What it does is allow non-developers to install thousands of applications into a shared hosting account without the need for them to employ a developer. It¹s not a question of functionality, it¹s a matter of commercial necessity.
Marcus > > Am I missing something? What does mod_rewrite do that the redirection handler > doesn't do? > > I think your approach may be a little off: no one is here to develop software > for you regardless of how many perspective servers you want to use it with. > That should be irrelevant to the discussion. > > On Oct 22, 2010, at 10:32, Marcus Don <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi Tony >> >> Thanks for your feedback. >> >> We¹ve already invested a considerable amount in developing this software, so >> I doubt I could secure more funding to adapt it to another platform. Even if >> I could, there is no commercial case for us to continue funding the ongoing >> development and maintenance when we can use Apache for free. So, by providing >> such as significant head-start, I was hoping I could drum up enough support >> among the existing Cherokee developers. >> >> Regards >> >> Marcus >> >> >>> >>> I am sure everyone wants to see Cherokee use grow. However, volunteer >>> developers can only do so much. They still have to earn a living. If you >>> are going to use it on that scale, which is great, why not put some money on >>> the table as an investment for you and the community. Even if it is not >>> what you would pay a contractor, volunteers might be much more motivated. >>> You would still be benefiting from the incredible amount of work that has >>> already gone into Cherokee. Also, if use grows worldwide, you would benefit >>> in the long run if other commercial companies decided to begin to deploy it >>> and contribute back code. >>> >>> Just my two cents. >>> >>> Tony Zakula >>> >>> >>> >>> On Fri, Oct 22, 2010 at 3:54 AM, Marcus Don <[email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: >>>> Since I've had virtually no response to my email below, I'll try again in >>>> far fewer words. >>>> >>>> I'm interested in using Cherokee to host around 50,000 sites and 600,000 >>>> domains, with the potential to extend this to 600,000 sites and 1.6 million >>>> domains. >>>> >>>> Unfortunately, our customers want mod_rewrite, which Cherokee doesn't >>>> currently support. However, we own the source code for a mod_rewrite >>>> equivalent, which we are willing to donate to Cherokee if enough people are >>>> interested. >>>> >>>> If you are interested in the possibility of Cherokee becoming a serious >>>> alternative to Apache for commercial, mass hosting, please let me know. >>>> >>>> Thanks >>>> >>>> Marcus >>>> >>>> >>>>> > Hi >>>>> > >>>>> > Apologies in advance for the length of this email, please bear with me >>>>> :) >>>>> > >>>>> > First an introduction: I'm senior manager of R&D for a group of ISPs >>>>> including >>>>> > register.it <http://register.it> <http://register.it >>>>> <http://register.it> > , names.co.uk <http://names.co.uk> >>>>> <http://names.co.uk <http://names.co.uk> > , nominalia.es >>>>> <http://nominalia.es> <http://nominalia.es <http://nominalia.es> > , >>>>> amen.fr <http://amen.fr> <http://amen.fr <http://amen.fr> > , >>>>> register365.com <http://register365.com> <http://register365.com >>>>> <http://register365.com> > , and >>>>> > simplyhosting.com <http://simplyhosting.com> <http://simplyhosting.com >>>>> <http://simplyhosting.com> > . As a group, we host over 1.6 million >>>>> domains and 600,000 >>>>> > web sites. >>>>> > >>>>> > Currently, we have 3 shared hosting clusters in Italy, the UK and >>>>> Ireland. The >>>>> > Italian platform is based on Apache and the UK and Irish platforms are >>>>> based >>>>> > on Zeus Web Server. We also have a legacy platform, inherited from a >>>>> recent >>>>> > acquisition, based on Apache and H-Sphere, which we are currently >>>>> migrating to >>>>> > Zeus. >>>>> > >>>>> > Until recently, we have been very happy with our choice of Zeus Web >>>>> Server. We >>>>> > have gained a solid reputation in the UK for having a very >>>>> high-performing and >>>>> > reliable platform, and we have won the UK ISP Award (ISPA) for Best >>>>> Shared >>>>> > Hosting for the last 3 years running. However, we are now considering >>>>> > migrating away from ZWS for the following reasons: >>>>> > >>>>> > 1) It hasn't been updated since 2007, and Zeus will not commit to any >>>>> future >>>>> > updates other than security patches. >>>>> > 2) It makes commercial sense for us to use the same technology >>>>> everywhere in >>>>> > the group. >>>>> > 3) Zeus does not support mod_rewrite. >>>>> > >>>>> > Given these requirements, and the fact we are already using it in Italy, >>>>> the >>>>> > obvious solution would be to use Apache on all platforms. However, I am >>>>> > seriously concerned that the performance would suffer as a result, so >>>>> I'm >>>>> > currently studying the feasibility of other options. >>>>> > >>>>> > The need for mod_rewrite is a practical, commercial requirement based on >>>>> the >>>>> > fact that many 3rd-party applications require rewrite rules, and the >>>>> vast >>>>> > majority only work with mod_rewrite without the intervention of a >>>>> developer. >>>>> > This has always been something of issue for us, and the growing >>>>> popularity of >>>>> > open source software among non-developers is greatly exacerbating the >>>>> problem. >>>>> > Also, we now provide Softaculous for our customers, but we've had to >>>>> disable >>>>> > many of the 150+ applications because of their reliance on mod_rewrite. >>>>> > >>>>> > Furthermore, when we started migrating the H-Sphere platform, we found >>>>> an >>>>> > unusually high proportion of domains are using mod_rewrite. During >>>>> previous >>>>> > migrations, we have replaced them with Zeus rewrite scripts, but this >>>>> time the >>>>> > numbers are just too high. >>>>> > >>>>> > So, we recently employed an experienced C developer to write an ISAPI >>>>> filter >>>>> > to replicate exactly the behaviour of mod_rewrite under Zeus. However, >>>>> > although this works perfectly in our development environment (even under >>>>> > extremely heavy loads), after a few days on the live platform, something >>>>> goes >>>>> > very wrong. After several weeks of debugging, testing and reading memory >>>>> > dumps, we're convinced the problem is with Zeus's ISAPI implementation - >>>>> but >>>>> > so far we are unable to prove it, and I'm not sure they would fix it >>>>> even if >>>>> > we could! >>>>> > >>>>> > If you are interested, I am confident I could arrange for the source >>>>> code of >>>>> > our ISAPI Rewrite module to be released to the Cherokee project for use >>>>> as an >>>>> > optional module. Obviously, the ISAPI layer would need to be replaced, >>>>> but >>>>> > this is a minor part of the code. All we ask in return is that someone >>>>> adds >>>>> > support for the other, mostly very simple, htaccess directives. I can >>>>> ask the >>>>> > original developer if he would be willing to contribute to this, but he >>>>> > doesn't work for me so I can't guarantee it. >>>>> > >>>>> > Without this functionality, the only other option available to us is >>>>> LiteSpeed >>>>> > - but I'm not keen on adopting another closed-source solution that isn't >>>>> > gaining significant market share. Also, I am convinced this is the only >>>>> major >>>>> > hurdle preventing other mass hosting providers from moving away from >>>>> Apache to >>>>> > something that scales more efficiently, such as Cherokee. >>>>> > >>>>> > Lastly, I have another feature suggestion to address the needs of mass >>>>> hosting >>>>> > - support for custom document root mapping functions. >>>>> > >>>>> > Currently, we use the same method as shown in the documentation - ie >>>>> > /sites/e/x/example.com <http://example.com <http://example.com> > . This >>>>> is fine for a few 10s of thousands of sites, but >>>>> > not very efficient once you get beyond 100,000. A better solution is >>>>> what we >>>>> > use on our email clusters, which have many more users (around 1,000,000 >>>>> in >>>>> > Italy). This uses the last 3 characters of the MD5 checksum of the >>>>> username, >>>>> > like this: /email/5ab/example.com <http://example.com >>>>> <http://example.com> > . This produces a more even distribution and, >>>>> > by being wide and shallow, allows for a much more efficient stat cache. >>>>> > >>>>> > Regards >>>>> > >>>>> > Marcus >>>>> > -- >>>>> > Marcus Don >>>>> > Senior Manager >>>>> > Research and Development >>>>> > DadaPro >>>>> > >>>>> > Main Line: +44 (0)845 363 3630 >>>>> > Main Fax: +44 (0)845 363 3631 >>>>> > Tech Support: +44 (0)845 363 3634 >>>>> > Email: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >>>>> > Website: http://www.names.co.uk <http://www.names.co.uk> >>>>> > Address: Acton House, Perdiswell Park, Worcester WR3 7GD >>>>> > >>>>> > This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and >>>>> intended >>>>> > solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are >>>>> addressed. >>>>> > >>>>> > If you have received this email in error please notify the sender >>>>> > immediately. If you are not the intended recipient you are notified >>>>> that >>>>> > disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on >>>>> the >>>>> > contents of this information is strictly prohibited. Please note that >>>>> any >>>>> > views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author >>>>> and >>>>> > do not necessarily represent those of the company. >>>>> > >>>>> > Finally, the recipient should check this email and any attachments for >>>>> the >>>>> > presence of viruses. The company accepts no liability for any damage >>>>> caused >>>>> > by any virus transmitted by this email. >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Cherokee mailing list >>>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >>>> http://lists.octality.com/listinfo/cherokee >>>> <http://lists.octality.com/listinfo/cherokee> >>> >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> Cherokee mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://lists.octality.com/listinfo/cherokee > > > _______________________________________________ > Cherokee mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.octality.com/listinfo/cherokee
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