Definition: Varnish is an open source software that enables the caching of mostly static files such as images and texts in order to deliver them faster for client-side queries than if the web server had to compile and deliver the requested data each time. Varnish thus avoids simple server work and reduces the web server load.
Internet users expect websites to be delivered quickly during their web sessions, regardless of whether they have a lot or little content or are complex or simple. The performance of websites is a decisive criterion for the user experience and also a ranking factor for Google. There are various ways to speed up a website. On the one hand, the speed has to do with the server on which the website is hosted. If the hardware is slow, content will also be delivered slowly. This can be helped by upgrading the hosting.
The website code can also be optimized to a certain extent. However, this also has its limits.
As traffic increases, more requests have to be processed by the web server at the same time. One option is to invest further in hardware (better or more servers). However, this quickly increases costs. A cheaper way is to use Varnish:
A request to a web server consists of many small requests such as HTML, CSS, images, JavaScript etc.. For example, 100 requests arrive at the server. However, most requests consist of static files such as images, JavaScript or CSS, which do not require any computationally intensive processing on the part of the server.
Varnish now ensures that these simple files are cached and sent from there to the browser, which is several thousand times faster. The web server itself can now take on more complex tasks, such as compiling dynamic content.
This results in different scaling effects:
Without Varnish, additional servers will soon have to be put into operation, which incurs costs. With Varnish, the web server is relieved to such an extent that more expensive technology does not have to be used until much later.
Do you want to optimize the performance of your Drupal website with Varnish Cache? Get in touch with us on 0711 - 633 779 60
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