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Apache HTTP Server vs Cowboy

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Apache HTTP Server
64.4K
22.5K
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Cowboy
669
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Apache HTTP Server vs Cowboy: What are the differences?

Key Differences between Apache HTTP Server and Cowboy

Apache HTTP Server and Cowboy are both popular web server software that can be used to host websites. However, there are several key differences between the two. Here are the main differences:

  1. Language and Framework Support: Apache HTTP Server is primarily designed for hosting websites built using languages like PHP, Perl, and Python. It supports a wide range of frameworks and technologies, making it a versatile choice for web development. On the other hand, Cowboy is specifically designed for hosting websites built using the Erlang programming language and is well-suited for building highly scalable and concurrent systems.

  2. Concurrency Model: Apache HTTP Server follows a threaded model where each incoming connection is handled by a separate thread. This allows it to handle multiple requests simultaneously. In contrast, Cowboy follows an event-driven model using lightweight processes in Erlang known as "actors". This enables Cowboy to handle a large number of concurrent connections efficiently without relying on traditional threading.

  3. Configuration: Apache HTTP Server uses a text-based configuration file (httpd.conf) where you can set up various server settings, rules, and modules. It provides a flexible configuration system that allows for easy customization. Cowboy, on the other hand, leverages Erlang's code and configuration conventions. The configuration is typically done within the code itself, making it more suitable for projects that require programmatic configuration.

  4. HTTP Protocol Support: Apache HTTP Server supports a wide range of HTTP protocols, including HTTP/1.0, HTTP/1.1, and HTTP/2. It also provides extensive support for various HTTP features like caching, compression, and virtual hosts. Cowboy, on the other hand, primarily supports HTTP/1.1 and provides a lightweight and minimalistic implementation of the protocol.

  5. Module Ecosystem: Apache HTTP Server has a vast and mature ecosystem of modules that can be used to extend its functionality. These modules can provide features like authentication, URL rewriting, and content compression. Cowboy, being more focused on the Erlang ecosystem, has a smaller but still growing collection of modules specifically designed for Erlang-based web development.

  6. Community and Support: Apache HTTP Server has been around for a long time and has a large and active community of users and developers. This means that there is extensive documentation, online resources, and community support available. Cowboy, while also having an active community, is relatively newer and may have fewer resources and support options compared to Apache.

In summary, Apache HTTP Server and Cowboy differ in terms of language support, concurrency model, configuration system, HTTP protocol support, module ecosystem, and community support. Depending on the specific requirements and technology stack of your web application, you can choose the one that best suits your needs.

Advice on Apache HTTP Server and Cowboy
greg00m
| 6 upvotes · 724.9K views
Needs advice
on
Apache HTTP ServerApache HTTP ServerMicrosoft IISMicrosoft IIS
and
NGINXNGINX

I am diving into web development, both front and back end. I feel comfortable with administration, scripting and moderate coding in bash, Python and C++, but I am also a Windows fan (i love inner conflict). What are the votes on web servers? IIS is expensive and restrictive (has Windows adoption of open source changed this?) Apache has the history but seems to be at the root of most of my Infosec issues, and I know nothing about nginx (is it too new to rely on?). And no, I don't know what I want to do on the web explicitly, but hosting and data storage (both cloud and tape) are possibilities. Ready, aim fire!

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Replies (1)
Simon Aronsson
Developer Advocate at k6 / Load Impact · | 4 upvotes · 719.6K views
Recommends
on
NGINXNGINX

I would pick nginx over both IIS and Apace HTTP Server any day. Combine it with docker, and as you grow maybe even traefik, and you'll have a really flexible solution for serving http content where you can take sites and projects up and down without effort, easily move it between systems and dont have to handle any dependencies on your actual local machine.

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StackShare Editors
| 2 upvotes · 686.4K views
Needs advice
on
Apache HTTP ServerApache HTTP Server
and
NGINXNGINX

From a StackShare Community member: "We are a LAMP shop currently focused on improving web performance for our customers. We have made many front-end optimizations and now we are considering replacing Apache with nginx. I was wondering if others saw a noticeable performance gain or any other benefits by switching."

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Replies (3)
jlp78
| 3 upvotes · 688.2K views
Recommends
on
NGINXNGINX

I use nginx because it is very light weight. Where Apache tries to include everything in the web server, nginx opts to have external programs/facilities take care of that so the web server can focus on efficiently serving web pages. While this can seem inefficient, it limits the number of new bugs found in the web server, which is the element that faces the client most directly.

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Leandro Barral
CIO at IkeCode · | 2 upvotes · 686.1K views
Recommends
on
NGINXNGINX

I use nginx because its more flexible and easy to configure

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Christian Cwienk
Software Developer at SAP · | 1 upvotes · 685.5K views
Recommends
on
Apache HTTP ServerApache HTTP Server

I use Apache HTTP Server because it's intuitive, comprehensive, well-documented, and just works

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Decisions about Apache HTTP Server and Cowboy
Daniel Calvo
Co-Founder at Polpo Data Analytics & Software Development · | 8 upvotes · 269.9K views
Chose
NGINXNGINX
over
Apache HTTP ServerApache HTTP Server
at
()

For us, NGINX is a lite HTTP server easy to configure. On our research, we found a well-documented software we a lot of support from the community.

We have been using it alongside tools like certbot and it has been a total success.

We can easily configure our sites and have a folder for available vs enabled sites, and with the nginx -t command we can easily check everything is running fine.

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Grant Steuart
Developer at GMS LLC · | 4 upvotes · 406.4K views
Migrated
from
Apache HTTP ServerApache HTTP ServerPHPPHP
to
NGINXNGINXPHP-FPMPHP-FPM
  • Server rendered HTML output from PHP is being migrated to the client as Vue.js components, future plans to provide additional content, and other new miscellaneous features all result in a substantial increase of static files needing to be served from the server. NGINX has better performance than Apache for serving static content.
  • The change to NGINX will require switching from PHP to PHP-FPM resulting in a distributed architecture with a higher complexity configuration, but this is outweighed by PHP-FPM being faster than PHP for processing requests.
  • The NGINX + PHP-FPM setup now allows for horizontally scaling of resources rather vertically scaling the previously combined Apache + PHP resources.
  • PHP shell tasks can now efficiently be decoupled from the application reducing main application footprint and allow for scaling of tasks on an individual basis.
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Hari Kishore
| 7 upvotes · 393.5K views
Shared insights
on
AnsibleAnsibleApache HTTP ServerApache HTTP ServerRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)Apache TomcatApache Tomcat

I was in a situation where I have to configure 40 RHEL servers 20 each for Apache HTTP Server and Tomcat server. My task was to 1. configure LVM with required logical volumes, format and mount for HTTP and Tomcat servers accordingly. 2. Install apache and tomcat. 3. Generate and apply selfsigned certs to http server. 4. Modify default ports on Tomcat to different ports. 5. Create users on RHEL for application support team. 6. other administrative tasks like, start, stop and restart HTTP and Tomcat services.

I have utilized the power of ansible for all these tasks, which made it easy and manageable.

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Pros of Apache HTTP Server
Pros of Cowboy
  • 479
    Web server
  • 305
    Most widely-used web server
  • 217
    Virtual hosting
  • 148
    Fast
  • 138
    Ssl support
  • 44
    Since 1996
  • 28
    Asynchronous
  • 5
    Robust
  • 4
    Proven over many years
  • 2
    Mature
  • 2
    Perfomance
  • 1
    Perfect Support
  • 0
    Many available modules
  • 0
    Many available modules
  • 8
    Websockets integration
  • 6
    Cool name
  • 3
    Good to use with Erlang
  • 2
    Anime mascot

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Cons of Apache HTTP Server
Cons of Cowboy
  • 4
    Hard to set up
    Be the first to leave a con

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    What is Apache HTTP Server?

    The Apache HTTP Server is a powerful and flexible HTTP/1.1 compliant web server. Originally designed as a replacement for the NCSA HTTP Server, it has grown to be the most popular web server on the Internet.

    What is Cowboy?

    Cowboy aims to provide a complete HTTP stack in a small code base. It is optimized for low latency and low memory usage, in part because it uses binary strings. Cowboy provides routing capabilities, selectively dispatching requests to handlers written in Erlang.

    Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

    Jobs that mention Apache HTTP Server and Cowboy as a desired skillset
    Staff Software Engineer - Site Reliability
    Pinterest
    Toronto, ON, CA
    View Job Details
    SpeedDreamLinux+20
    What companies use Apache HTTP Server?
    What companies use Cowboy?
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    What tools integrate with Apache HTTP Server?
    What tools integrate with Cowboy?
      No integrations found

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      What are some alternatives to Apache HTTP Server and Cowboy?
      Apache Tomcat
      Apache Tomcat powers numerous large-scale, mission-critical web applications across a diverse range of industries and organizations.
      NGINX
      nginx [engine x] is an HTTP and reverse proxy server, as well as a mail proxy server, written by Igor Sysoev. According to Netcraft nginx served or proxied 30.46% of the top million busiest sites in Jan 2018.
      JBoss
      An application platform for hosting your apps that provides an innovative modular, cloud-ready architecture, powerful management and automation, and world class developer productivity.
      Jetty
      Jetty is used in a wide variety of projects and products, both in development and production. Jetty can be easily embedded in devices, tools, frameworks, application servers, and clusters. See the Jetty Powered page for more uses of Jetty.
      XAMPP
      It consists mainly of the Apache HTTP Server, MariaDB database, and interpreters for scripts written in the PHP and Perl programming languages.
      See all alternatives

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