Re: Apache vs. nginx
On 7/17/12 4:40 PM, 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 have. 1/ regarding the difficulty of the switch It depends on whether or not you're running code parsing programs like CGI and PHP. It also depends on whether or not you're using apache rewrite rules. 2/ regarding performance I'm much more satisfied by nginx than I was by apache. I find it runs smoother, it's not vulnerable to slowloris... 3/ regarding functionality In constrast with Wojciech Puchar's email, I'd like to point out that while nginx doesn't support .htaccess files, you can still customize your vhosts to add authentication and such. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org"
Re: Apache vs. nginx
On Jul 18, 2012 5:19 AM, "Wojciech Puchar" 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. > > > it depends of your needs. This is a fantastic statement (I'm being serious, not facetious), because it really does. For specific purposes - serving static content with few bells and whistles, dedicated PHP application servers for custom apps and stuff like Drupal, I can't see ever going back to Apache. The nginx configs are too clean and too simple. For a large site with more complex authentication and access restriction needs that are handled by the web server, I wouldn't drift from Apache - not because I think nginx couldn't handle it but because I don't know if it could and because I am less comfortable with saying I did it properly with nginx than saying the same thing about Apache. kmw ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org"
Re: Apache vs. nginx
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. it depends of your needs. with lot traffic website (your classify as that) it doesn't matter really. apache do some things that nginx doesn't, like .htaccess, no idea if you need them or not. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org"
Re: Apache vs. nginx
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 ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org"
