Server Tuning
Table of Contents
I/O Event Dispatcher | RAM Disk Path | Default SHM Directory
Max Connections | Max SSL Connections | Connection Timeout (secs) | Max Keep-Alive Requests | Smart Keep-Alive | Keep-Alive Timeout (secs) | Send Buffer Size (bytes) | Receive Buffer Size (bytes)
Max Request URL Length (bytes) | Max Request Header Size (bytes) | Max Request Body Size (bytes) | Max Dynamic Response Header Size (bytes) | Max Dynamic Response Body Size (bytes)
Max Cached Small File Size (bytes) | Total Small File Cache Size (bytes) | Max MMAP File Size (bytes) | Total MMAP Cache Size (bytes) | Use sendfile() | Use AIO | AIO Block Size | File ETag
Enable Compression | Enable Dynamic Compression | Compression Level (Dynamic Content) | Compressible Types | Auto Update Static File | Static GZIP Cache Directory | Compression Level (Static Content) | Max Static File Size (bytes) | Min Static File Size (bytes)
SSL Strong DH Key | Enable Multiple SSL Certificates | Enable Session Cache | Session Cache Size (bytes) | Session Cache Timeout (secs) | Enable Session Tickets | SSL Session Ticket Lifetime (secs) | SSL Session Ticket Key File
Enable QUIC | QUIC SHM Directory | QUIC Versions | Connection Flow Control Window | Max Connection Flow Control Window | Stream Flow Control Window | Max Stream Flow Control Window | Max Concurrent Streams Per Connection | Handshake Timeout | Idle Timeout
I/O Event Dispatcher⇑
Description
Specifies which I/O event dispatcher to use. Different operating systems support different types of event dispatcher:
- Linux kernel 2.4.x supports:
- poll
- Linux kernel 2.6.x supports:
- poll
- epoll
- FreeBSD supports:
- poll
- kqueue
- Solaris supports:
- poll
- devpoll
- Mac OS X 10.3 and above supports:
- poll
- kqueue
Syntax
Select from drop down list
RAM Disk Path⇑
Description
Setting the RAM Disk Path allows you to designate the location of a RAM disk. A RAM disk is a world-writable directory stored in memory. A server with excess RAM can reduce disk I/O by serving content from this RAM disk. Accessing content from RAM is much faster than reading data from the disk. LSWS will use this RAM disk to optimize performance when there is enough memory available.
(The RAM disk must be designated in your OS setup before it can be used by the web server. Many Linux distributions assign /dev/shm as a RAM disk by default, but these settings depend on your OS.)
Syntax
path
Default SHM Directory⇑
Description
Changes shared memory's default directory to the specified path. If the directory does not exist, it will be created. All SHM data will be stored in this directory unless otherwise specified.
Syntax
Path
Max Connections⇑
Description
Specifies the maximum number of concurrent connections that the server can accept. This includes both plain TCP connections and SSL connections. This setting should not be set to exceed the hard limit set by the server software edition or license: 500 for VPS license, 800 for Ultra VPS license. Once the maximum concurrent connections limit is reached, the server will close Keep-Alive connections when they complete active requests.
Syntax
Integer number
Tips
When the server is started by "root" user, the server will try to adjust the per-process file descriptor limits automatically, however, if this fails, you may need to increase this limit manually.
Max SSL Connections⇑
Description
Specifies the maximum number of concurrent SSL connections the server will accept. Since total concurrent SSL and non-SSL connections cannot exceed the limit specified by Max Connections, the actual number of concurrent SSL connections allowed must be lower than this limit.
Syntax
Integer number
Connection Timeout (secs)⇑
Description
Specifies the maximum connection idle time allowed during processing one request. The connection will be closed if it has been idle, i.e. no I/O activity, for this period of time.
Syntax
Integer number
Tips
Set this as low as you can to help recover dead connections during a potential DoS attack.
See Also
Max Keep-Alive Requests⇑
Description
Specifies the maximum number of requests that can be served through a keep-alive (persistent) session. The connection will be closed once this limit is reached. You can set this limit for each virtual host as well.
Syntax
Integer number
Tips
Set this to a reasonably high value. A value of "1" or "0" will disable keep-alive.
See Also
Virtual Host Max Keep-Alive Requests
Smart Keep-Alive⇑
Description
Specifies whether to turn on Smart Keep-Alive. This option is effective only if Max Keep-Alive Requests is greater than 1. If enabled, you can also enable/disable it at the virtual host level. Smart keep-alive will only establish keep-alive connections for requests of JavaScript, CSS Style Sheet, and image files. For html pages, the connection will not be kept alive. This will help serve more users more efficiently. Normally a web page contains multiple images and scripts that will be cached by the browser after the initial request. It is more efficient to send those non-html static files through a single keep-alive connection and have the text/html file sent through another non-keep-alive connection. This method will reduce idle connections and in turn increase the capacity to handle more concurrent requests and users.
Syntax
Select from radio box
Tips
Enable this for high-load web sites.
See Also
Virtual Host Smart Keep-Alive
Keep-Alive Timeout (secs)⇑
Description
Specifies the maximum idle time between requests from a keep-alive connection. If no new request is received during this period of time, the connection will be closed. This setting only applies to HTTP/1.1 connections. HTTP/2 connections have long keep-alive timeouts by design and are not affected by this setting.
Syntax
Integer number
Tips
We recommend that you set this value just long enough to wait for subsequent requests from a client when there are more assets referenced by a single page that need to be loaded. Do not set this too long hoping that the next page will be served over the keep-alive connection. Keeping many idle keep-alive connections is a waste of server resources and could be taken advantage of by (D)DoS attacks. 2-5 seconds is a reasonable range for most applications. LiteSpeed is highly efficient in a non-keep-alive environment.
Send Buffer Size (bytes)⇑
Description
The sending buffer size of each TCP socket. 512K is the maximum allowed buffer size.
Syntax
Integer number
Tips
It is recommended to leave this value as "Not Set" or set to 0 to use the operating system's default buffer size.
If your web site serves large static files, increase the send buffer size to improve performance.
Setting this to a lower value will reduce throughput and memory usage per socket allowing the server to have more concurrent sockets when memory is a bottleneck.
Receive Buffer Size (bytes)⇑
Description
The receiving buffer size of each TCP socket. 512K is the maximum allowed buffer size.
Syntax
Integer number
Tips
It is recommended to leave this value as "Not Set" or set to 0 to use the operating system's default buffer size.
A large receive buffer will increase performance when processing incoming requests with large payloads, i.e. file uploads.
Setting this to a lower value will reduce throughput and memory usage per socket allowing the server to have more concurrent sockets when memory is a bottleneck.
Max Request URL Length (bytes)⇑
Description
Specifies the maximum size of a request URL. URL is the full text address used to access a server resource including the query string. 8192 bytes is the hard limit.
Syntax
Integer number
Tips
Set it reasonably low to reduce memory usage and help identify bogus requests and DoS attacks.
2-3K is big enough for most web sites unless the HTTP GET method is used with large query strings instead of POST.
Max Request Header Size (bytes)⇑
Description
Specifies the maximum size of an HTTP request header including request URL. Hard limit is 16380 bytes.
Syntax
Integer number
Tips
Set it reasonably low to reduce memory usage and help identify bogus requests and DoS attacks.
4-8K is big enough for most web sites.
Max Request Body Size (bytes)⇑
Description
Specifies the maximum size of an HTTP request body. For a 32Bit OS, 2GB is the hard limit. For a 64Bit OS, it is virtually unlimited.
Syntax
Integer number
Tips
To help prevent DoS attacks, try to constrain this limit to only what is really needed. Your swapping space must have enough free space to accommodate this limit.
Max Dynamic Response Header Size (bytes)⇑
Description
Specifies the maximum header size of a dynamically generated response. Hard limit is 8KB.
Syntax
Integer number
Tips
Set it reasonably low to help recognize bad responses dynamically generated by external applications.
Max Dynamic Response Body Size (bytes)⇑
Description
Specifies the maximum body size of a dynamically generated response. Hard limit is 2047MB.
Syntax
Integer number
Tips
Set the limit reasonably low to help identify bad responses. It is not uncommon to malformed scripts to contain an infinite loop which leads to infinity-sized responses.
Max Cached Small File Size (bytes)⇑
Description
Specifies the largest static file that will be cached in a pre-allocated memory buffer. Static files can be served in four different ways: memory buffer cache, memory-mapped cache, plain read/write, and sendfile(). Files whose size is smaller than this setting are served from memory buffer cache. Files whose size is larger than this setting, but smaller than the Max MMAP File Size (bytes) will be served from memory-mapped cache. Files whose size is larger than the Max MMAP File Size (bytes) will be served via plain read/write or sendfile(). It is optimal to serve static files smaller than 4K from the memory buffer cache.
Syntax
Integer number
Total Small File Cache Size (bytes)⇑
Description
Specifies the total memory that can be allocated to the buffer cache in order to cache/serve small static files.
Syntax
Integer number
Max MMAP File Size (bytes)⇑
Description
Specifies the largest static file that will be memory mapped (MMAP). Static files can be served in four different ways: memory buffer cache, memory-mapped cache, plain read/write, and sendfile(). Files whose size is smaller than the Max Cached Small File Size (bytes) are served from memory buffer cache. Files whose size is larger than the Max Cached Small File Size (bytes), but smaller than the Max MMAP File Size will be served from memory-mapped cache. Files whose size is larger than the Max MMAP File Size will be served via plain read/write or sendfile(). Since the server has a 32bit address space (2GB), it is not recommended to memory map very large files.
Syntax
Integer number
Total MMAP Cache Size (bytes)⇑
Description
Specifies the total memory that can be allocated for memory- mapped cache in order to cache/serve medium sized static files.
Syntax
Integer number
Use sendfile()⇑
Description
Specifies whether to use the sendfile() system call to serve static files. Static files can be served in four different ways: memory buffer cache, memory-mapped cache, plain read/write, and sendfile(). Files smaller than the Max Cached Small File Size (bytes) are served from memory buffer cache. Files larger than the Max Cached Small File Size (bytes) but smaller than the Max MMAP File Size (bytes) will be served from memory-mapped cache. Files larger than the Max MMAP File Size (bytes) will be served via plain read/write or sendfile(). Sendfile() is a "zero copy" system call that can greatly reduce CPU utilization when serving very large static files. Sendfile() requires an optimized network card kernel driver and thus may not be suitable for some small-vendor network adapters.
Syntax
Select from radio box
Use AIO⇑
Description
Specifies whether to use AIO to serve static files. AIO will help if your server has a high I/O wait. For 64bit operation system, there is an option to keep files mapped in process address space to improve AIO performance.
Syntax
Select from drop down list
See Also
AIO Block Size⇑
Description
Specifies the sent block size for AIO. This block size multiplied by the total files being processed should be less than the physical memory of the server, otherwise, AIO will not help. If your server has enough memory, you can choose a bigger size. Default value is "1M".
Syntax
Select from drop down list
See Also
File ETag⇑
Description
Specifies whether to use a file's inode, last-modified time, and size attributes to generate the ETag HTTP response header for static files. All three attributes are enabled by default. If you plan to serve the same file out of mirrored servers, you should not include inode; otherwise, the ETag generated for one file will be different on different servers.
Syntax
Select from checkbox
Enable Compression⇑
Description
Controls GZIP compression for both static and dynamic HTTP responses.
Syntax
Select from radio box
Tips
Enable it to save network bandwidth. Text-based responses such as html, css, and javascript files benefit the most and on average can be compressed to half of their original size.
Enable Dynamic Compression⇑
Description
Controls GZIP compression for dynamically generated HTTP response. Enable Compression must be set to Yes in order to enable dynamic GZIP compression.
Syntax
Select from radio box
Tips
Compressing dynamic responses increases CPU and memory utilization but saves network bandwidth.
Compression Level (Dynamic Content)⇑
Description
Specifies the level of compression for dynamic content. Ranges from 1 (lowest) to 9 (highest). The default is 2.
Syntax
Number between 1 and 9.
Tips
Higher compression level will use more memory and CPU cycles. You can set it to a higher level if your machine has additional power. There is not much difference between 6 and 9, except 9 uses many more CPU cycles.
Compressible Types⇑
Description
Specifies what MIME types are allowed to be compressed.
Syntax
MIME type list separated by commas. Wild card "*" and negate sign "!" are allowed, such as text/*, !text/js.
Example
Tips
Only allow types that will benefit from GZIP compression. Binary files such as gif/png/jpeg images and flash files do not benefit from compression.
Auto Update Static File⇑
Description
Specifies whether to let the server automatically create/update GZIP-compressed versions of compressible static files or not. If set to Yes, when a file with a MIME type listed in Compressible Types is requested, the server may create or update the corresponding compressed version of the file depending on the compressed file's timestamp. This compressed file is created under the Static GZIP Cache Directory. The filename is based on a MD5 hash of the path of the original file.
Syntax
Select from radio box
Static GZIP Cache Directory⇑
Description
Specifies the path of the directory used to store compressed files for static content. The default is Swapping Directory.
Syntax
Directory Path
Compression Level (Static Content)⇑
Description
Specifies the level of compression for static content. Ranges from 1 (lowest) to 9 (highest). The default is 6.
Syntax
Number between 1 and 9.
Max Static File Size (bytes)⇑
Description
Specifies the maximum size of a static file for which the server will create a compressed file automatically.
Syntax
Number in bytes not less than 1K.
Tips
It is not recommended to have the server create/update compressed files for large files. Compressing blocks an entire server process and no further requests can be processed until the compression is completed.
Min Static File Size (bytes)⇑
Description
Specifies the minimum size of a static file for which the server will create a corresponding compressed file.
Syntax
Number in bytes not less than 200.
Tips
It is not necessary to compress very small files as the bandwidth saving is negligible.
Enable Brotli Compression⇑
Description
Controls Brotli compression for static HTTP responses. The default value is enabled.
Syntax
Select from radio box
Tips
Enable it to save network bandwidth. Text-based responses such as html, css, and javascript files benefit the most and on average can be compressed to half of their original size.
Compression Level (Static File)⇑
Description
Specifies the level of compression for static content. Ranges from 1 (lowest) to 9 (highest). The default is 5.
Syntax
Number between 1 and 9.
SSL Strong DH Key⇑
Description
Specifies whether to use 2048 or 1024 bit DH keys for SSL handshakes. If set to "Yes", 2048 bit DH keys will be used for 2048 bit SSL keys and certificates. 1024 bit DH keys will still be used in other situations. Default is "Yes".
Earlier versions of Java do not support DH key size higher than 1024 bits. If Java client compatibility is required, this should be set to "No".
Syntax
radio
Enable Multiple SSL Certificates⇑
Description
Allows listeners/vhosts to set multiple SSL certificates. If multiple certificates are enabled, the certificates/keys are expected to follow a naming scheme. If the cert is named server.crt, other possible cert names are server.crt.rsa, server.crt.dsa, server.crt.ecc. If "Not Set", defaults to "No".
Syntax
Select from radio box
Enable Session Cache⇑
Description
Enables session id caching. If "Not Set", defaults to "No". (Openssl Default)
Syntax
Select from radio box
Session Cache Size (bytes)⇑
Description
Sets the maximum number of SSL session IDs to store in the cache. Default is 1,000,000.
Syntax
Integer number
Session Cache Timeout (secs)⇑
Description
This value determines how long a session ID will be valid within the cache before renegotiation is required. Default is 3,600.
Syntax
Integer number
Enable Session Tickets⇑
Description
Enables session tickets. If "Not Set", the server will use openSSL's default ticket.
Syntax
Select from radio box
SSL Session Ticket Lifetime (secs)⇑
Description
This value determines how long a session ticket will be valid before a renegotiation is required. Default is 3,600.
Syntax
Integer number
SSL Session Ticket Key File⇑
Description
Allows the SSL Ticket Key to be created/maintained by an administrator. The file must be 48 bytes long. If this option is left empty, the load balancer will generate and rotate its own set of keys.
IMPORTANT: To maintain forward secrecy, it is strongly recommended to change the key every SSL Session Ticket Lifetime seconds. If this cannot be done, it is recommended to leave this field empty.
Syntax
Path
Enable QUIC⇑
Description
Enables the QUIC network protocol server wide. Default value is Yes.
Syntax
Select from radio box
Tips
When this setting is set to Yes, QUIC can still be disabled at the listener level through the Allow QUIC setting, or at the virtual host level through the Enable QUIC setting.
QUIC SHM Directory⇑
Description
Specifies the directory used to save QUIC data to shared memory.
By default, the server's default SHM directory, /dev/shm, will be used.
Syntax
Path
Tips
A RAM based partition, such as /dev/shm, is recommended.
QUIC Versions⇑
Description
A list of enabled QUIC versions. This setting should only be used to limit QUIC support to the versions listed and is best left blank.
Syntax
Comma-separated list
Example
Tips
It is recommended to leave this setting blank to have the the best configuration applied automatically.
Connection Flow Control Window⇑
Description
The initial size of the buffer allocated for a QUIC connection. Default value is 1.5M.
Syntax
Number between 64K and 512M
Tips
A larger a window size will use more memory.
Max Connection Flow Control Window⇑
Description
Specifies the maximum size that a connection flow control window buffer is allowed to reach due to window auto-tuning.
Default value is 0, which means that the value of Connection Flow Control Window is used and no auto-tuning is performed.
Syntax
0 or a number between 64K and 512M
Tips
A larger a window size will use more memory.
Stream Flow Control Window⇑
Description
The initial amount of data a QUIC connection is willing to receive per stream. Default value is 1M.
Syntax
Number between 64K and 128M
Tips
A larger a window size will use more memory.
Max Stream Flow Control Window⇑
Description
Specifies the maximum size that a stream flow control window is allowed to reach due to window auto-tuning.
Default value is 0, which means that the value of Stream Flow Control Window is used and no auto-tuning is performed.
Syntax
0 or a number between 64K and 128M
Tips
A larger a window size will use more memory.
Max Concurrent Streams Per Connection⇑
Description
The maximum number of concurrent streams allowed per QUIC connection. Default value is 100.
Syntax
Integer number between 10 and 1000
Handshake Timeout⇑
Description
The time in seconds a new QUIC connection is given to complete its handshake, after which the connection is aborted. Default value is 10.
Syntax
Integer number between 1 and 15
Idle Timeout⇑
Description
The time in seconds after which an idle QUIC connection will be closed. Default value is 30.
Syntax
Integer number between 10 and 30