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Zeus Web Server 4.0 can be run on all major implementations of Unix including AIX, Solaris and Tru64, with both 32- and 64-bit implementations now available for the HP-UX platform.
Linux is also supported, with a Pentium-class processor, 32Mb of Ram and 10Mb of hard disk drive space minimum.
It's aimed at internet service providers and large enterprise customers looking to host multiple sites and demanding web-based applications. These need more in terms of hardware so, for our Labs tests, we used Red Hat Linux 7.1 on a Dell PowerEdge 2550 equipped with dual 1GHz Pentium III processors, 512Mb of memory and Raid storage.
Installation is simple and configuration and management is achieved via an intuitive browser interface. The main task here is the definition of one or more virtual sites, with the ability to host these over multiple clustered web servers, if required.
Fully HTTP 1.1 compliant, Zeus Web Server is a very compatible solution with support for both Internet Server Application Programming Interface and Netscape Server Application Programming Interface, as well as its own Application Programming Interface.
Plus there's a sand-boxing feature for the secure testing of Common Gateway Interface scripts, with 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer and Public Key Infrastructure facilities built in.
Zeus Technology claims that its non-blocking architecture requires fewer processes than rivals such as Apache and IIS, allowing it to scale better.
To test this we used WebBench 4.0.1 to compare the new software against the latest Apache 2 beta software, also running under Linux, and the Windows 2000-based IIS 5.0.
When handling static content there was little to choose between the three. All exceeded the limits of the bandwidth available on our test network.
However, when we switched to dynamic content Zeus Web Server 4.0 was faster than Apache by up to 42 per cent, with at times a massive 102 per cent margin over IIS.
Java performance has also been enhanced, with support for the AJPv13 protocol and new native interfaces for Tomcat and Jserv. The core engine has been optimised to handle large data flows, in as well as out of the server. Other features include multi-lingual administration and content delivery.
However, it's the performance enhancements that really make this stand out. The edge it has over Apache and IIS go a long way in compensating for the only major drawback to the solution: the cost.
Price: (as reviewed ex. VAT) £1,100 per server (up to two processors); plus £550 per additional processor.
Contact: Zeus Technology 01223 525 000
www.zeus.co.uk/products/zws/
See also:
A very powerful tool for companies serious about website efficiency. 11 Jun 2002
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