Russian software engineer, Igor Sysoev, is the main brain behind the 2004 release of the server software. As is the case today, back then, the main focus was to develop an exceptionally high-performing server that’s able to serve as many clients as possible without using too many resources. Due to the growing popularity of the server, Sysoev started NGINX Inc. in 2011, which has since been responsible for continuing the software’s development. And in addition to the free-of-charge standard version, the company also offers NGINX plus, a fee-based option with support and additional features, such as improved load balancing.
Like Apache, NGINX is modularly built. This means that its many different functions are available through corresponding modules, which administrators are able to activate or deactivate. Here’s a list of some features that you’ll have access to:
- Application Acceleration: enables content to be more quickly displayed
- Reverse proxying: allows NGINX to be used as a reverse proxy (HTTP, TCP, UDP) for web acceleration purposes or as an e-mail proxy (MAP, POP3, SMTP)
- TLS encryption: enables secure data transfer
- Bandwidth management: provides all services with optimal bandwidths
- Load balancing: relieves the man server by redirecting requests
- Video streaming that offers high operational performance when streaming MP4 and FLV media.
While Apache opens a new thread or process for every client request, NGINX servers operate in an event-oriented manner. This allows requests to be asynchronously processed, which saves both working memory as well as time. The server software is also supported by a range of operating systems, including numerous Unix/Linux variants, including Mac OS and Windows servers.