Apache is a free, open-source, widely used web server known for its stability, flexibility, and numerous features.
Nginx is an open-source, stable, and most popular web server. It is used as a load-balancer, web reverse proxy, or POP and IMAP proxy server.
In this post, we will show you how to change the Nginx and Apache default ports in Linux.
Change Apache Default Port
By default, the Apache webserver listens to all incoming connections on port 80. If you have installed an SSL certificate, it will listen to all secure connections on port 443. In this section, we will show you how to change the Apache default port on CentOS, RHEL, Debian, and Ubuntu operating systems.
Change Apache Default Port on Debian/Ubuntu
On the Debian and Ubuntu operating systems, Apache stores port-related information in the /etc/apache2/ports.conf and /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default.conf files.
First, edit /etc/apache2/ports.conf file:
nano /etc/apache2/ports.conf
Find the following line:
Listen 80
And replace it with the following line:
Listen 8080
Save and close the file when you are finished, then edit the Apache default virtual host configuration file /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default.conf:
nano /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default.conf
Find the following line:
<VirtualHost *:80>
And replace it with the next line:
<VirtualHost *:8080>
Save and close the file, then restart the Apache service to apply the configuration changes:
systemctl restart apache2
You can now verify the Apache listening port with the following command:
ss -antpl | grep 8080
You should get the following output:
LISTEN 0 511 *:8080 *:* users:(("apache2",pid=2908,fd=4),("apache2",pid=2907,fd=4),("apache2",pid=2906,fd=4))
Change Apache Default Port on CentOS/RHEL
On the CentOS and RHEL operating systems, Apache stores port-related information in /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf file.
You can edit it with the following command:
nano /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
Find the following line:
Listen 80
And replace it with the following line:
Listen 8080
Save and close the file, then restart the Apache service to apply the changes:
systemctl restart httpd
You can now verify the Apache listening port with the following command:
ss -antpl | grep 8080
Output:
LISTEN 0 128 *:8080 *:* users:(("httpd",pid=5994,fd=4),("httpd",pid=5993,fd=4),("httpd",pid=5992,fd=4),("httpd",pid=5989,fd=4))
Change Nginx Default Port
By default, the Nginx web server listens to all incoming connections on port 80. If you have installed an SSL certificate, it will listen to all secure connections on port 443. In this section, we will show you how to change the Nginx default port on CentOS, RHEL, Debian, and Ubuntu operating systems.
Change Nginx Default Port on Debian/Ubuntu
On Ubuntu and Debian-based distributions, Nginx stores port-related configuration in the /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default file.
You can edit it with the following command:
nano /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
Find the following lines:
listen 80 default_server;
listen [::]:80 default_server;
And replace them with the following lines:
listen 8080 default_server;
listen [::]:8080 default_server;
Save and close the file, then restart the Nginx service to apply the changes:
systemctl restart nginx
You can now verify the Nginx listening port with the following command:
ss -antpl | grep 8080
You should get the following output:
LISTEN 0 511 0.0.0.0:8080 0.0.0.0:* users:(("nginx",pid=1596,fd=6),("nginx",pid=1595,fd=6))
LISTEN 0 511 [::]:8080 [::]:* users:(("nginx",pid=1596,fd=7),("nginx",pid=1595,fd=7))
Change Nginx Default Port on CentOS/RHEL
On CentOS and RHEL operating systems, Nginx stores port-related configuration in /etc/nginx/nginx.conf file.
nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
Find the following lines:
listen 80 default_server;
listen [::]:80 default_server;
And replace them with the following lines:
listen 8080 default_server;
listen [::]:8080 default_server;
Save and close the file, then restart the Nginx service to apply the changes:
systemctl restart nginx
You can now verify the Nginx listening port with the following command:
ss -antpl | grep 8080
You should see the following output:
LISTEN 0 128 0.0.0.0:8080 0.0.0.0:* users:(("nginx",pid=6589,fd=8),("nginx",pid=6588,fd=8))
LISTEN 0 128 [::]:8080 [::]:* users:(("nginx",pid=6589,fd=9),("nginx",pid=6588,fd=9))
Conclusion
In the above guide, you learned how to change the Apache and Nginx default ports on Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS, and RHEL operating systems. You can now set your desired port on Apache and Nginx web servers; try it on your dedicated server from Atlantic.Net!
