Based on a 2014 Netcraft survey, over 146 million websites run NGINX to enhance delivery, performance and security. Put another way, 1 in 3 major websites rely on NGINX. So it’s exciting to announce that recent improvements to Solarflare’s OpenOnload stack have accelerated NGINX and NGINX Plus performance by twofold for serving high demand web and video on demand traffic. Solarflare’s OpenOnload updates lend themselves to across the board improvements for the functionality, speed, and security of high traffic sites. By delivering lower latency and higher message rates, OpenOnload is the best option for cloud and HPC applications like the millions powered by NGINX.
By bypassing the overheads of the Linux operating system, the OpenOnload stack accelerates applications in a big way. The latest version of OpenOnload was enhanced with features to specifically address NGINX enhancements by delivering HTTP transaction rates 2x greater than Linux kernal alternatives. OpenOnload now supports socket caching and SO_REUSEPORT, giving NGINX-supported applications more intelligent and efficient access to the network.
By leveraging the efficiency and performance advantages of Solarflare’s OpenOnload application acceleration stack, NGINX users are able to use these new features to improve site and application performance, control, and security while reducing CPU utilization. This allows IT managers to do more with existing CPU resources, lowering their overall capital expenditure. For greenfield deployments, they can also save time and resources by deploying fewer cores or servers to achieve their desired network performance levels. Paul Oh, NGINX Head of Business Development, is excited about these improvements:
“We are excited to see Solarflare providing such comprehensive and clear performance improvements for our customers and users. Application performance, control and reliability have a direct impact on the success of today’s digital businesses. Solarflare and NGINX are working together to provide the best possible set of tools to help these companies take full advantage of the modern web.”
Key highlights from Solarflare’s recent performance tests include:
- For HTTP traffic, the Solarflare SFN7002 10GbE server adapter with OpenOnload is three times more efficient than Linux kernel alternatives, achieving a 10Gbps line rate with only two cores, while Linux kernel alternatives require six.
- For video on demand, in a configuration bonding two 10GbE links, the Solarflare configuration requires only two cores to achieve the maximum NGINX performance of about 18,000 simultaneous connections. In contrast, Linux kernel alternatives require three cores to saturate the bandwidth of 2×10 GbE links.
- The Solarflare adapter with OpenOnload is therefore 1.5 times more efficient, and achieves up to 34% greater performance than Linux kernel alternatives.
- For the VOD configuration at 40GbE, Solarflare has shown itself to be 1.67 times more efficient supporting 35,000 simultaneous connections with just 3 cores.
- Solarflare delivers 77% higher performance than Linux kernel alternatives with its software stack.