Apache threads being kept around after browsing on a local development machine

Question

So I have apache running on my local computer. When I open up local development sites in tabs in my browser, apache threads are started. That's as it should be. However, when I close the tabs, close the browsers, and then run system monitor/system task manager, I get a long list of apache threads that are sleeping, waiting around for god knows what.

How do I get these apache threads to stop hanging around?

Answer 1

Apache has settings to control how threads are used and how many hang around in memory after they are no longer in use. The main reason to leave unused threads in place is to improve performance. It's all explained nicely in the Apache MPM worker documentation.

The setting you're looking for is MaxSpareThreads.