Apache HTTP Server 2.4 Released, NGINX Still Looks Tempting

It’s been six years since Apache released a major update to its well-used and loved web server.  Currently we’re using Apache 2.2 which is pretty much the web standard when it comes to simple hosting. But quite recently another alternative just popped up.

It’s called NGINX and it’s a high-performance scalable server which powers websites like wordpress.com, dropbox, zappos and even Facebook. That along is quite impressive, I mean these are major websites with a high amount of burst traffic.

I am not really into managing web servers but I do love playing with them, I find apache to be an old beast yet stable and reliable at times but it’s a bitch to configure sometimes, I expect NGINX would be the same and of course there is always IIS (MS Webserver).

I am just thinking of in terms of setting up a dedicated server and running NGINX on it or using Litespeed or some other custom web server, my main requirements are ideally speed and load handling, if the web server is supported by two major software’s (WP, VBull) I am a happy man.

Considering wordpress.com is using NGINX I am sure I won’t have to worry about that problem but I am still a bit confused about implementing everything. If I have some time, I would go about setting up a complete webserver in VM and do dummy tests but alas time is something that I don’t have nowadays.

Moving on, let’s just check what Apache 2.4 has to offer: (list is here)

Reduced memory usage

Despite many new features, 2.4.x tends to use less memory than 2.2.x.

 

This is great, better memory usage is something that I highly value, especially considering how FAT Firefox memory footprint is, but I am comparing a web browser to a web server which is unrelated. Back to the point, I haven’t seen any benchmarks to show how good the memory handling is but I am sure someone will do it sooner or later; still it’s a welcome change.

mod_rewrite

mod_rewrite adds the [QSD] (Query String Discard) and [END] flags for RewriteRule to simplify common rewriting scenarios.

Adds the possibility to use complex boolean expressions in RewriteCond.

Allows to use SQL queries as RewriteMap functions.

 

Wow, I honestly have a hard time working with mod_rewrite and it has taken me quite some time to get some idea about it and still I am clueless about it but not anymore because:

mod_rewrite

The mod_rewrite documentation has been rearranged and almost completely rewritten, with a focus on examples and common usage, as well as on showing you when other solutions are more appropriate. The Rewrite Guide is now a top-level section with much more detail and better organization.

Yep, they revised the documentation which is a huge bonus for me. Now, I can finally fix some URL issues with Totseans.com.

These are some of the changes that directly affect me as a user/administrator, I am sure they’re more hidden benefits somewhere.  Now, all I have to do is to wait for other hosting companies to migrate to the new webserver which unfortunately will take an age unless you’re using a dedicated box.

Keep in mind these webservers are excellent for running a proxy server as well, I would still prefer a VPN though.

In short, it’s a welcome change and we can only hope it will make our lives easier and faster.

 EDIT:

http://www.readwriteweb.com/cloud/2012/02/apache-24-sets-sights-on-cloud.php

 

Downloads:

2.4