All Products
Search

This Product

    Certificate Management Service:How do I view the web server type?

    Document Center

    Certificate Management Service:How do I view the web server type?

    Last Updated:Mar 31, 2026

    Before deploying an SSL certificate, confirm your web server type — such as Nginx, Apache, or IIS — to choose the correct certificate file format and installation method. This topic describes three methods to identify the web server type.

    Choose a method

    SituationRecommended method
    You don't have server login access, or just want a quick checkMethod 1: Local quick check
    You have server login access and need a definitive answerMethod 2: Log in to the server
    The previous methods don't workMethod 3: Consult an engineer

    Method 1: Local quick check

    When using Method 1, if the server hides the Server header, or sits behind a proxy such as a CDN or Server Load Balancer (SLB), this method may return the proxy's server type instead of the origin server type. If the result looks unexpected, use Method 2 for confirmation.

    Use browser developer tools

    1. Open the target website in a browser (Chrome, Edge, or Firefox).

    2. Press F12 to open Developer Tools. View the server type as shown in the following image.

    image.png

    Use the command line interface (CLI)

    Run the following command in a terminal on your local computer. Replace <yourdomain> with your actual domain name.

    curl -sIL https://<yourdomain>

    In the output, find the last Server response header — the line starting with server: or Server:. The value on that line is the server name.

    Method 2: Log in to the server

    Log in to the web server directly. This is the most accurate method to confirm the web server type. The following examples assume the server listens on port 80 or 443.

    Linux

    Run the following command in a terminal. Identify the web server from the process name in the output.

    sudo netstat -tlnp | grep -E ':(80|443)\s+'

    Windows

    1. Press Win + R, type resmon, and press Enter to open Resource Monitor.

    2. Go to the Network tab and click Listening Ports.

    3. Find any record where the port is 80 or 443. The Name column shows the process name, which identifies the web server.

    Method 3: Consult an engineer

    If neither method above gives a clear result, contact the development or O&M engineer responsible for the website.

    What's next

    After confirming the web server type, select the appropriate certificate file format and installation guide. See SSL Certificate deployment solution selection.