Apache and Nginx, which we pronounce as “engine-x,” are the two major players in the web hosting business. They account for nearly half of all web traffic. They are the most popular and widely used open-source web servers.
Their common goal is to manage diverse workloads and meet the requirements of modern operating systems like Windows and UNIX.
Apache is a well-known web server company, but Nginx has been managing so many websites that it can’t stop. While both web servers cannot be replaced, they each have their own pros and cons.
Summary of Apache vs. Nginx
Both Apache and Nginx are open-source web servers designed to handle a range of workloads to meet modern web needs. They share similar concepts and are close competitors in the web server industry.
What’s Apache?
The Apache HTTP Server, commonly known as “Apache,” is open-source web server software recognized for its high performance and speed. It was developed by developers sponsored by the Apache Software Foundation.
The Apache HTTP Server is currently used by approximately 30% of websites worldwide, making it the second largest web server in the market.
Apache is compatible with various operating systems including Microsoft Windows, OpenVMS, Linux, macOS, and other Unix-like systems. It supports multiple communication protocols, including HTTP, HTTPS, WebSocket, and HTTP/2.
The Apache HTTP server is a component of the LAMP stack, one of the earliest open-source software stacks for web development. It ensures compatibility with various software, content management systems (CMS), programming languages, and web frameworks.
The Apache server is renowned for its module system, offering high performance and flexibility. Its modules allow users to easily add or remove functions, tailoring the server to their specific requirements.
What’s Nginx?
NGINX, pronounced as “Engine X,” is a highly reliable web server known for its scalability and speed. While Apache and NGINX have comparable market shares, NGINX is more widely used. Both are open-source and free to use.
The NGINX web server was developed with an asynchronous and event-driven architecture, enabling it to handle numerous client requests simultaneously.
Renowned for its capacity to manage high traffic and scale with minimal hardware, NGINX excels at quickly serving static files. It’s a key component of the LEMP web stack, which is a widely used alternative to Apache’s LAMP.
Apart from being a web server, NGINX is also utilized by web developers as a load balancer to enhance the efficiency and availability of the host system’s resources. Additionally, NGINX can function as a reverse proxy, distributing content requests evenly to ensure seamless traffic flow between servers and clients.
NGINX supports nearly all Unix-like operating systems. However, installing NGINX on Windows might lead to performance limitations, such as scalability issues and problems with user datagram protocol (UDP) authentication.
A detailed comparison between NGINX and Apache
Simplicity
Apache makes application development easier. It is easy to add modules to any part of the web-serving logic because it uses a connection per process model. If one process fails, all other operations are not affected.
Nginx, unlike Apache, has a complex architecture that makes application development quite difficult.
This certainly requires an in-depth understanding of how to create efficient code without bugs to achieve the appropriate interaction with event-driven architecture.
Handling connections
By default, Apache follows a process-driven architecture, generating a single thread to manage each connection request.
However, this approach means Apache has to create separate processes to handle multiple client requests, which can lead to high resource consumption. As a result, server issues like slow website loading speed and frequent downtime may occur.
To address this, Apache offers various multi-processing modules (MPMs) that determine how it accepts and manages HTTP requests. Users can select the MPM that aligns best with their requirements.
- The worker model: The beauty of this feature is the creation of child processes that generate a definite number of threads and listener threads. Listener threads listen for connections and pass them on to a thread for processing.
- Process model: This is the old method. It’s slow and can refuse connections at high loads. Small sites might not notice this, but larger sites will.
- Event model: Like a worker-model, it creates a listener thread that listens and then passes it on to a worker thread.
While many web servers use a straightforward threaded or process-driven architecture, NGINX takes a different approach with an asynchronous, non-blocking, event-driven architecture. This allows the web server to manage multiple connections within a single process.
NGINX operates with a master process that carries out privileged operations like binding to ports, reading and assessing configuration files, and creating child processes.
Static Content
Nginx is faster than Apache, it’s clear. It was tested by running up to 1000 connections. The benchmark test showed that Nginx performs 2.5 times faster than Apache and takes less memory.
Nginx is the best choice for concurrent static content handling.
Operating Systems Support
Apache is available on all operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and UNIX. NGINX is stable on UNIX platforms, and it’s also supported on Windows.
File vs. URI-Based Interpretation
Apache uses the Directory block and FilE blocks to interpret filesystem resource requests. The server attempts to locate the file by following the port number and host.
Apache searches the file system for alternative ways to fulfill requests when a match isn’t found.
- Alias: The Alias directive maps URLs to filesystem locations, enabling storage of documents outside the DocRoot.
- Redirect: Operates by mapping an old URL to a new one and redirecting clients accordingly, allowing them to access resources at a different location.
- Location: Working with URLs is possible through the use of blocks.
On the other hand, NGINX allows a server to serve as a proxy, and therefore it mainly deals with URIs. Configuration blocks are used primarily by server and location blocks.
- Server Block: A config file subset identifies the virtual servers to handle requests. Server administrators can assign blocks to different domains and ports to allow virtual servers to be configured to handle certain types of connections.
- A location block: It’s a server block that handles requests to various resources and URLs. It routes requests to the correct file locations within the file system.
Security
The Apache Software Foundation maintains the Apache Server Announcements mailing list to keep users informed about the latest updates from the development team.
To enhance web server security, Apache incorporates configuration settings to mitigate denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, including:
- TimeOut – Specifies the number of seconds Apache will wait for specific events before failing a request. Websites vulnerable to DoS attacks should set this number to just a few seconds.
- RequestReadTimeout – Terminates connections from clients that don’t send their requests promptly.
- KeepAliveTimeout – Determines how long the Apache server will maintain an open connection and wait for a new request.
While Apache is designed to be secure and reliable, your server’s security also relies on how you configure it. Ensure you implement additional security measures, like installing a web application firewall (WAF).
NGINX provides various security controls by default, including rate-limiting. This feature safeguards your server from DDoS attacks by limiting the incoming request rate to a value typical for genuine clients.
Rate-limiting also shields upstream application servers from an overload of simultaneous user requests, thereby enhancing server uptime and ensuring consistent performance.
In addition, NGINX users can prevent DDoS attacks by permitting or blocking access based on clients’ IP addresses. They can also restrict access using a password, the outcome of a subrequest, or bandwidth.
Furthermore, NGINX supports the latest version of transport layer security (TLS), providing dependable encryption for data transmission.
Support and Documentation
Apache HTTP server mailing lists provide community support. You can also get support through Stack Overflow or IRC channels. Third-party channels also offer Apache commercial support, but it does not maintain an official list.
NGINX supports IRC, mailing lists, and Stack Overflow. NGINX Plus, a commercial product, offers additional features such as load-balancing and server monitoring.
Both servers provide amazing documentation. NGINX Wiki is available on Nginx. Apache generally has more support from outside parties because it has been around for longer.
Apache VS NGINX Servers: Pros and Cons
You must select a web server compatible with your website’s needs before you host it. It’s vital to cherish the pros and cons of each server. This section will talk about the same.
The Apache Web server
Apache certainly is much older than Nginx and is the preferred choice of many webmasters. It works on various operating systems, including Windows, Unix, and Linux.
Pros
- An open-source solution accessible to individuals and organizations at no cost.
- Supports third-party modules, plugins, and extensions, enhancing its functionality.
- A flexible and dependable server software with a strong history of testing and development.
- Community support from its active user base.
- Provides root access to server configurations; non-privileged users can adjust permissions using the .htaccess file.
- Ideal for shared hosting environments.
Cons
- Resource-intensive software that might use more CPU and memory than alternatives.
- May not be suitable for delivering static content due to its resource-intensive nature.
- Complex configuration due to its multiple functions.
- Lacks support for asynchronous processing.
The Nginx Web server
A lightweight, fast, and simple web server, Nginx, is available. It was specifically designed for websites with high traffic.
Pros
- NGINX’s asynchronous and event-driven architecture makes it ideal for handling multiple concurrent requests.
- Suitable for high-traffic servers.
- Capable of functioning as a reverse proxy server.
- Has a low memory footprint with efficient CPU and memory usage.
- Simple to configure and use, even for beginners.
- Supported by an active community and well-documented.
Cons
- Limited support for the Windows operating system.
- No native support for dynamic content; it uses proxy requests for all dynamic content to a backend server before serving it to the client.
- Relies heavily on external third-party modules.
When to Use Every Server
We can see that Apache and Nginx both have powerful, flexible, and excellent web servers. Apache is the best choice for dynamic content, while Nginx works best for static content and media streams for high-traffic websites. The bottom line is this:
Use Apache
- If you use shared hosting.
- Web developers often use Apache because it’s easy to configure.
- You will appreciate the support community and the abundance of resources that it offers.
Use Nginx
- If you’re using dedicated hosting or a VPS.
- You can manage your incoming traffic and then distribute it to upstream servers.
- You manage a very popular website and have a lot of static material.
Conclusion
We hope the differences between Apache and NGINX are clear now. You can also identify which one is best suited for your needs. Both Apache and NGINX are powerful, flexible, and offer incredible performance. Both can compete with each other.
A variety of tangible differences can significantly impact performance, capabilities, and time to implement each solution. Certainly, no web server can meet all of the requirements and needs of everyone. It is best to choose the one that meets your needs.
