Talking about the best web server, Apache vs Nginx will certainly be the main point. Because, both are very popular and both offer advanced features.
For those of you who are just starting to use hosting services, you may ask: “Which is really good Nginx vs Apache?”
That’s the question Foxietech will answer in this article. You will see a comparison of the two best web servers so that you can determine which one is the most appropriate for your needs.
Apache vs Nginx: Two Popular Web Servers
Apache is an efficient, open-source web server that can be used across operating systems. This web server was created in 1995 by Robert McCool, then developed under the Apache Software Foundation since 1999.
Since its inception, Apache has been known to offer a variety of modules that can extend its functionality.
This popularity can be seen by the large number of large companies that use it, including Cisco, Salesforce, and Adobe.
Well, if Nginx was released in 2004 by Igor Sysoev. The hallmark of this web server is its asynchronous and event-driven architecture. These properties allow Nginx to better conserve server resources.
Besides being lightweight, Nginx is able to process static and dynamic content well. This can be realized because Nginx is connected to other software whose job is to handle dynamic content.
Many Nginx users are also well-known companies. Call it Google, LinkedIn, and Microsoft.
Now, let’s look at the comparison of Apache vs Nginx in several aspects.
Apache vs Nginx: Which is Best?
To find out which web server is better, we will compare Apache vs Nginx in six aspects, for example:
- Dynamic content processing
- Traffic handling
- How to find the file requested by the directory
- Access configuration at the directory level
- How to add a module
- Availability of supporting documentation and tools
- Caching capability
Dynamic Content Processing
Apache can process dynamic content without the help of additional software. This is thanks to a module that you can attach and remove as needed.
With these advantages, dynamic content can be executed faster using easy configuration. Nginx does not have this advantage.
This web server relies on additional software to process dynamic content. Not to mention, you also have to connect the additional software yourself.
Traffic Handling
Apache processes traffic with multi-processing modules (MPM). There are three MPMs with different mechanisms for you to choose from, namely:
- mpm_prefork — The default MPM that can only handle one request. If there is a large amount of traffic, server performance will decrease.
- mpm_worker — is multi-threaded so it can handle more than one request at the same time. This MPM is more suitable for high-traffic websites
- mpm_event — is multi-threaded, but each thread has a supporting thread. That way, this MPM has the highest level of efficiency.
What about Nginx?
This web server processes traffic using an asynchronous, non-blocking, and event-driven algorithm. That is, processes running on Nginx can manage many sub-processes capable of handling thousands of concurrent requests.
Because Nginx doesn’t run a new process every time a request comes in, the amount of resources used can be reduced.
How to Find the Requested File
When there is a request, the server will look for the requested website page files. Well, the handling will be different on Apache vs Nginx servers.
When Apache receives a request, it understands it as a request to locate filesystem resources. That is, this web server looks for the requested files through the document tree.
Not so with Nginx. This web server will look for filesystem resource locations only when needed. As its primary method, Nginx searches for files by parsing the uniform resource identifier (URI).
Using this method, Nginx functions as a web, mail, and proxy server to be effective.
Access Configuration at Directory Level
Apache and Nginx have different configurations at the directory level.
On the Apache server, this configuration can be done without changing the main configuration via the .htaccess file.
The existence of configuration access at the directory level makes it easier for applications such as content management systems (CMS) to adjust server conditions to application needs.
It is different with Nginx which does not provide additional configuration access at the directory level.
Changes to settings on the user and application side must involve changing the main configuration of the server.
At first glance it sounds less flexible, but there are two benefits that you can get. First, Nginx is more secure because the server configuration is not easy to change so it can be a security hole.
Second, requests can be served faster without going through the additional setup process in the .htaccess file.
How to Add Module
Apache and Nginx have modules that you can use to add features, such as enabling caching, encryption, and proxies.
Apache modules are already available so you can enable or disable the modules easily.
To use the module in Nginx, you must compile the source code when it is installed on the server. Of course, not as practical as Apache, either when enabling or disabling it.
Availability of Documentation and Tools
Another difference between Apache vs Nginx is the availability of documentation and tutorials.
Apache is a long-standing web server so there is a lot of documentation available. Neither from Apache nor third parties. It is also available in various languages.
The Nginx documentation was initially only available in Russian. For novice users from other countries, it will certainly be an obstacle to use it.
However, with its rapidly increasing popularity, Nginx guides are already widely available in multiple languages.
In addition to documentation, both server software is also supported by many tools. So, integration with Apache and Nginx is available in various tools.
Caching Ability
Caching is the process of storing temporary website files with the aim of easing the task of the server. With caching, any files that were previously requested can be rendered faster.
Both Apache and Nginx are capable of caching, but the components used to create the cache are different.
Nginx uses FastCGI caching which is known to be reliable in caching static content. In Apache there are two components that can be used to create a cache, namely the mod_cache and Varnish modules.
However, mod_cache’s performance may conflict with other modules and cause problems. Therefore, Apache users are better off using Varnish.
So, which one is more robust between the two caching components?
Actually, Varnish and FastCGI are both good. However, FastCGI is faster in responding to requests and able to handle more requests than Varnish.
Conclusion
Apache vs Nginx is indeed an unavoidable competition. Both are capable of handling high traffic, processing dynamic content, and have a collection of modules to extend functionality.
If you’re confused, you can even use both at the same time. To do this, you use Nginx as a reverse proxy to process high traffic and handle static content, while Apache handles dynamic content.
