Apache2 Down , backup site or page for visitors

When Apache2 is down, you can still show a page on your webserver by using a different method. Here are a few approaches you can consider:

1. Use a Backup Web Server

You can set up a backup web server (such as Nginx or a lightweight server like Python's SimpleHTTPServer) that will serve a static page when Apache2 is down.

Example using Nginx:

Install Nginx:
```
sudo apt update sudo apt install nginx 
```

Configure Nginx to Serve a Static Page: Edit the Nginx default site configuration file:


sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/default

Modify the configuration to serve a static HTML page:


server {     listen 80 default_server;     listen [::]:80 default_server;
    root /var/www/html;     index index.html;
    server_name _;
    location / {         try_files $uri $uri/ =404;     } }

Create a Static HTML Page:


sudo nano /var/www/html/index.html

Add your HTML content:


<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head>     <meta charset="UTF-8">     <title>Maintenance Page</title> </head> <body>     <h1>We'll be back soon!</h1>     <p>Sorry for the inconvenience, but we're performing some maintenance at the moment. We'll be back online shortly!</p> </body> </html>

Start Nginx:


sudo systemctl start nginx

Ensure it starts on boot:


sudo systemctl enable nginx

Check Nginx Status:
```
sudo systemctl status nginx 
```

Now, when Apache2 is down, Nginx will serve the static maintenance page.

2. Use a Load Balancer

Set up a load balancer that can detect when Apache2 is down and automatically switch to a different server or display a static page.

Example using HAProxy:

Install HAProxy:


sudo apt update sudo apt install haproxy

Configure HAProxy: Edit the HAProxy configuration file:


sudo nano /etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg

Add the following configuration:


frontend http-in     bind *:80     default_backend apache
backend apache     server apache1 127.0.0.1:8080 check     server backup 127.0.0.1:8081 backup
backend static-backup     server static 127.0.0.1:8081

Configure the Backup Server: Set up a simple web server on port 8081 to serve the static page. You can use Nginx as shown above, or a simple Python HTTP server.

Start HAProxy:


sudo systemctl start haproxy

Ensure it starts on boot:


sudo systemctl enable haproxy

Check HAProxy Status:
```
sudo systemctl status haproxy 
```

HAProxy will now direct traffic to your backup server when Apache2 is down.

3. Use a Cloud-based Solution

If you prefer a cloud-based solution, you can use a service like Cloudflare. Cloudflare has a feature called “Always Online” which can serve a cached version of your site when your server is down.

Example using Cloudflare:

Sign up and Configure Cloudflare:
- Sign up for a Cloudflare account.
- Add your domain to Cloudflare.
- Change your domain's nameservers to point to Cloudflare.
Enable Always Online:
- Go to the Cloudflare dashboard.
- Navigate to the “Caching” section.
- Enable the “Always Online” feature.

Cloudflare will now serve a cached version of your site when your Apache2 server is down.