"Is your Apache web server too slow? Koen Vervloesem shows you
how to use lighttpd instead. This lightweight web server
alternative is perfect for virtual private servers and ageing
hardware solutions…
"Apache is obviously the most popular open source web server,
and it's a good one too. But in some circumstances it really pays
off to look at alternatives. For instance, when you rent a virtual
private server with not much RAM, you'll soon meet the limits of
Apache. By default, this web server is quite resource-hungry and
although there are ways to let it use less memory, tuning Apache is
something of a dark art.
"So if you don't have the time to fine-tune Apache on your
low-end VPS, why not try another web server? lighttpd (pronounced
'lighty') is a promising alternative, because its developers are
focusing on performance and simplicity. Moreover, most of the
functionality you are used to in Apache – such as modules,
URL rewriting and support for CGI and FastCGI – is also
available in lighttpd."
