Nginx and Memcached, a 400% boost!

If web architectures, performance, or scalability are topics you would like to keep on top of (who doesn't!), then chances are, you've heard of Nginx ("engine x"). Originally developed by Igor Sysoev for rambler.ru (second largest Russian web-site), it is a high-performance HTTP server / reverse proxy known for its stability, performance, and ease of use. The great track record, a lot of great modules, and an active development community have rightfully earned it a steady uptick of users, and most recently, a notable mention in the Netcraft report.

Memcached module - an easy 4x speed multiplier

Memcached, the darling of every web-developer, is capable of turning almost any application into a speed-demon. Benchmarking one of my own Rails applications resulted in ~850 req/s on commodity, non-optimized hardware - more than enough in the case of this application. However, what if we took Mongrel out of

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