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What is Varnish Cache and what are the benefits?

Modern websites are dynamically generated by a server, which retrieves information from scripts in a programming language like PHP, Perl, or Python and creates a valid HTML document. The advantage of this approach lies in its high flexibility and the ability to tailor websites visually and in terms of content to individuals or groups. However, as the number of visitors and complexity increase, performance decreases, leading to slower page loading times. One solution to this problem is the Varnish Cache, which can be used with different web servers such as Apache 2 or NGINX.

How does Varnish Cache work?

The Varnish Cache is a reverse proxy that is placed in front of a server hosting websites and similar content. Upon the initial request, Apache 2 or NGINX processes the request as usual and delivers it. At the same time, the Varnish Cache stores a complete copy or parts of the dynamically generated webpage in memory. Upon subsequent requests, it retrieves this directly from memory, bypassing the web server. As there is no need for recalculation, the workload and response time are significantly reduced.

 

What is Edge Side Includes?

The application language ESI allows dynamic web pages to be broken down into individual components and assigned an individual cache lifetime. This way, the individual components can be assembled for different requests to avoid complex calculations. In an HTML document, so-called Element Tags mark the corresponding sections that are automatically inserted during the initial creation. Varnish Cache uses ESI to break down complex web pages into pieces and coordinate them. It then serves as a front-end cache where relevant data is stored.

What other functions does Varnish Cache perform?

Practically, Varnish Cache not only increases speed when loading a page, but also acts as a Load-Balancer for a high number of parallel accesses. It uses the Round Robin method, where tasks are placed in queues and then processed within limited time frames. Incoming requests and existing connections can be limited by Varnish Cache to tune the server's performance.

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What are the advantages and disadvantages of Varnish Cache?

Most large companies use Varnish Cache to optimize their online presence and achieve low latency. Examples of these include Facebook, Twitter, eBay, or Wikipedia, as Varnish Cache provides specific benefits for websites with high traffic and visitor volume:

  • High speed when loading pages
  • Integration of ESI for optimizing dynamic websites
  • Efficient resource utilization through lower computational load
  • Load balancer using Round Robin or round-robin method
  • Flexible configuration through the Varnish Configuration Language (VCL)
  • Offloading content to memory and temporary files
  • Compatible with various web servers like Apache 2 and NGINX

However, there are some significant disadvantages to consider before implementing it:

  • Many benefits only usable in conjunction with ESI
  • Complex setup and configuration
  • No support for Microsoft Windows
  • Using HTTPS with TLS or SSL requires an additional proxy server
  • Higher susceptibility to errors
  • Low benefit at low usage levels

Varnish Cache can be installed on Linux VPS Hosting and Dedicated Servers if the user has administrative rights, but due to its complexity, it requires extensive expertise. Primarily suitable for medium to large enterprises due to its comparatively low benefits at low usage levels. For small businesses, simple and cost-effective measures such as optimizing the configuration of Apache 2 or NGINX are recommended before considering it as an integral part of web hosting.

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