3 ms·

What do people still use Apache for? Hasn't everyone moved onto Nginx?

pjmlp 10y ago
Not everyone follows fashion.
onion2k 10y ago
Apache2 is still better for servers that host lots of small applications (largely due to htaccess enabling "per directory" config). That's increasingly unusual as people move to nginx in containers, but it does still happen.
- citrusui 10y ago
  I know that YouTube runs (or previously ran) on lighttpd. Have there been any major developments/improvements as of late?
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
coldtea 10y ago
No. In fact Apache has more than double the share of Nginx (32% vs 14% of websites).
marktangotango 10y ago
I have the impression (maybe mistaken) that the scriptable module story in apache is much more mature than with nginx. Apache has had mod_python, mod_php, mod_perl, mod_lua, etc for ages. If you're using nginx, then you're most likely proxying to a backend. I've used mod_lua and apache for an application server and infrastructure tasks to great effect. This is anecdotal of course.
helge5 10y ago
Nginx is a pretty different thing. Its primary purpose is quickly delivering files on disk and acting as a proxy, specifically not executing custom code. Apache is more like an application server framework specifically targeted at executing custom code (hence modules). It is a little obscure and old fashioned but actually quite powerful and very flexible/customizable. Since many current server side frameworks (say Node.js and all other Swift frameworks I know) do not really embed well into the server but are HTTP servers on their own, Nginx is often used as a frontend server in such contexts. It is very good for that (and Apache often overkill). Anyways, running your code within Apache has pros&cons, as always. But this has little to do with Nginx vs Apache. (i.e. it may still make sense to use Nginx in front of Apache hosting a mod_swift application).
jimjag 10y ago
People still use Apache for a lot of things... It performs just as well as nginx, and in some situations, like reverse proxy, is even better (more compliant). Talking about Apache httpd 2.4 of course... older versions weren't as good. Bad that's ancient history.
- singingfish 10y ago
  eww, mod_proxy. I've seen it do seriously weird things, and I have sysadmin friends who hate it with a vengeance.

pjmlp 10y ago

Not everyone follows fashion.

Apache2 is still better for servers that host lots of small applications (largely due to htaccess enabling "per directory" config). That's increasingly unusual as people move to nginx in containers, but it does still happen.

citrusui 10y ago
I know that YouTube runs (or previously ran) on lighttpd. Have there been any major developments/improvements as of late?

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

coldtea 10y ago

No. In fact Apache has more than double the share of Nginx (32% vs 14% of websites).

marktangotango 10y ago

I have the impression (maybe mistaken) that the scriptable module story in apache is much more mature than with nginx. Apache has had mod_python, mod_php, mod_perl, mod_lua, etc for ages. If you're using nginx, then you're most likely proxying to a backend. I've used mod_lua and apache for an application server and infrastructure tasks to great effect. This is anecdotal of course.

helge5 10y ago

Nginx is a pretty different thing. Its primary purpose is quickly delivering files on disk and acting as a proxy, specifically not executing custom code. Apache is more like an application server framework specifically targeted at executing custom code (hence modules). It is a little obscure and old fashioned but actually quite powerful and very flexible/customizable. Since many current server side frameworks (say Node.js and all other Swift frameworks I know) do not really embed well into the server but are HTTP servers on their own, Nginx is often used as a frontend server in such contexts. It is very good for that (and Apache often overkill). Anyways, running your code within Apache has pros&cons, as always. But this has little to do with Nginx vs Apache. (i.e. it may still make sense to use Nginx in front of Apache hosting a mod_swift application).

jimjag 10y ago

People still use Apache for a lot of things... It performs just as well as nginx, and in some situations, like reverse proxy, is even better (more compliant). Talking about Apache httpd 2.4 of course... older versions weren't as good. Bad that's ancient history.

singingfish 10y ago
eww, mod_proxy. I've seen it do seriously weird things, and I have sysadmin friends who hate it with a vengeance.