What is LiteSpeed? Advantages over Apache and Installation

What is LiteSpeed? Advantages and Installation Compared to Apache

Web servers are one of the fundamental infrastructure elements that enable websites to reach visitors. In addition to Apache, which has maintained its popularity in this field for many years, LiteSpeed, which has been frequently mentioned in recent years, has become an important alternative. In this article, we will examine in detail what LiteSpeed is, its advantages over Apache, and the basic installation steps.

What is LiteSpeed Web Server?

LiteSpeed Web Server (LSWS) is a high-performance and scalable web server developed by LiteSpeed Technologies. Although it has a more closed structure compared to its open-source competitors such as Apache, it is preferred by high-traffic websites and hosting providers due to the advantages it offers in terms of speed, security, and resource efficiency. LiteSpeed supports .htaccess files and mod_rewrite rules used by Apache, offering the possibility to easily integrate into existing Apache configurations.

Key Features of LiteSpeed

High Performance: Thanks to its event-driven architecture, LiteSpeed can manage a large number of connections simultaneously while consuming fewer resources. This allows websites to load faster and the server to operate under less load.
Scalability: It can operate without compromising performance even during periods of high traffic.
Security: Protects websites against various attacks thanks to its built-in security features.
Apache Compatibility: Supports .htaccess files and mod_rewrite rules, providing easy migration to existing Apache configurations.
Built-in Caching: Thanks to its built-in caching system called LiteSpeed Cache (LSCache), it enables even dynamic content to be served quickly.
HTTP/3 Support: Supports HTTP/3, the latest HTTP protocol, offering a faster and more reliable web experience.

Advantages of LiteSpeed Compared to Apache

LiteSpeed offers many advantages compared to Apache. These advantages become more pronounced especially in high-traffic websites and situations where resource efficiency is important.

Performance and Speed

The most obvious advantage of LiteSpeed is that it has higher performance than Apache. Its event-driven architecture allows it to manage more concurrent connections while consuming fewer resources. Apache, on the other hand, has a process-based architecture and creates a separate process for each connection. This can cause the server to consume resources and performance to decrease under high traffic. Built-in caching mechanisms such as LiteSpeed Cache (LSCache) also significantly increase performance.

For example, let's consider an e-commerce site. On a server using Apache, the server may slow down or even crash when a large number of users visit product pages at the same time. On a server using LiteSpeed, thanks to the event-driven architecture and LSCache, the server operates under less load and users have a faster experience.

Security

LiteSpeed is a more secure web server compared to Apache. Thanks to its built-in security features, it protects websites against various attacks. These features include DDoS protection, protection against brute-force attacks, and filtering against malicious bots. In Apache, such security measures are usually provided through additional modules and configuration can be more complex.

Resource Efficiency

LiteSpeed consumes fewer resources compared to Apache. This is especially important in shared hosting environments. It can manage the same workload using less RAM and CPU, which allows the server to host more websites. Apache, on the other hand, consumes more resources, which can negatively affect the server's performance.

HTTP/3 Support

LiteSpeed is one of the first web servers to support HTTP/3. HTTP/3 is built on the QUIC protocol and offers a faster and more reliable web experience compared to TCP-based HTTP/2. It improves performance especially on mobile devices and in variable network conditions. Apache is not yet as advanced as LiteSpeed in terms of HTTP/3 support.

LiteSpeed Installation (Example via cPanel)

The installation of LiteSpeed may vary depending on the control panel and operating system used. This section will provide a general example of how to install LiteSpeed on a server using cPanel. Please note that these steps may vary depending on the cPanel version and server configuration used.

Log in to cPanel: Log in to your server's cPanel interface with your username and password.
Switch to WHM (If Necessary): If you have a reseller account, you may need to switch to WHM.
Use EasyApache 4: cPanel usually has the EasyApache 4 tool. You can use this tool to remove Apache and install LiteSpeed.
Remove Apache: Edit the existing profile in EasyApache 4 and remove Apache.
Caution: It is important to back up your websites before removing Apache.
Install LiteSpeed: Select LiteSpeed in EasyApache 4 and start the installation.
Activate the LiteSpeed License: You need a valid license to use LiteSpeed. You can purchase your license from the LiteSpeed website and activate it in cPanel.
Configure LiteSpeed Settings: You can configure the basic settings of LiteSpeed through the LiteSpeed Web Server Manager tool in cPanel. These settings include caching, security, and performance settings.
Test Your Websites: After the installation is complete, visit your websites to make sure everything is working properly.

Important Note: This is just a general example. The installation and configuration of LiteSpeed may vary depending on your server configuration and needs. For more detailed information, it is recommended to refer to the official LiteSpeed documentation.

LiteSpeed Cache (LSCache) Configuration

LiteSpeed Cache (LSCache) is the built-in caching system of LiteSpeed Web Server and can significantly improve the performance of websites. LSCache reduces server load and allows websites to load faster by caching dynamic content and serving it from the cache instead of accessing the database with each request.

To use LSCache, you usually need to install a plugin or module. Special LSCache plugins are available for popular CMS platforms such as WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. These plugins allow you to easily configure and manage LSCache.

For example, after installing the LiteSpeed Cache plugin for WordPress, you can set caching rules, clear the cache, and perform other performance optimizations from the plugin settings. LSCache supports various caching techniques such as page caching, object caching, and browser caching.

Conclusion and Summary

LiteSpeed Web Server is a powerful web server that offers high performance, security, and resource efficiency compared to Apache. Thanks to its event-driven architecture, built-in caching system, and HTTP/3 support, it is an ideal solution especially for high-traffic websites and hosting providers.