How can I return a 503 status in apache without invoking external scripts
        Posted  
        
            by dan mackinlay
        on Server Fault
        
        See other posts from Server Fault
        
            or by dan mackinlay
        
        
        
        Published on 2009-08-12T03:40:59Z
        Indexed on 
            2010/05/18
            15:41 UTC
        
        
        Read the original article
        Hit count: 327
        
I need to return a 503 status code from one of my sites while it's down for maintenance, in the time-honoured SE_firendly fashion. I can't seem to work out how to do this without invoking external scripts, which I'd rather avoid.
Is there an apache directive which will allow me to return an arbitrary HTTP status code without resorting to hacks like invoking a php script which sets the status header?
© Server Fault or respective owner