-
Based on https://techwombat.com/enable-http2-apache-ubuntu-16-04/
-
This totorial is for an older Ubuntu 16.04, for a Ubuntu 18.04 please read here --> https://gist.github.com/GAS85/8dadbcb3c9a7ecbcb6705530c1252831 and for a Ubuntu 20.04 please read here* --> https://gist.github.com/GAS85/38eb5954a27d64ae9ac17d01bfe9898c
- A self-managed VPS or dedicated server with Ubuntu 16.04 running Apache 2.4.xx.
- For Ubuntu 18.04 please read here --> https://gist.github.com/GAS85/8dadbcb3c9a7ecbcb6705530c1252831
- A registered domain name with working HTTPS (TLS/SSL). HTTP/2 only works alongside HTTPS because most browsers, including Firefox and Chrome, don’t support HTTP/2 in cleartext (non-TLS) mode.
Let’s assume you installed Apache from the standard stable Ubuntu repository using apt. When you check your version of apache2 by typing:
apache2 -v
… You’ll notice that Apache 2.4.18 is the current default version for Ubuntu 16.04. However, you need Apache 2.4.24 or later for compatibility with HTTP/2.
To get a newer version of Apache, you can use the PPA from Ondřej Surý which includes the latest stable release (Apache 2.4.33 at time of writing). Ondřej is a prominent PHP developer in the Debian community, so this PPA is considered safe.
To add the PPA, type:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/apache2
Or, you can add the PPA manually by inserting these lines into /etc/apt/sources.list:
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ondrej/apache2/ubuntu xenial main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/ondrej/apache2/ubuntu xenial main
Once the PPA is added, update and upgrade Apache:
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
This will update and upgrade apache2 to Apache 2.4.33+.
You want to make Apache use a compatible PHP implementation by changing mod_php to php-fpm (PHP FastCGI). If your website or app breaks on FastCGI, you can always revert back to mod_php until further troubleshooting.
Install PHP FastCGI module for PHP 7.0 current default version for Ubuntu 16.04
(replace with “7.4” if desired):
- Added Repo with latest PHP:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php
- Then install it and follow instruction from below with respect of php 7.4 Version.
sudo apt update
sudo apt install php7.4-fpm
sudo apt install php7.0-fpm
Enable required modules, proxy_fcgi and setenvif:
sudo a2enmod proxy_fcgi setenvif
Enable php7.0-fpm:
sudo a2enconf php7.0-fpm
Disable the mod_php module:
sudo a2dismod php7.0
Restart Apache if no errors comes:
sudo service apache2 restart
Since the default "prefork" MPM (Multi-Processing Module) is not fully compatible with HTTP/2, you’ll need to change Apache’s current MPM to "event" (or "worker"). This is shown by the error message in Apache versions greater than 2.4.27 as – AH10034: The mpm module (prefork.c) is not supported by mod_http2.
Keep in mind that your server requires more horsepower for HTTP/2 than for HTTP/1.1, due to the multiplexing feature and other factors. That said, smaller servers with low traffic may not see much difference in performance.
First, disable the "prefork" MPM:
sudo a2dismod mpm_prefork
Enable the "event" MPM:
sudo a2enmod mpm_event
Restart Apache and PHP 7.0:
sudo service apache2 restart
sudo service php7.0-fpm restart
Add the following line to your site’s current Virtual Host config file. This can go anywhere between the ... tags. If you want to serve HTTP/2 for all your sites, add this to your global /etc/apache2/apache2.conf file instead of per each individual site’s Virtual Host file.
Protocols h2 h2c http/1.1
Explanation: h2 is TLS-encrypted HTTP/2, h2c is cleartext HTTP/2, and http/1.1 is ordinary HTTP/1.1.
Having http/1.1 at the end of the line provides a fallback to HTTP/1.1, while h2c is not strictly necessary.
Now you can enable the http2 module in Apache:
sudo a2enmod http2
Restart Apache:
sudo service apache2 restart
Create a new http2.conf
sudo nano /etc/apache2/conf-available/http2.conf
and add all the following rows:
<IfModule http2_module>
Protocols h2 h2c http/1.1
H2Direct on
</IfModule>
Enable the http2.conf by running
sudo a2enconf http2
Test configuration and restart Apache if no errors comes:
sudo apachectl configtest && sudo service apache2 restart
and enhance your ssl-vhost file (default-ssl.conf):
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/default-ssl.conf
Amend in your configuration file:
...
Protocols h2 h2c http/1.1
H2Push on
H2PushPriority * after
H2PushPriority text/css before
H2PushPriority image/jpg after 32
H2PushPriority image/jpeg after 32
H2PushPriority image/png after 32
H2PushPriority application/javascript interleaved
...
P.S. All in one command (you still have to edit your VirtualHost and ssl config):
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/apache2
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt install php7.0-fpm
sudo a2enmod proxy_fcgi setenvif
sudo a2enconf php7.0-fpm
sudo a2dismod php7.0
sudo service apache2 restart
sudo a2dismod mpm_prefork
sudo a2enmod mpm_event
sudo service apache2 restart
sudo service php7.0-fpm restart
sudo a2enmod http2
sudo service apache2 restart
sudo echo "<IfModule http2_module>" > /etc/apache2/conf-available/http2.conf
sudo echo "Protocols h2 h2c http/1.1" >> /etc/apache2/conf-available/http2.conf
sudo echo "H2Direct on" >> /etc/apache2/conf-available/http2.conf
sudo echo "</IfModule>" >> /etc/apache2/conf-available/http2.conf
sudo a2enconf http2
sudo apachectl configtest && sudo service apache2 restart
U welcome!