yesterday afternoon making dinner - tandoori chicken, chapatis, and aloo gobi. Although we usually make tandoori chicken with a mix, yesterday we made it from scratch, which is always better, and a lot more fun.There are lots of recipes online for tandoori chicken, but none of… read more

Maxims of Baloo

May 30 2009

And, while I'm at it, here's another teaser from The Jungle Book - Maxims of Baloo. read more

Hunting Song of the Seeonee Pack

May 30 2009

I've started recording the second part of The Jungle Book. I think I might just spend the whole day on this. Here's a teaser: Hunting Song of the Seeonee Pack. read more

The Jungle Book: Chapter 1 - Mowgli's Brothers

May 30 2009

This is the first of three installments of The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling. I expect that it will be many moons before I get the next one done, but I've been sitting on this one, unedited, for several months, and Ruth has been asking for it.Ruth, if it's too… read more

The Frogs Chuse a King

May 30 2009

The Frogs Chuse A King (sic), one of Aesop's Fables.Don't forget to subscribe to my podcast. read more

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