Rob

Here it is in simpleton terms:

Yo Well nginx iz, in simple terms, uh great solution ta an old problem dat plagued Apache (pre Apache 2.4.xx), an' still do even afta 2.4.xx. Namely, speed. Apache slows down under heavy load, cuz o' its need ta spawn new processes/threads ta handle each new connection, thus consuming mo' an' mo' server memory. It also creates new threads dat mus' compete wif others fo' access ta server memory an' CPU. Basically, dis here means dere wuz an upper limit ta how many connections (connections + CPU load + memory use = slooooow) dat an Apache-based server could handle 'bfoe it simply started ta refuse new connections as it ran out o' server resources. So you can tell dis here would be uh big, big problem fo' heavy traffic websites. da old solution wuz ta simply throw mo' servers at da problem ta "fix" it, an' many still do dis here right up ta this day.

So nginx wuz developed ta overcome dis here problem, an' it do it wif very, very pimp-tight success. It handles server connections in uh vastly mo' efficient way than Apache, da major difference iz da threads dat nginx uses/creates ta handle server connections can handle many, many 1000s o' connections each without da need ta spawn mo' server processes so it uses vastly less CPU/memory resources, which in turn keeps da server chugging along nicely under loads dat would crippled an older Apache server (pre Apache 2.4.xx).

So as ta how nginx can benefit you it really depends on what type o' sites you run, how much traffic you be getting, an' yo' growf projections. If you gots uh simple blog network dat do uh few 1000 uniques uh day uh single decent budget bawx wif Apache will handle dat fine. But if you gots uh 1MIL+/uniques uh day tube site you obviously going ta be looking at ways ta make yo' site respond as fast as possible without costing mo' than you earn, an' usin` nginx as uh base (wif caching on top like Varnish, etc, o' course!) can he`p out uh lot.

So, in muh motha fuckin opinion, it's uh much bettah base ta build off than Apache if you be going fo' uh big site.

1. Should ah be usin` it ta deliver streaming video?

Depends on yo' site an' how you wants ta handle da streams. If it's uh normal blog/tgp/whatever, an' just usin` affiliate content, then Apache will stream in HTTP/RTMP just fine. If it's uh popular site, or you be growing it, then nginx be uh bettah solution than Apache fo' doin' dis here simply as KT above says it will reduce server loads/needs/specs (as it's much, much mo' efficient than Apache).

2. If so iz it somethin` ah can say ta muh motha fuckin hosting company: ah wants nginx?

If you on managed hosting then you can ax dem ta install fo' nginx fo' you, nahh problem. If yo' managing yo' own server you can install, compile, configure an' deploy nginx in uh matter o' minutes. bomb ta read up on what bits/addons you wants ta build into nginx beforehand, o' course.

3. Do ah need ta do anythin` muh motha fuckin end other than upload videos as normal?

Nope, nuttin'. Most o' yo' videos (ah'm assuming here, so forgive me if ah'm wrong!) will be streaming via HTTP at da moment, nginx handles progressive downloads da same as Apache.

Hope dis here helps Ya' know what I'm sayin'?

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