From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Tue Jul 17 19:26:30 2012 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [69.147.83.52]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id B462B106566C for ; Tue, 17 Jul 2012 19:26:30 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from prvs=5384dbffd=pschmehl_lists@tx.rr.com) Received: from ip-001.utdallas.edu (ip-001.utdallas.edu [129.110.20.107]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 763178FC16 for ; Tue, 17 Jul 2012 19:26:30 +0000 (UTC) X-Group: None X-IronPort-Anti-Spam-Filtered: true X-IronPort-Anti-Spam-Result: AtsEAKy7BVCBbgogWWdsb2JhbABFqVWPRwEjEIJbAQEEATgCPwULCw4KLkMUBhOHfgMGBrN0FIlHi0CFb2ADiEuOBJFz X-IronPort-AV: E=Sophos;i="4.77,604,1336366800"; d="scan'208";a="101836361" Received: from zxtm01.utdallas.edu (HELO [129.110.200.11]) ([129.110.10.32]) by ip-001.utdallas.edu with ESMTP/TLS/DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA; 17 Jul 2012 14:26:28 -0500 Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2012 14:26:25 -0500 From: Paul Schmehl To: Chuck Swiger Message-ID: <369EA14C9A8386079EDF53CA@localhost> In-Reply-To: <090D2CE4-FB19-4B40-ADCF-CE3FC1C45C1E@mac.com> References: <35DA07557A36800645B39187@localhost> <090D2CE4-FB19-4B40-ADCF-CE3FC1C45C1E@mac.com> X-Mailer: Mulberry/4.1.0a1 (Mac OS X) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline; size=2497 Cc: FreeBSD Questions List Subject: Re: Apache vs. nginx X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list Reply-To: Paul Schmehl List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2012 19:26:30 -0000 Thanks, Chuck. That's very useful input. --On July 17, 2012 10:40:30 AM -0700 Chuck Swiger 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