[nycbug-talk] apache stability

[Isaac Levy]

Wordup Steve,

On Jan 22, 2005, at 10:55 PM, steve wrote:

> Hi all
>
> In your opinion is apache2 ready for production use, am looking at a 
> setup that includes php, perl, and ssl.

This topic is hard to give a definitive answer about- it's worth 
discussion, and I'll throw out my experiences with it-

Basically, Apache2 is solid software, but it's initial 
production/stable debut was riddled with a few massive security holes 
that left me (and lots of folks) shaky- sucked hard to go back when I 
was already in the process of updating/migrating all the systems I was 
currently working in...

On the other hand, it *is* the Apache which the Apache foundation is 
sitting on as the 'live' branch, though there is still a lot of ongoing 
work for 1.3.x, insomuch as half the world runs it still...

I'd like to see the world get over and move to 2.x, insomuch as I found 
it to be filled with smart and elegant features- and nicer ways to go 
about many things- (mod_ssl is default module, for example).  In 
addition, on some platforms and under particular loads, the 
multiprocessor (threaded) compile-time modules provide INSANE 
performance if applied in the right context.

On the other hand, 1.3.x, if your doing standard stuff, (like it sounds 
like you are), is still likely the simplest to manage, insomuch as 
there's years of relevant docs and info online for 1.3.x, within nearly 
every tech. culture online.  Hard to move away from what I feel is one 
of the most widely supported Open Source softwares, supported by the 
masses of the world using it.

--
So with that, I guess I didn't really provide any definitive answer, 
but hope this helps you make your decision more sanely...  (Personal 
note, I'm running 1.3.x in all but one production box I administer, and 
that 1 box has special requirements that are met by Apache2's ability 
to re-write incoming headers [for proxy] - here's a somewhat ancient 
article on that particular setup, for the record 
<http://www.zope.org/Members/ike/Apache2_freeBSD>).

Rocket-
.ike