## StartServers

Syntax: StartServers number
Default: `StartServers 5`
Context: server config
Status: core

The StartServers directive sets the number of child server processes created on startup. As the number of processes is dynamically controlled depending on the load, there is usually little reason to adjust this parameter.

When running under Microsoft Windows, this directive has no effect. There is always one child which handles all requests. Within the child requests are handled by separate threads. The ThreadsPerChild directive controls the maximum number of child threads handling requests, which will have a similar effect to the setting of `StartServers` on Unix.

See also MinSpareServers and MaxSpareServers.