Like all frameworks, Drupal comes with a performance cost, but there are many ways to minimise that cost. This session explores different and complementary ways to improve performance, covering topics such as caching techniques, performance tuning, and Drupal configuration. We'll touch on benchmarking before presenting the results from applying each of the performance techniques against copies of a number of real-world Drupal sites.

1. Speeding up the snail
Marcus Deglos
and making Drupal scale

2. Who is Marcus?
Software engineer
with Ibuildings
Drupal contributor
PADI scuba diving
instructor

3. The problem with frameworks
The cost of the
framework:
- include files
- function calls
- database queries

4. So why use Drupal?
• Quicker to develop
• Easier to maintain

5. Turbo-charging your site
Optimising the stackTuning
Drupal
Adding hardware
Benchmarks

6. Optimising the stack
• Apache
• PHP
• MySQL
• APC extension
• Varnish

7. Apache
• Pre-fork vs Worker
mode
• Number of servers /
clients
• Impact of .htaccess
/ AllowOverride
• Impact of SuExec
Optimising the stack

8. PHP
• CGI vs Apache
Module vc FastCGI
• php.ini:
– Memory limit -
choose for stability
– register_long_
arrays
Optimising the stack

9. Database
• Optimising the database
– Monitoring with the slow query log
– Add (and remove) indices based on usage
– Consider table types: MYISAM vs INNODB
• Optimising the service
– Custom compilation
– Configuring my.cnf
• Consider your hardware
Optimising the stack

10. APC
• APC is an op-code
cache
• Install and forget?
• Monitor APC use
• APC tuning
– APC memory usage
– APC stat: checks if
files are modified
– APC filters
Optimising the stack

11. Varnish
• Varnish is an HTTP
accelerator
• Requires D7,
Pressflow, or a
patch to Drupal
core
• New mindset for
personalising
content - think ESI
Optimising the stack

12. Tuning Drupal
• Drupal page
cache
• Optimise JS /
CSS
• Memcached
• Using the Drupal
cache

13. Tuning Drupal
• admin/settings/performance
• Page caching improves performance for
anonymous users
• CSS and JS aggregation improves front-end
performance
Admin : performance settings

14. Tuning Drupal
Memcached
• Direct replacement for Drupal’s DB cache
• To setup:
– Install the Drupal module
– Configure settings.php
– Install the memcached daemon
– Install the PECL extension
• Minimal tuning (multiple cache ‘bins’)

15. Tuning Drupal
Using cache_get and cache_set
• Use a static cache for simple queries
static $foo = null;
• Use cache_get and cache_set for
complex objects:
– Multiple DB queries
– Slow remote resources (e.g. SOAP)

16. Adding hardware
• Separate the web server, database
server and HTTP accelerator onto their
own dedicated hardware
• Horizontal scaling: double the hardware
= double the performance?
• Hunt the bottleneck
• Scale with the cloud - Project Mercury

17. Benchmarking
• ab
• Jmeter
• Online services

18. Real world performance

19. Real world performance
Page cache

20. Real world performance
Memcache

21. Real world performance
APC

22. Real world performance
Varnish

23. Real world performance
Summary
• Page cache: 2x - 8x
• Memcache: 2.5x
• APC: 1x - 2x
• Varnish: 50x ?

24. Final thoughts
• Off the shelf :
Pressflow, Zend
Community
Server
• Quick wins:
– Page cache
– Memcache
– APC
– Varnish

25. That’s all folks!

26. Image attribution - CC via Flickr
• SNAIL (nutmeg66)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rachel_s/29060
95941/
• SCUBA - FISH SCHOOL (tobze)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tobze/2137899
342/
• BALL AND CHAIN (Fred Dawson)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fwp-
dawson/520311773/
• SPOILER (icathing)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/icathing/26603
225/
• SERVER RACK (Jamison_Judd)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamisonjudd/24
33102356/
• GRAPH (tracer.ca)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tracer/3249533
12/
• STACK (Wonderlane)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/23
63603984/
• TUNING (Crashmaster007)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/crashmaster/33
44052447/
• ROAD END (Joseph Hatfield)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhat/218880745
0/
• TORTOISE NAP (MaestroBen)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maestroben/36
9200383/
• CAMERA (Burnt Pixel)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithwj/365098
384/
• QUESTIONS (Stefan Baudy)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/-
bast-/349497988/
• SERVER FARM (sugree)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sugree/302464
0027/
• CAT (fofurasfelinas)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fofurasfelinas/1
297744859/

27. Thanks for coming!
Rate this talk
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@manarth