Web Services

What WWW servers does DirectAdmin support?

DirectAdmin has support for a variety of WWW servers. To check which one is in use, and possible options:

da build opt_help | grep webserver
> webserver: apache, nginx, nginx_apache, litespeed, openlitespeed. Current value: openlitespeed. Default value: apache.

Where:

  • apache is the most popular. This is the Apache HTTP server from https://httpd.apache.org/open in new window
  • nginx is high performance open-source web server, great for static files but has limitations for .htaccess files, so it may require manual adjustments. https://www.nginx.com/open in new window
  • nginx_apache is a powerful reverse proxy where nginx serves static files, while dynamic files and .htaccess are processed by Apache. It's a good choice without needs to modify existing scripts or mod_rewrite rules. It mainly benefits slow connections.
  • litespeed is a commercial web server. It is a drop-in replacement for Apache from LiteSpeed Technologiesopen in new window. It provides faster response times and reduced server load average when compared with Apache.
  • openlitespeed is the open source edition of the LiteSpeed Web Server, and contains all essential features and benefits from it, with some limitationsopen in new window. It's not a drop-in replacement for Apache though, due to lack of full .htaccess support and different configuration syntax.

Every system may have specific needs, a comparison table:

Web ServerAdvantagesDisadvantagesSuitable for shared hosting?
Apacheindustry standard, highly customizablehigh memory usage and slow for static filesYES
Nginxgreat performance and response timeshas no support for .htaccess, needs manual configuration for URL rewritesNO
Nginx+Apachegreat performance and response times, full support for .htaccesshigh memory usageYES for servers with 8+ GB of RAM
OpenLiteSpeedgreat performance, HTTP/3 support, built-in page cachingminimal .htaccess supportYES
LiteSpeedgreat performance, HTTP/3 support, page caching available, suitable for high-traffic sites, stunning performancecommercialYES

OpenLiteSpeed might be a great option for WordPress-only hosting or other CMSs that have the LSCache caching plugin.

How to switch between webservers?

da build set webserver apache
da build php1_mode fastcgi
da build apache
da build php
da build rewrite_confs

More about apache

da build set webserver nginx
da build set php1_mode php-fpm
da build nginx
da build php
da build rewrite_confs

More about NGINX

da build set webserver nginx_apache
da build nginx_apache
da build rewrite_confs

More about NGINX+Apache

da build set webserver openlitespeed
da build set php1_mode lsphp
da build openlitespeed
da build php
da build rewrite_confs

More about OpenLiteSpeed

da build set webserver litespeed
da build set php1_mode lsphp
da build litespeed
da build php

More about LiteSpeed

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