Linux Hosting Server Configurations for High Traffic Sites

Introduction

High-traffic websites require efficient resource utilization on servers. In this article, we will step-by-step examine the necessary configurations for achieving high performance on Linux hosting servers.

1. Diagnosing the Problem

Websites with high traffic often experience increased resource consumption and decreased performance. You can check the server's resource usage with the following commands:

• top: For real-time CPU and memory usage
• htop: A more visual resource monitoring tool
• dmesg: To view system errors
• free -m: To check memory usage
• df -h: To view disk space status

2. Performance Optimization

Follow the steps below to improve server performance:

2.1. Apache or Nginx Settings

You may need to modify the httpd.conf or nginx.conf files to optimize your web server. Review the following parameters:

For Apache:

KeepAlive On
MaxKeepAliveRequests 100
KeepAliveTimeout 5

For Nginx:

worker_processes auto;
worker_connections 1024;

2.2. MySQL Optimization

To improve MySQL database performance, edit the my.cnf file:

[mysqld]
innodb_buffer_pool_size = 1G
max_connections = 500
query_cache_size = 128M
query_cache_type = 1

3. Restarting Services

To apply the changes made, you must restart the relevant services:

• For Apache: systemctl restart httpd
• For Nginx: systemctl restart nginx
• For MySQL: systemctl restart mysqld

4. DDoS Protection

High-traffic sites can be vulnerable to DDoS attacks. Therefore, check your firewall and security settings:

iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -m limit --limit 10/minute --limit-burst 20 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -j DROP

Conclusion

Improving performance for high-traffic sites on Linux hosting servers is possible with proper configuration and optimization. By following the steps outlined above, you can significantly enhance your site's performance.