Start / Restart / Stop Apache Web Server

How do I start, restart, or stop Apache 2.x web server on Ubuntu Linux operating systems using command line options?

1. systemctl command – Only works on systemd based Ubuntu like version 16.04 LTS and above.
2. /etc/init.d/apache2 – A sys v init style script to start / stop / restart the Apache2 service under Debian or Ubuntu Linux.
3. service command – This command work in most Linux distributions including Debian and Ubuntu.
4. upstart command – Only works on certain version of Ubuntu.
5. apache2ctl command – This method should work on all Linux and Unix likeoperating systems.

6. Method #1: systemctl command examples

   To start Apache 2 on Ubuntu Linux LTS 16.04 LTS or the latest systemd based Ubuntu Linux, type:
   $ sudo systemctl start apache2.service
   To stop Apache 2 on Ubuntu Linux LTS 16.04 LTS or the latest systemd based Ubuntu Linux, type:
   $ sudo systemctl stop apache2.service
   To restart Apache 2 on Ubuntu Linux LTS 16.04 LTS or the latest systemd based Ubuntu Linux, type:
   $ sudo systemctl restart apache2.service
   To status of start/restart/stop operation, enter:
   $ journalctl -u apache2
   To find out whether Apache 2 running or not, enter:
   $ sudo systemctl status apache2.service
   Sample session:
   

   Fig.01: Ubuntu Linux systemctl start/stop/restart Apache server (systemd)

   Method #2: /etc/init.d/apache2 command examples

   You need to login as root user or use the sudo command to control Apache web-server.

   Task: Start Apache 2 Server

   # /etc/init.d/apache2 start
   or
   $ sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 start

   Task: Restart Apache 2 Server

   # /etc/init.d/apache2 restart
   or
   $ sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

   Task: Stop Apache 2 Server

   # /etc/init.d/apache2 stop
   or
   $ sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 stop

   Method #3: service command examples

   To restart Apache 2, enter:
   $ sudo service apache2 restart
   To stop Apache 2, enter:
   $ sudo service apache2 stop
   To start Apache 2, enter:
   $ sudo service apache2 start
   To gracefully reload Apache 2, enter:
   $ sudo service apache2 reload

   Method #4: upstart command examples

   The following commands only works with certian version of Ubuntu such as Ubuntu Linux LTS 12.04 and 14.04. To start Apache 2 on Ubuntu, run:
   $ sudo start apache2
   To stop Apache 2 on Ubuntu, run:
   $ sudo stop apache2
   To restart Apache 2 on Ubuntu, run:
   $ sudo restart apache2
   To gracefully reload Apache 2 on Ubuntu, run:
   $ sudo restart apache2

   Method #5: apache2ctl command examples

   apache2ctl is Apache HTTP server control interface command, which can be used to stop or start web server under any Linux distribution or UNIX.
   To start Apache 2 on Ubuntu, type:
   $ sudo apache2ctl start
   To stop Apache 2 on Ubuntu, type:
   $ sudo apache2ctl stop
   To restart Apache 2 on Ubuntu, type:
   $ sudo apache2ctl restart
   To gracefully reload Apache 2 on Ubuntu, type:
   $ sudo apache2ctl graceful