Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2012 14:26:25 -0500 From: Paul Schmehl <pschmehl_lists@tx.rr.com> To: Chuck Swiger <cswiger@mac.com> Cc: FreeBSD Questions List <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: Apache vs. nginx Message-ID: <369EA14C9A8386079EDF53CA@localhost> In-Reply-To: <090D2CE4-FB19-4B40-ADCF-CE3FC1C45C1E@mac.com> References: <35DA07557A36800645B39187@localhost> <090D2CE4-FB19-4B40-ADCF-CE3FC1C45C1E@mac.com>
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Thanks, Chuck. That's very useful input. --On July 17, 2012 10:40:30 AM -0700 Chuck Swiger <cswiger@mac.com> wrote: > On Jul 17, 2012, at 7:40 AM, Paul Schmehl wrote: >> I'm the admin for a small hobby website (Stovebolt.com - about 7 million >> hits/mo). We're fixin to buy a new server, and since I have to start >> from scratch (install FreeBSD and all the needed ports), I'm wondering >> if anyone on this list has switched from Apache to nginx. >> >> If you have, what has your experience been like? Was the change >> relatively easy? (I'm not intimidated by technical details. I've been >> running FreeBSD on these servers for about 12 years now.) Was the >> performance better? (We've not been having any problems with Apache to >> this point.) Is there sufficient support from addon apps to run a site >> with a php-driven forum? > > I've compared them; since I know Apache...rather well, switching to nginx > didn't strike me as a useful change at any of the sites for which I've > setup or managed their webservers. You have to invoke external scripts > like a PHP forum via FastCGI (what nginx calls ngx_http_fastcgi_module); > using and tuning FastCGI separately from the webserver itself definitely > has some advantages, but those same advantages can be obtained in Apache > by using mod_fcgi instead of using mod_php directly. > > Apache is bulkier per process than nginx but has more modules and config > options available for it; nginx seems to have been tuned more for server > farms hosting a lot of low-volume vanity domains, so it has minimal > overhead, implements IP-based and name-based virtual hosting eloquently, > implements bandwidth rate controls as a core functionality, etc. > > I cannot recall encountering a circumstance where the base performance of > the webserver itself turned out to be the primary criterion for "website > performance"; sites are almost always constrained by bandwidth and/or the > performance of the dynamic scripts, database backend, etc-- and not by > the webserver's ability to serve static resources. > > Regards, -- Paul Schmehl, Senior Infosec Analyst As if it wasn't already obvious, my opinions are my own and not those of my employer. ******************************************* "It is as useless to argue with those who have renounced the use of reason as to administer medication to the dead." Thomas Jefferson "There are some ideas so wrong that only a very intelligent person could believe in them." George Orwell
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