Overview
For as long as there's been a Web, people have been trying to make it faster. The maturation of the Web has meant more users, more data, more bells and whistles, and consequently longer waits on the Web. Improved performance has become one of the most important factors in determining the usability of both the Web in general and of individual sites in particular.
Web Performance Tuning is about getting the best performance from the Web. This book isn't just about tuning the web server software; it's also about getting optimal performance from a browser, tuning the hardware (on both the server and browser ends), and maximizing the capacity of the network itself.
Web Performance Tuning hits the ground running, giving concrete advice for quick results—the "blunt instruments" for improving crippled performance right away. The book then takes a breath and pulls back to give a conceptual background of the principles of computing performance. The latter half of the book approaches each element of a web transaction—from client to network to server—to examine the weak links in the chain and how to strengthen them.
Tips include:
- Using simultaneous downloads to locate bottlenecks
- Adjusting TCP for better web performance
- Reducing the impact of DNS
- Upgrading device drivers
- Using alternatives to CGI
- Locating the web server strategically
- Minimizing browser cache lookups
- Avoiding symbolic links for web content
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble ReviewThe Web may never be fast enough, but a whole lot's been learned in the past few years about building faster web sites. This book brings it all together, from optimizing content to tuning servers, scaling network infrastructure to building faster JavaServer Pages. This is in-depth stuff: detailed examples, measurement techniques, performance graphs, and dozens of solutions -- both "blunt instruments" and "scalpels."
Patrick Killelea begins with quick, preliminary recommendations for both the server and browser side: techniques that will make a significant difference in many, if not most, environments. Next, he reviews the planning and analysis techniques for identifying problems and acting proactively. You'll learn how to plan bandwidth, server, and memory capacity; automatically monitor each key performance parameter; test loads; and account for both reliability and security. Detailed case studies address several of the most widespread problems, including uncontrolled growth in database tables; logging delays caused by reverse DNS lookups; and database connection pool limitations.
Killelea then systematically reviews every link in the chain of Web performance: architecture, browsers, client and server operating systems and hardware; network connections; TCP/IP configuration; server applications; CGI; content; and much more. Killelea doesn't mince words: Java, he says, will never be adequate on the client side, but there are a raft of techniques for improving its performance on the server side (profiling, JITs, static compilation; adjusting runtime options). Whatever your role in maximizing web performance, whatever your application, you'll find this book indispensable. (Bill Camarda)
Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer with nearly 20 years' experience in helping technology companies deploy and market advanced software, computing, and networking products and services. He served for nearly ten years as vice president of a New Jerseybased marketing company, where he supervised a wide range of graphics and web design projects. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2000 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks For Dummies®, Second Edition.