Apache Traffic Server vs freenginx
Apache Traffic Server
trafficserver.apache.orgfreenginx
freenginx.orgSide by side
| Figure | Apache Traffic Server | freenginx |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Reverse Proxy Software | 9.0 (#2) | 8.6 (#6) |
| License | ATS is distributed under the OSI-approved Apache License 2.0. | The source code and documentation are distributed under a 2-clause BSD-like license. |
| Performance | The project says ATS scales on modern SMP hardware and handles tens of thousands of requests per second. | The site says 10,000 inactive HTTP keep-alive connections use about 2.5M of memory and data copy operations are kept to a minimum. |
| Protocols | The project site states full support for HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2, with ongoing development for emerging web standards and protocols. | The HTTP server supports SSL/TLS SNI, HTTP/2, and HTTP/3. |
| Purpose | Apache Traffic Server is a fast, scalable, extensible HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2 caching proxy server. | freenginx is an effort to preserve free and open development of nginx, an HTTP and reverse proxy server, mail proxy server, and generic TCP/UDP proxy server. |
| Support | Users can seek help through the Users Mailing List or ASF Slack, and code questions through the developers discussion list. | Support is offered through English and Russian mailing lists; posting requires subscribing the email address used to post. |
Plans
In their own words
Apache Traffic Server
Apache Traffic Server is a free, open-source caching proxy server for HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2. It stores frequently requested pages, images, and web service calls so they can be reused, with the stated aims of improving response time and reducing server load and bandwidth needs. It can also add keep-alive behavior, filter or anonymize requests, and balance traffic through a proxy layer. Deployment patterns include web proxy cache, reverse proxy, and cache hierarchy. As a layer 7 HTTP load balancer, it can choose next-hop servers using request attributes, weighted round robin, or URL consistent hashing. Plug-in APIs let teams add behavior such as changing headers, handling ESI requests, or implementing cache algorithms. Security options include client access controls and authentication, SSL termination, and SSL-based access control. It is self-hosted, with Linux and macOS listed as platforms. The project identifies enterprises, internet service providers, backbone providers, and large intranets as its intended audience. The listed stable release is 10.2.0; 9.2.15 is listed as the long-term support release.
freenginx
freenginx is an effort to preserve free and open development of server software used for HTTP, mail, and TCP/UDP proxying. Its HTTP server can serve static files, reverse proxy with caching, balance load, and provide fault tolerance. It supports SSL/TLS SNI, HTTP/2, and HTTP/3, along with access controls based on client IP address, HTTP Basic authentication, or a subrequest result. Cached and accelerated connections are available for FastCGI, uwsgi, SCGI, and memcached servers. The mail proxy supports IMAP, POP3, and SMTP authentication methods with SSL and STARTTLS/STLS. TCP and UDP proxying includes load balancing, fault tolerance, and client-address access control. The process design uses one master and several workers running under an unprivileged user. Configuration can be reloaded and the executable upgraded without interrupting client service. Source and documentation are distributed under a 2-clause BSD-like license. The software is self-hosted and uses file-based configuration; downloads include source, Windows builds, and mainline and stable versions.