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Nginx and Apache are excellent very powerful web servers that offer advantages and disadvantages at the same time. Nginx is mostly used for static files and requires the help of php-fpm to process the dynamic content while Apache uses server memory. Both have the most common open source globally.
Together, these servers are responsible for serving more than half of the traffic on the World Wide Web. Both solutions are capable of working with other software to provide a complete web stack and handle diverse workloads. Nginx or Apache have many qualities, but each one stands out for its strengths.
Want to understand the differences between Nginx and Apache so you know which one to choose and how they work? Keep reading!
Understand what are Nginx and Apache web servers
Nginx is a great web server that is lightweight and designed to serve high traffic. It was released in 2004 by Igor Sysoev and achieved its goal of responding to the C10K problem by relying on an asynchronous and event-driven architecture. Its challenge was to have the ability to work with 10,000 simultaneous connections.
From this, Nginx gained popularity due to its ability to easily scale on minimal hardware and light footprint. This server is efficient at serving static content quickly because it has its own robust module system and proxies dynamic requests to other software. Apache is another web server.
It serves more than half of the world’s active websites, having been created in 1995 by Robert McCool. This is the original Apache Software Foundation project made popular by the integrated support of other projects. The solution offers power, flexibility and is extensible through a system of dynamically loadable modules.
Understand how Nginx and Apache web servers work
Apache provides a variety of multi-processing modules, the MPMs determine how requests are handled. Administrators configure their connection handling architecture through the mpm_prefork module that quickly spawns single-threaded processes. mpm_worker allows for efficient multi-thread management and mpm_event is optimized to handle keep-alive connections.
Nginx, in turn, arrived on the market after Apache, focusing on the concurrency issues faced by websites at scale. This server was designed from the ground up to use an asynchronous, non-blocking, event-driven connection handling algorithm. Each of his worker processes can handle thousands of connections.
Nginx worker processes implement an agile looping mechanism that continually parses and processes events. The solution allows each worker to be concerned with a connection only if a new event is triggered. Inside the loop, events are processed asynchronously, and when a connection is closed, it is removed from the loop.
Check out the differences between Nginx and Apache
It is possible to combine these two web servers to significant effect, with Apache processing the backend and Nginx serving as the front static web server. Therefore, they have differences and complement each other, and the way they respond under load is what distinguishes them. See below what differentiates each of them!
Performance
Apache can run in three modes. These are hybrid event mode, hybrid process and thread mode, and process-based mode. The server has a set of optimizations to increase its throughput and scalability.
Nginx was created specifically to outperform Apache. It manages to do this in terms of number of requests received per second, connection time, time spent processing a request, and throughput.
Support
Nginx supports the community, with a user-operated mailing list and forum, as well as other computing resources such as the Modules Reference Guide and Admin Guide. Support provided by Apache to users is available on dedicated IRC channels, Stack Overflow, etc. Its documentation offers user guides, reference manuals, tutorials, among others.
Settings
Nginx configuration does not support .htaccess files and is centralized. There are no directory level settings on this server, so users perform all changes by writing directives in the main file: nginx.conf. Changes are applied after the server is reloaded.
Apache’s configuration is distributed and it provides support for a .htaccess file in order to facilitate configurations. The .htaccess file is a file used to handle directory-level website access issues supported by many web servers, such as access control and URL redirection and shortening.
Speed
Nginx and Apache can be used together to create a workload-optimized server. Nginx was configured to act as a reverse proxy for Apache, which takes advantage of its competitor’s ability to handle large volumes of traffic and processing speed.
Since Nginx can communicate with a pool of servers on the backend, adding more servers and expanding can be done easily. By allowing Nginx to sort and process requests that it can handle on its own, Apache receives a lower volume of requests.
Compatibility
Both web servers are compatible. Using Nginx and Apache concurrently can also make your site more robust. Apache or Nginx don’t force you to set the network port with the address, both have built-in security features. They ensure compatibility, reverse proxy server and load balancing.
Popularity
Apache and Nginx are quite popular. Apache offers the facility of a single connection per process module and the insertion of modules at any time using its web service logic. Nginx is more complicated in its architecture, which requires more technical knowledge.
Security
These web servers are very secure because Apache has a module that can be seen as an HTTP firewall and that supports security called mod_security. Nginx also uses security measures in its default configuration, but it is customizable to increase levels of protection.
Flexibility
Both web servers can be customized by loading modules and are flexible. Nginx serves as a software load balancer in addition to handling content caching. Like Apache, new functionality and features can be added using software modules. Apache has always supported dynamic loading of modules.
Now you already know which server to choose for VPS between Nginx or Apache? These servers perform very important functions and to choose which one is best for your organization requires carrying out standard tests and evaluating your specific requirements. Use the solution that best aligns with your goals.
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