The difficult decision of which Web server to use is complicated by many factors. The most important considerations are which operating system you intend to use and which Web server software has the feature set and performance potential to handle your Web site's expectations and traffic load. The following factors might be important when you're selecting a Web server:
Many factors can affect the performance of a Web server, including the following:
When an Internet or intranet Web site gets extremely busy, server performance suffers. The first option to improve the situation is to add memory so that more requests can be serviced from the cache. This might not help, though, especially if the server is busy because of background or communication tasks. If that is the case, you have two options: You can purchase a more powerful server and quit using the older one, or you can add individual servers and a load balancer. Load balancers distribute the incoming requests among a group of Web servers. Load balancing provides the opportunity to utilize your existing resources and then add servers as needed. It also adds fault tolerance: If one server goes down, the others can keep providing service. This fault-tolerance feature also provides uninterrupted service during routine maintenance in which servers need to be offline. A load balancer functions by sitting between the Internet and the Web servers, connected on one side to the Internet router, and to a hub or a switch on the other side. The load balancer uses a virtual IP address to communicate with the router. This address is what is advertised to the Internet for all Web servers, and it masks the actual IP address of the Web server, which aids security. The hub or switch connected to one side of the load balancer is the point of connectivity for all Web servers. |