** Using WeBWorK **

Here is the general guidance we give in the Ubuntu installation instructions (http://webwork.maa.org/wiki/Installation_Manual_for_2.4_on_Ubuntu_8.04#Configuring_Apache):

Next we will make a few changes to Apache's default configuration. First we backup the configuration file

# cd /etc/apache2/
# cp apache2.conf apache2.conf.bak1
# gedit apache2.conf

Search for the line

Timeout 300

and replace it by

Timeout 1200

Next search for the lines

MaxClients 150
MaxRequestsPerChild 0

Which occur under <IfModule mpm_prefork_module> and replace them by

# For WeBWorK a rough rule of thumb is 20 MaxClients per 1 GB of memory
MaxClients 20
MaxRequestsPerChild 100

where you should set MaxClients depending on the amount of memory your server has.

Note that the default MaxRequestsPerChild 0 means children never die. We would certainly appreciate guidance on the "For WeBWorK a rough rule of thumb is 20 MaxClients per 1 GB of memory".

Arnie