Web Servers

Details
Category: Web Servers

Apache and Nginx are two popular web servers that are widely used to serve web content and handle HTTP requests. While both servers are capable of fulfilling similar functions, there are key differences between them in terms of architecture, performance, configuration, and usage scenarios.

nginx vs apache 

 

Architecture:

- Apache: Apache HTTP Server follows a traditional process-based or thread-based architecture. It creates a separate process or thread to handle each incoming connection, which can consume significant system resources when handling concurrent requests.
- Nginx: Nginx, on the other hand, uses an event-driven architecture with an asynchronous, non-blocking approach. It employs a small number of worker processes that can handle thousands of connections simultaneously, resulting in efficient resource utilization.

 

Performance:

- Apache: Apache is known for its stability and suitability for handling static content. However, it can be relatively resource-intensive, especially when dealing with a high volume of concurrent connections or serving large files.
- Nginx: Nginx excels in handling concurrent connections and serving static content efficiently. It has a small memory footprint and is particularly optimized for handling a large number of concurrent connections, making it well-suited for high-traffic websites or applications.

 

Details
Category: Web Servers

For high traffic and high load PHP websites, Nginx is often recommended due to its efficient event-driven architecture and ability to handle concurrent connections effectively.

worker_processes auto;

events {
    worker_connections 4096;
    multi_accept on;
    use epoll;
}

http {
    include mime.types;
    default_type application/octet-stream;

    sendfile on;
    tcp_nopush on;
    tcp_nodelay on;

    keepalive_timeout 65;
    client_max_body_size 20m;

    gzip on;
    gzip_comp_level 5;
    gzip_min_length 256;
    gzip_types text/plain text/css application/javascript application/x-javascript text/xml application/xml application/xml+rss text/javascript;

    fastcgi_buffer_size 128k;
    fastcgi_buffers 256 4k;
    fastcgi_busy_buffers_size 256k;
    fastcgi_temp_file_write_size 256k;

    server {
        listen 80;
        server_name example.com;

        root /path/to/website;

        location / {
            try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
        }

        location ~ \.php$ {
            fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.4-fpm.sock;
            fastcgi_index index.php;
            fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
            include fastcgi_params;
        }

        location ~ /\.ht {
            deny all;
        }
    }
}

Details
Category: Web Servers

Micro-caching is a technique used in Nginx web server to cache dynamic content for a very short period, typically in the order of milliseconds. It helps improve the performance and scalability of dynamic websites by reducing the load on the backend servers.

nginx micro caching

Caching Configuration:

To enable micro-caching in Nginx, you need to configure the caching directives in the Nginx server block. This includes specifying the cache zone and defining the cache duration.

Details
Category: Web Servers

To configure Nginx as a load balancer, you need to set up multiple backend servers and define the load balancing algorithm.

nginx load balancer

 

Install Nginx:

Begin by installing Nginx on your server. The installation process depends on the operating system you're using. For example, on Ubuntu, you can run the following command:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nginx

 

 

Configure Backend Servers:
Define the backend servers that will receive the incoming traffic. These servers can be separate physical machines or virtual machines. Modify the Nginx configuration file (nginx.conf) or create a new configuration file in the /etc/nginx/conf.d/ directory.

upstream backend {
    server backend1.example.com;
    server backend2.example.com;
    server backend3.example.com;
}

Replace backend1.example.com, backend2.example.com, etc., with the actual IP addresses or domain names of your backend servers. You can have as many backend servers as needed.