Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Mod Gzip Hosts

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2001
    Posts
    1,513

    Mod Gzip Hosts

    When I recently tested an H Sphere host, my bandwidth ran much higher than usual, so I was thinking that maybe that was because they weren't using mod_gzip and my previous host did. Or maybe bandwidth is not very accurate with H Sphere?

    Don't most hosts use mod_gzip to save on bandwidth? Are there any disadvantages to using mod_gzip, such as slow page loading?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2000
    Location
    CT
    Posts
    1,621
    to check whether mod_gzip is installed on your web server, go to http://www.leknor.com/code/gzipped.php . Even with mod_gzip installed, unlike CPanel, HSphere does record http data transfer correctly (compared to webalizer/analog).

    The advantages of using mod_gzip far exceed any disadvantages that it may bring. So yea, most hosts that I know will have mod_gzip installed, although it's a benefit to the clients more than to the hosts themselves, since the host can actually make money off bandwith usage too

  3. #3
    The only disadvantage I can think of would be a little higher server load and a little slower page views for the user.....however, if the server spends less time transmitting the data and the client less time downloading, it is debateable if there is a negative impact.
    *AlphaOmegaHosting.Com* - Hosting since 1998
    Managed Dedicated Servers and VPS
    Hosted Exchange 2010 Email Service

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    PA, USA
    Posts
    5,143
    Originally posted by dandanfirema
    The only disadvantage I can think of would be a little higher server load and a little slower page views for the user.....however, if the server spends less time transmitting the data and the client less time downloading, it is debateable if there is a negative impact.
    On my study done with a site with 24 million hits a month, the impact of mod_gzip is pretty small. I graphed the server load with MRTG (take sample every 5 minutes) and there was almost no difference having mod_gzip turned on or off.

    For a 56KB of file, I will be surprised if mod_gzip takes more than 0.5 second to compress it. The compressed file will, say, be around 14KB. If your user is using a dialup, it will take them around 7 seconds to download the uncompressed file and only 2 seconds to download the compressed file. The end result (even if mod_gzip does take 0.5 seconds to compress the file), your user will experience a much faster download rate from your webserver. I would be surprised to hear if there are host with users complaining about slower response after mod_gzip is installed on the web servers. Haven't heard any such complaint ...
    Fluid Hosting, LLC - Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure: Cloud Shared and Reseller, Cloud VPS, and Cloud Hybrid Server

  5. #5
    I will agree with you FHDave. In theory....it would add/delay the transmission of the packets to the client, thus increasing server load. However, as your post implies, there is a greater good provided, faster downloads, especially for dialup users and lower bandwidth...which is especially good for us hosts.
    *AlphaOmegaHosting.Com* - Hosting since 1998
    Managed Dedicated Servers and VPS
    Hosted Exchange 2010 Email Service

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Posts
    190
    Originally posted by chrisb


    Don't most hosts use mod_gzip to save on bandwidth?
    The answer is No.


    Are there any disadvantages to using mod_gzip, such as slow page loading?
    The answer is No.

    If you're on a fast connection (Cable, DSL), you probably won't see any difference at all in download times, unless you are viewing very large pages. However, people on dialup modems should see a lot of improvement.
    gzip pros and cons:
    pro:
    - less bandwidth costs
    - faster loading pages

    cons:
    - slightly more cpu usage.. not very noticeable
    http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showt...highlight=gzip


    1) What is GZIP? The GZIP zips up the content of your website and sent to you visitor. Your visitor browser then unzips and see the content. This process is transparent to your visitors. For an example, my index.html is 100KB in size. But after GZIP, it is only 30KB. My visitor only download 30KB thus decreasing the bandwidth consumption.
    http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showt...highlight=gzip


    2) My site also pulls about 200 active members, but we do not have much of attachments. They are accidental so to say.
    Without gzip we pull 2gb on 500+ threads and 5000+ posts.
    With gzip we make 500 to 750 mb traffic.
    http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showt...highlight=gzip


    3) My VB is hosted at xxxxxxx, and I used to have load of error 408/409. Things finally went fine when I enabled the GZIP option, and the daily bandwidth utilization dropped to less than half.
    http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showt...highlight=gzip


    4) (eva2000) if you have php compiled with zlib support you can enable gzip in vB admin panel set it at no higher than level 1 and that will compress and speed up loading of all vB php pages

    if you don't have zlib support compiled into PHP then you can't use it but you can try installing mod_gzip which will compress all server pages not just vB's php pages
    http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showt...highlight=gzip
    it will compress your pages' sizes and make loading the pages faster and reduce your bandwidth consumption/costs
    http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showt...highlight=gzip
    5) I like the effect of turning VB GZIP on, in terms of less bandwidth and effectively much faster responses as my server is a lot of IP hops away from my users...
    http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showt...highlight=gzip


    Links:
    http://webreference.com/internet/sof...p/compression/
    http://www.remotecommunications.com/...d_gzip_faq.htm
    http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showt...highlight=gzip

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2000
    Location
    Sheffield, South Yorks
    Posts
    3,627
    Soemone said that it benefits clients more, actually it benefits hosts more, because 99% of clients don't use anywhere near their full data transfer without mod_gzip enabled - so if the host can shrink that amount even more then they save money because the site uses less of it's free x-fer.
    Karl Austin :: KDAWS.com
    The Agency Hosting Specialist :: 0800 5429 764
    Partner with us and free-up more time for income generating tasks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •