Debian/Ubuntu Linux Specific Commands
You can either use service or /etc/init.d/ command as follows on Debian Linux version 7.x or Ubuntu Linux version Ubuntu 14.10 or older :
Restart Apache 2 web server, enter:
# /etc/init.d/apache2 restart
OR
$ sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart
OR
$ sudo service apache2 restart
To stop Apache 2 web server, enter:
# /etc/init.d/apache2 stop
OR
$ sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 stop
OR
$ sudo service apache2 stop
To start Apache 2 web server, enter:
# /etc/init.d/apache2 start
OR
$ sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 start
OR
$ sudo service apache2 start
A note about Debian/Ubuntu Linux systemd users
Use the following commands on Debian Linux version 8.x+ or Ubuntu Linux version Ubuntu 15.04+ or above :
## Start command ##systemctl start apache2.service## Stop command ##systemctl stop apache2.service## Restart command ##systemctl restart apache2.service
CentOS/RHEL (Red Hat) Linux version 4.x/5.x/6.x or older specific commands
## Start ##service httpd start## Stop ##service httpd stop## Restart ##service httpd restart
CentOS/RHEL (Red Hat) Linux version 7.x or newer specific commands
Most modern distro now using systemd, so you need to use the following command:
## Start command ##systemctl start httpd.service## Stop command ##systemctl stop httpd.service## Restart command ##systemctl restart httpd.service
Generic method to start/stop/restart Apache on a Linux/Unix
The syntax is as follows (must be run as root user):
## stop it ##apachectl -k stop## restart it ##apachectl -k restart## graceful restart it ##apachectl -k graceful## Start it ##apachectl -f /path/to/your/httpd.confapachectl -f /usr/local/apache2/conf/httpd.conf