I’ve just discovered lighttpd, a small memory footprint web server that supports all the stuff I currently use on my Linode – it’s got server side includes, fast cgi, simple virtual hosting, and mod_rewrite type redirection. And Ruby on Rails supports it. Ruby on Rails also supports SQLite, a small memory footprint SQL RDBMS.
Considering the small memory on my linode, I’m thinking that a transition from Apache and MySQL to lighttpd and SQLite might be just the ticket to improve the performance. Which will be important if I start playing around with Ruby on Rails, because these “do everything including the kitchen sink” things tend to be memory and CPU hogs.
Now I’m trying to figure out how to test a transition. I could install both of them on my home server and run it on another port. I could install both of them on my linode and run it on another port. Both of those options have the problem that it’s not a 100% accurate test, because I’d have to change the code to support a different port, and then change it back if/when I make it the true thing. Another possibility is to buy another Linode for a few months and try it out there.
Change hosting service, it’s awfully expensive and does not offer something reasonable. You can get cheaper and better, especially for RoR.
I’ve already switched to lighttpd on my Linode, and found it a much better server for rails apps – under Apache my server would just grind to a halt.
I’ve still got some performance problems, but I’m thinking to upgrading the RAM to see if that fixes it.
Otherwise, I’m very happy.