LiteSpeed Technologies LiteSpeed Web Server is a fully compatible Apache direct replacement. This means it can be used to replace an existing Apache server, without modifying other programs or operating system details, and without breaking anything. It even reads Apache configuration files.
We have chosen in this comparison the best web hosts supporting Lite-Speed. We strongly recommend that you read the reviews and customer reviews of the hosting provider that interests you most.
What is LiteSpeed Server hosting?
A web server is a computer application that receives requests over HTTP (and other protocols) and then returns files and other assets in response. The web server is located on a computer system and is between the Internet and the rest of the computer’s files and processes.
The most popular web server software is the open-source program called Apache. LiteSpeed Web Server is a direct replacement for Apache.
LiteSpeed Web Server overview
LiteSpeed is the most popular web server commercially available, and the fourth most popular in general (after three Open Source solutions).
It offers increased speed and performance compared to Apache, through a number of modifications that improve performance. Among these is “Event-Driven Architecture”, which considerably reduces the number of new processes launched by the webserver.
Another remarkable performance boost comes from the way Litespeed handles scripting languages like PHP, Ruby and Python. The Litespeed Server API increases script interpretation performance by up to 50%.
Main features of LiteSpeed Web Server
- Here is a non-exhaustive list of what LiteSpeed is capable of supporting
- Works on Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X and Solaris
- HTTP 1.1, and backward compatibility with HTTP 1.0
- Support HTTPS, including TLS (v1.1 and 1.2), SSL, SNI, and OCSP stapling. Can be configured to be PCI compatible.
- SSL acceleration speeds delivery of secure content
- The event-oriented architecture conserves resources and provides more connections, faster.
- Full support for scripting languages like PHP, Ruby, Python, Perl and Java through the extremely fast LiteSpeed Server API (LSAPI).
- IPv4 and IPv6
- Unlimited IP-based and name-based virtual hosts.
- Unlimited simultaneous connections
- GZIP compression
- Faster HTTP throughput with SPDY 2 and 3
- WebSockets and WebSocket Proxying
- Full compatibility with Apache httpd.config and .htaccess files, with available caching of .htaccess.
- Compatible with mod_security features.
- Supports all Apache-based control panels, including cPanel, Plesk, and Direct Admin.
- Control panel plugins allowing administration of the webserver from the control panel.
- Quick replacement for Apache from the control panel.
- Compatible with all Apache modules.
- Optimized memory usage.
- Asynchronous input/output processing to reduce latency.
- Shared PHP hosting reduces the overall number of PHP processes, conserving resources.
- Automatic caching and fully configurable.
- Edge Side Includes allowing sections of a single resource to be delivered differently. This can significantly speed up the loading of template-based content management systems like WordPress.
- Web application buffering.
- CPU process linking multi-CPU deployments, allowing increased use of the CPU cache.
- Limited connection and bandwidth, to prevent hackers or others from making too many connections and requests at once.
- Detailed HTTP validation request, in particular the refusal of requests to access hidden files, and the configurable parameters for a maximum length of URL, Header, and Body.
- SuEXEC mode for PHP, Ruby, CGI, and FCGI.
- Chroot jailing.
- No change in configuration downtime and full upgrades, thanks to restart functionality with a fragmented process.
- Automatic restart of interrupted processes.
- Graphical Web Admin console.
- Virtual hosting models that offer preconfigured facilities for a number of general and specialized virtual hosting situations.
- Real-time, robust statistics on usage, performance, speed, and diagnostic tests.
- Several simultaneous versions of PHP, fully configurable at the level of individual files.
- Geolocation by IP address.
- Piped Loggers to broadcast log data to a remote location.
- Automatic and configurable load balancing.
- Video Streaming.
LiteSpeed Web Server Distributions
LiteSpeed Web Server is available in three editions: Open Source, Standard and Enterprise.
The Open Source edition has all the features and is free, but is not supported or compatible with the web hosting control panels. The Open Source edition is most suitable for self-managed hosting environments, where servers are owned by the people who use them, and a hosting control panel is not required.
The Standard Edition is free but has some performance and usage limitations. It is, however, supported and compatible with the web hosting control panels. The Standard Edition is most suitable for self-administered web servers running on a cloud environment, where the end-user manages a single web server, but the servers themselves are owned and managed as cloud infrastructure.
The Enterprise Edition has all the features, it is fully supported, and has no usage limits. It is available with premium Service Level Agreements (SLA, or Service Level Agreement), to ensure a high level of support. The Enterprise Edition is the most suitable choice for web hosting providers who sell hosting services to others.
LiteSpeed hosting
Many web hosting companies offer LiteSpeed Web Server as an additional premium feature to replace the default Apache web server that comes with a hosting plan. Other hosting plans include it automatically. Be sure to check.
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