What should be best Nginx Cache on top of Nginx Server or Varnish cache on top of Nginx server for small VPS?

Question

I am thinking to install varnish cache on a small VPS configuration. My VPS configuration is 2 core CPU & 2 GB RAM with 50 GB SSD.

I would like to know on such small VPS configuration what should be best to install

1. Varnish Cache, Nginx Web server (PHP & MySQL also)
2. Nginx Cache (for static file caching) on top of Nginx webserver along with PHP & MySQL

Fyi I also need to install SSL on all virtual host. What I know by default Varnish doesn't work on SSL. There should be additional things has to be installed to support SSL. So if I have to install multiple service on server to support varnish cache does it not better to use the nginx only with nginx cache remembering the server specs are low.

I am waiting for an open discussion to find best solution. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Nginx is a great webserver, but isn't a specialized reverse caching proxy. Varnish is specifically built for caching and its caching policies are far more granular.

Components

• Use Hitch as your TLS proxy
• Use Varnish for caching
• Use Nginx as your webserver and connect to Nginx from Varnish

See https://www.varnish-software.com/developers/tutorials/terminate-tls-varnish-hitch/ for a tutorial on how to install Hitch for TLS termination.

See https://www.varnish-software.com/developers/tutorials/#installations for a list of tutorials (per platform and distribution) on how to install Varnish.

Port configuration

• Configure Nginx to listen on port 8080
• Configure Varnish to listen on port 80
• Add an additional listening interface in Varnish on port 8443 for PROXY protocol traffic
• Configure Hitch to listen on port 443
• Let Hitch connect to Varnish over port 8443 via the PROXY protocol
• Let Varnish connect to Nginx over port 8080 via a backend definition