Nginx http3 and brotli/zstd

Aliysa_Enhance

bluelinq-computers I should have been clearer, I'm talking specifically amongst the Enhance use base.

rdbf

Aliysa_Enhance I'm talking specifically amongst the Enhance use base

Could be due to a crippled or neglected implementation, as global statistics show the opposite trend. Not sure that's a datapoint Enhance would want to have.....

bluelinq-computers

Aliysa_Enhance This is better 🙂)

bluelinq-computers

rdbf I agree, nginx implementation could be WAY better. DirectAdmin/CloudPanel have great implemenation of nginx.conf and custom persistent conf files.

edumembe

Nowadays, most panels already allow enabling HTTP/3 in Nginx, including CloudPanel. Why is it not possible to do this with Enhance?

rdbf

edumembe Nowadays, most panels already allow enabling HTTP/3 in Nginx, including CloudPanel. Why is it not possible to do this with Enhance?

It is possible, but Enhance uses a custom build with modsecurity, so it's depending on them to do the work to release a new version with the proper config to make it work, instead of taking the mysql/mariadb (via apt) route for example.

I've made it work with a script that updates some nginx .conf files, so my Nginx is running full http3 now. Just need to check over time that it handles all the usual things that can go wrong without messing something up. But the current Enhance Nginx implementation can run full quic/http3 if the default config would be adjusted to allow it.

https://i.postimg.cc/yx0VPdmv/Screenshot-From-2025-08-10-21-46-32.webp

net

Looking forward to HTTP/3 in Nginx. Not an option for us to switch to another web server.

And hopefully, that // will be fixed soon in the next release 🙂

Andrei

Nginx should definitely be getting some love from the Enhance team.

marowi

I would also appreciate that.

Machiel92

In my opinion Nginx is the superior webserver, but well that is my opinion.

I do understand the development team chooses to support/improve the mostly used webservers for enhance (apache and maybe even litespeed)
but keep in mind, it took some time before nginx was adapted in enhance, and don't forget there are a couple of features that didn't work well in the beginning for nginx and that results in people choosing apache since it works better out of the box on enhance.
This way the amount of nginx users didn't grow, I think if these features were working instant for nginx the amount of users on nginx would've been bigger.

I still see a better performance on nginx than on apache when using enhance 🙂

So I hope the development team gives enough TLC to nginx 😉

webdig

I’m sorry if this is not the most appropriate topic for what I’m about to write, but I thought it could be a good place to ask.

I’m a big fan of LiteSpeed / OpenLiteSpeed, but I’d like to learn more about NGINX.
I even tried running a server with it — I was using a Flarum site (just like this community) — but it kept throwing errors, and almost every day I had to fix something in the .conf file.

With LiteSpeed, I learned to work with it on my own — I’ve always been very self-taught — but with NGINX I’m struggling to make progress.

Is the difference really that big?
Do you recommend any website or resource I should read to better understand NGINX? I’m willing to learn.

cPFence

webdig

Nginx is a great web server, if optimized properly, it can deliver performance on par with LiteSpeed, sometimes even slightly better. But in terms of learning curve and ease of management, LiteSpeed has the edge, especially with its built-in cache plugins for WordPress and other popular CMSs. That’s why it’s favored by many shared hosting providers. That said, I agree with @rdbf the Enhance team should keep improving Nginx support, as it’s a solid, popular choice that can help Enhance grow.

Andrei

One more thing I'd like to add - it all depends on the context.

If you want to host a large number of websites on a big server (bare metal), then the obvious choice is LiteSpeed Enterprise. It's not even a debate, it's that good.

But if you offer managed cloud servers (similar to Cloudways) in different locations around the world, and many of us are doing this, then you need to use Nginx. LiteSpeed Enterprise doesn't make sense financially, Apache nobody wants, and Open LiteSpeed could be an option but the lack of full htaccess support makes it frustrating for users.

We've seen issues with plugins, FlyingPress for example (which is a great plugin btw), trying to write to htaccess things that were not supported and making the website unusable. Accessing it will download a file instead of rendering the page.

At least with Nginx there's no htaccess support and the features that clients try to enable in the plugin won't work, but the website will still be up and running.

That's why Nginx should be getting some love, at least to have http/3, brotli and an A score for SSL.

net

Andrei

Nah, LiteSpeed is for those people having a hard time using Nginx. It is not that easy, especially if you have complicated scripts.

Nginx can handle a large number of websites, too, and it's not a debate. We tested it already, even with DoS attacks.

Of course, if you want the easiest, you can throw your money at LiteSpeed Enterprise 🙂

cPFence

Andrei Open LiteSpeed could be an option but the lack of full htaccess support makes it frustrating for users.

We've seen issues with plugins, FlyingPress for example (which is a great plugin btw), trying to write to htaccess things that were not supported and making the website unusable. Accessing it will download a file instead of rendering the page.

When OpenLiteSpeed is tuned properly, it can deliver excellent performance. Using plugins like FlyingPress on an OpenLiteSpeed server doesn’t really make sense. We use cPFence’s built-in tools to ensure users stick with the LiteSpeed Cache plugin and automatically remove all other caching plugins. We’ve never run into issues with the limited .htaccess support when it comes to other plugins.

rdbf https://github.com/rdbf/nginxtune-enhance

If anyone (like me) also doesn't want to wait for Enhance to give Nginx some love, and wants to test/try/run this on their Enhance nginx web server, feel free to do so. It can give HTTP3 on Nginx, can apply overrides for A+ ssllabs score and a couple more things.

Thank you for sharing your awesome work. We love seeing useful contributions like this in the community, and we hope some Nginx enthusiasts, like @net and others, will help you further improve and fine-tune it for high-traffic systems.

rdbf

https://github.com/rdbf/nginxtune-enhance

If anyone (like me) also doesn't want to wait for Enhance to give Nginx some love, and wants to test/try/run this on their Enhance nginx web server, feel free to do so. It can give HTTP3 on Nginx, can apply overrides for A+ ssllabs score and a couple more things.

Improvements or other sensible directives are welcome off course, should take little time to add them. Brotli or Zstd is out of the question though, because the Enhance build of Nginx doesn't support it.

Don't expect this to be fully tested, it's on a "it works great for me, it might also for you" basis.

It only takes a git clone command to download it, a crontab -e command to run it as often as you want (1 minute in my case), or removing the crontab -e line to not use it anymore. I'm using it on webservers, email servers (need to add nginx app role for the roundcube mail.domain.com sites) and the control panel server with no issues.

bluelinq-computers

cPFence Hands down the best overall (and happens to be FREE plugin) is LiteSpeec Cache...It's unmatched for WordPress.