How can I limit the size of Apache's access_log, and limit the number of archived logs it keeps?

On most Linux distributions, the system is set up to run logrotate on a daily basis. You won't see it in the crontab for root or for any particular user.

It's easy to change how it handles log files. On my Ubuntu server, the /etc/logrotate.conf file has settings like these:

# rotate log files weekly
weekly

# keep 4 weeks worth of backlogs
rotate 4

# create new (empty) log files after rotating old ones
create

# uncomment this if you want your log files compressed
#compress

[etc.]

And, you can look in the directory /etc/logrotate.d/ to see settings for specific directories and apps.

I would use rotatelogs, a tool located in the apache bin directory.

See http://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/programs/rotatelogs.html for more information and examples. It has the advantage to exist on my HP-UX system.

Or as mentioned previously, you can use the logrotate tool that comes with most distributions.