Apache vs Nginx is a worthy topic. If you’re confused about which server is right for you, let’s find out in this article.

Apache and Nginx are the most popular Web servers powering the Internet today. Together, they are responsible for serving more than 50 percent of the traffic on the Internet. But in recent years, Apache has declined, replaced by Nginx. At a high level, both platforms do the same core thing: host and serve Web content. Therefore, in a particular scenario, both are unique.

1, Apache: rich Web server

Apache is a modular, process-driven Web server application that creates a new thread for each concurrent connection. It supports many functions. Many of these are compiled as separate modules and extend their core functionality. Apache’s modules can provide everything from server-side programming language support to authentication mechanisms.

The Apache Web server is a modular application in which an administrator can select the required functionality and install different modules based on the specific functionality required. All modules can be compiled into a dynamic shared object (DSO) that exists separately from the main Apache file. The DSO approach is highly recommended because it makes the task of adding/removing/updating modules from the server configuration very simple.

Another fundamental feature of the Apache architecture is filters, which allow modules to interact with content created by other modules. This interaction includes encryption, virus scanning, and compression of static and dynamic content.

Administrators often choose Apache because of its flexibility, functionality, and wide support.

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2. Nginx: Designed for performance and scalability

Nginx was created by Russian software developer Igor Sysoev to solve a problem called C10K — how servers can support 10,000 concurrent connections, also known as Concurrent 10000 Connections (hence the name C10K). It was written specifically to address the performance limitations of the Apache Web server. The server was first created in 2002 as an extension to the Rambler.ru website.

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NGINX is a high-performance asynchronous Web server. It uses an event-driven architecture to handle large numbers of connections. It is now more popular than Apache Web Server for various reasons we’ll see in this article.

Nginx was primarily used to serve static files, but today it has evolved into a full Web server that can handle all server tasks. Today, Nginx is also used as a reverse proxy, load balancer, and HTTP cache. In some use cases, Nginx is also used as a Web accelerator or SSL/TLS finalizer.

Administrators often choose Nginx because of its resource efficiency and responsiveness under load.

Apache vs. Nginx: Detailed comparison

architecture

In the case of Apache versus Nginx, there are core differences between the architectures of the two Web servers they run on.

** Most importantly, the main difference between Apache and Nginx is how they handle client requests. **Apache uses a process-driven approach and creates a new thread for each request. NGINX uses an event-driven architecture to process multiple requests in a single thread.

In Apache, a single thread is associated with only one connection, whereas in Nginx a single thread can handle multiple connections. All processes are placed in an event loop with other connections and are managed asynchronously. This process consumes less memory, thus improving performance.

Most importantly, because of Nginx’s low memory consumption, it tends to be able to handle more connections simultaneously without overloading the host server. If Apache is faced with a large number of requests, it can end up consuming all system memory and requiring data to be stored in swap, which can significantly degrade performance.

Performance: static/dynamic content

The performance of a Web server is primarily judged by two parameters, namely the ability to handle static and dynamic content.

Static files do not require processing, so this is useful for measuring the response time of the server. So how fast can each server deliver small static files? This is where Nginx shines when it comes to static content, because files can be served directly and quickly to clients. Based on benchmarks performed by running up to 1000 simultaneous connections, Nginx was 2.5 times faster than Apache. At the same time, RAM consumption is lower. To handle the load, the system memory used by Nginx was reduced by 5-6%. The difference comes mainly from the server architecture.

For displaying dynamic content, the test results showed that Apache performed exactly as well as Nginx.

Nginx does not have any native-handling capabilities for dynamic content. It is not designed for local processing of dynamic content. Nginx must be passed to external processors to handle PHP and other dynamic content requests. This can complicate things slightly, especially when trying to predict the number of connections allowed.

Unlike Ngnix, Apache can handle dynamic content by embedding processors in languages such as PHP into each of its working instances. This allows it to execute dynamic content within the Web server itself without relying on external components.

custom

Apache has dynamically loaded modules that can be used when needed. The server supports many different modules, including official and third party. This makes Apache a very customizable platform that users can customize to their needs. These modules can be used to rewrite urls, validate clients, log, cache, harden servers, compress, encrypt, and more. Dynamic modules can greatly extend core functionality without much extra work.

Nginx modules need to be integrated into the kernel and cannot be loaded dynamically. To include non-standard modules, users must compile their servers from source code.

The Nginx Web server lacks this capability, making Apache more flexible in this regard.

configuration

In addition to the main configuration file, Apache also allows additional configuration ** on a per-directory basis via the **.htaccess file. Changes made to the.htaccess file are immediately applied to the system. These files include everything from redirection rules to memory limits, and effectively allow for decentralized configuration of the Web server. In addition, this architecture allows non-privileged users to control certain aspects of their site without granting them permission to edit the master configuration.

However, this flexibility comes at the expense of performance. Each time.htaccess files are enabled, Apache must traverse the entire directory tree, from the requested URL or files through all the higher levels to the server’s root directory, and then load them for each request.

Nginx does not allow additional configuration. Its configuration is centralized. You have a file that manages the whole process, which makes it much faster in this regard, although much less flexible. Nginx’s central configuration is not as flexible as the concept used by Apache, but it offers a significant security advantage: only users with root permission can change the configuration of the Web server.

Since there is no directory-level configuration in Nginx, the user performs all configuration changes by writing instructions to the main configuration file.

support

Apache and Nginx are both well-documented platforms. Administrators are less likely to encounter problems or problems that cannot be answered in their documentation.

  • Apache HTTP server documentation

  • Nginx document

In terms of operating system support, Apache runs on all operating systems, including Linux and UNIX, and fully supports Microsoft Windows. Nginx also runs on several modern Unix-like systems and supports Windows, but its performance on Windows is not as stable as on Unix. So if you want to run a feature-rich open source Web server on Microsoft Windows, Apache is really the only production-ready option.

Apache and Nginx are used together

However, one thing to keep in mind when comparing Apache and Nginx is that it doesn’t always have to be an either-or decision. Many administrators combine the two in a hybrid solution that leverages the strengths of each.

Apache and Nginx can be used side by side to create workload optimized servers. You can use Nginx as a server proxy ahead of Apache, which takes advantage of Nginx’s processing speed and ability to handle heavy traffic. Nginx processes and serves static content while forwarding dynamic content to Apache (as shown in the figure below).

Nginx does the heavy lifting associated with HTTP — providing static files, caching content, and offloading slow HTTP connections so that the Apache server can run application code in a secure and reliable environment.

conclusion

In the Apache-Nginx game, the decision to switch servers or server software can be difficult. Determining the best server for you depends largely on evaluating your specific requirements and determining the best option. Apache and Nginx are both open source high-performance Web servers capable of handling a variety of workloads to meet the needs of modern Web requirements.

If you don’t need a lot of Web server functionality, Nginx is your best bet. In addition, Nginx is a clear winner in terms of speed and performance. It’s perfect for high-traffic sites.

Nginx can’t compete with the feature-rich Apache in many ways, but its asynchronous state and lightning-fast single-threaded architecture make it a smart choice to outdo Apache.

On the other hand, Apache might be the preferred Web server for other scenarios. Apache is better suited to shared hosting environments and can provide a control panel that makes server-side changes easier.

Therefore, before choosing between Apache and Nginx, you need to carefully analyze your requirements, and you must want your Web server to serve them.

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