Skip passenger instance stop on apache2 reload

Question

When apache reloads cofig files all instances of passenger are stopped and must be spawned again, it creates a problem, because spawn of rails application isn't fast process. Is there any workaround to prevent this behavior?

Answer 1

You can setup a reverse proxy through Apache to Passenger Standalone.

Using this setup Passenger runs as a separate process that does not need to be restarted when Apache restarts. Also Passenger can be restarted (when the rails app is updated for example) without restarting Apache.

Answer 2

Limit the number of changes in your apache config? Plan and think ahead!

It depends on why you need to reload apache. Many settings have a generous context and can be set in .htaccess files, changes there don't require a server reload to take effect. Those .htaccess files can be a nuisance to maintain and will result in a minor performance penalty as well though.

mod_vhost_alias can be a solution when you often restart to activate new virtual hosts.