One of the most important things an administrator needs to understand is that when the Web server starts, it first reads the contents of its configuration file (httpd.conf), and from this file determines where the server's DocumentRoot and ServerRoot is with regards to the current filesystem. Apache (and its derivatives) uses the DocumentRoot directive to identify the default location that Web pages are served from, and the ServerRoot directive to determine where root directory for Apache's key program files, modules, and libraries reside.

Second, the primary role of a Web server is to serve files (static or dynamically created) to a requesting client. Therefore, one of the first rules of order for a Web server administrator is to understand that, generally speaking, the server itself should not have the authority to modify the pages it serves. With the exception of log files, only the person or persons responsible for managing a Web server should be able to alter the files under ServerRoot or the server's configuration files.