Apache Web Server

Apache Web Server (Apache HTTP Server) is an open-source, cross-platform web server software developed and maintained by the Apache Software Foundation. It is renowned for its stability, security, and high scalability, supporting a wide range of features through its rich module ecosystem. It is one of the most widely used web servers globally, commonly employed for website hosting, dynamic application support, and reverse proxy scenarios.

This document describes how to install and run the Apache Web Server on a Quectel Pi M1 / L1 Debian system, and access the web pages from a Windows computer on the same local network.

Prerequisites

1. Verify the device environment:

   • The Quectel Pi M1 / L1 and the Windows host are on the same local network and can communicate with each other

   • If you plan to install Apache online via apt, the device must also be able to access Debian software repositories

2. Check network connectivity:

   • Run hostname -I in the device terminal to view the current IP address, then ping the Windows host or gateway address on the same subnet. If you see round-trip time information returned, local network communication is working. You can also run ping 10.66.84.17 on the M1/Windows host (use the actual device IP) to confirm.

3. Log in to the development board:

   • M1: Log in via serial port or graphical interface, using the default q user.

   • **L1: If the local debug environment is already available, you can also enter the system via ADB; this document uses serial port login as an example. For login methods, refer to debug_uart.md. L1 defaults toroot**login with no system password.

Install Apache Web Service

Apache is one of the most commonly used web server programs for providing website access services.

1. Update the software repository:

sudo apt update

2. Install Apache service:

sudo apt install apache2 -y

💡 If the current network cannot access Debian software repositories, you can first download the apache2, apache2-data, apache2-utils, and other architecture-specific installation packages on the host, then copy them to the device for offline installation.

3. Verify Apache installation success:

/usr/sbin/apache2 -v

Start and Set Auto-Start

1. Start Apache service:

sudo systemctl start apache2

2. Set to start automatically on boot:

sudo systemctl enable apache2

3. Check running status:

sudo systemctl status apache2
systemctl is-active apache2
systemctl is-enabled apache2

Allow Web Access Port

If the device firewall has restricted port 80, you need to add an allow rule. The following example allows a specified Windows host to access the device’s HTTP service (replace <Windows主机IP> with the actual IP; the M1 test sample is 10.66.84.17):

sudo iptables -I INPUT 1 -i eth0 -p tcp -s <Windows主机IP> --dport 80 -j ACCEPT

View port listening and firewall rules:

netstat -tulnp | grep ':80'
sudo iptables -S INPUT | grep 80

In testing, Apache was found to be listening on 0.0.0.0:80 or :::80. When accessing, use the device’s current IP address obtained via hostname -I.

View Device IP Address

hostname -I

Test Apache Installation

1. In a browser on a computer on the same local network, visit:

http://<开发板IP>/
http://10.66.84.182/

2. If everything is working correctly, you should see the Apache default page.

Change the Default Web Page

Apache’s default web page is an HTML file in the filesystem, located at /var/www/html/index.html.

Navigate to this directory and view its contents:

cd /var/www/html
ls -al

This will display the following:

total 20
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root  4096 Oct 30 07:53 .
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root  4096 Oct 30 06:51 ..
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10703 Oct 30 06:51 index.html

The system has a default web page file named index.html in the /var/www/html directory, owned by the root user. Since regular users cannot directly modify files owned by root, if you need to edit this web page, you must change its owner to your own username.

• M1 (default q user):

  sudo chown q:q index.html
  

• L1 or other custom users:

  sudo chown <用户名>:<用户名> index.html
  

Now you can edit this file. After making changes, simply refresh the browser to see the updated web page.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Possible Cause	Solution
Windows Command Prompt says Test-NetConnection is not recognized as an internal or external command	Test-NetConnection is a PowerShell command, not a CMD command	Open Windows PowerShell and re-run Test-NetConnection <device-IP> -Port 80
Able to ping the device but browser cannot open the web page, and TcpTestSucceeded is False	Apache service is not running, port 80 is not listening, or the device firewall has not allowed port 80	Run sudo systemctl status apache2, sudo systemctl restart apache2, netstat -tulnp | grep ':80' in sequence on the device to verify service status and port listening
apt install apache2 cannot complete	The device’s current network cannot access Debian software repositories	First verify the development board has external network access; if only the local network is available, download the apache2-related installation packages on the host and copy them to the development board for offline installation (see the notes in the installation section)
IP address is correct but still cannot access	The device and Windows host are not on the same local network, or the IP address changed after switching ADB/Ethernet	Run hostname -I on the device to reconfirm the IP address, and ensure the Windows host and device are on the same subnet

If Apache is confirmed to be listening on 0.0.0.0:80 but Windows still cannot access it, you can temporarily allow the Windows host to access port 80 (replace <Windows主机IP> with the actual IP):

sudo iptables -I INPUT 1 -i eth0 -p tcp -s <Windows主机IP> --dport 80 -j ACCEPT