[Zope] Zope Server Performance and Scalability

Bill Anderson bill.anderson@libc.org
Tue, 15 Feb 2000 19:04:43 -0700


OK, OK, I'lll right a How-To. ;^)

Guy Davis wrote:
> 
> I set up a Zope 2.12 server on a PentiumPro 200 with 64MB running RH6.1
> Linux.  Currently I am using Apache with pcgi to handle the initial
> requests and MySQL for Zope's database for bug tracking and other apps.
> 
> I have been asked to defend my choice of Linux over WinNT.  This server

Perhaps you should redirect with a request to defend the use of NT ;)

> will be used by approximately 50 people who will mostly make use of the
> document management abilities of Zope and run occasional database
> queries.
> 
> If we assume heavy use from all 50 people, can Zope handle the loads
> easily?  What kind of numbers (hits/second, etc.) can others report to
> help me back up my claim that it can?  I understand that Zope is
> significantly slower than MS SiteServer, but for our needs is it not
> more than sufficient?

Apples and Oranges. Most 'webserver' benchmarks published tend to vbe
nothing more than simple, static pages. That is hardly fair to compare
with a dynamic application server.

When people insist on comparing, insist they compare the same things.

> 
> My next question is the same but for up to 500 users. There is a small
> possibility that Zope may be used corporate wide rather than just for
> our local business units.  This would likely require more serious
> hardware?  What level?  At what point does it become necessary to move
> to the Zope Enterprise Option?

The PPro should easily handle what you are describing for the 50. For
500, you would definitely want more RAM; the latter would be even more
true for NT. I would reccomend not running X on the server (as usual),
and if you do, choose a light windowmanager, such as XFCE, iCE, or
WindowMaker.

The real question should be 'why are the users are hitting the website
so much?'. ;)

Will you be serving pages in addition to that done by Zope? This would
affect your performance scores. If not, I would say don't bother with
Apache.
 
> Also, what has been your experience with Zope's reliability on Linux?
> Has anyone been in a backup recovery situation?  Was it difficult
> getting Zope working again from a nightly archive?

Stability has never been an issue for me. I run Zope on 5 different
machines of varying architecture (Intel, PA-RISC, Alpha) and have never
had a stability issue, of either Zope or the OS.

Zope is a cakewalk to backup and restore. Data.fs files gzip nicely, and
bzip2 even better ;)

IMO, the issue would be the MySQL server. Personally, I would run it on
a seperate machine w/a fast connection between the two if possible. This
would be true of any OS.

HTH,

Bill

-- 
In flying I have learned that carelessness and overconfidence are 
usually far more dangerous than deliberately accepted risks. 
          -- Wilbur Wright in a letter to his father, September 1900