Lessons learned administering Netscape´s Internet site

Providing World Wide Web or FTP service on a small scale is a well-solved problem, but scaling server technology for a site that accepts millions of connections per day can easily push multiple machines and networks to the bleeding edge. In this case study, we describe concrete configuration techniques that helped us get the best possible performance out of server resources at Netscape Communications. We designed, implemented, and babysat the Netscape Web site from its inception until traffic grew to about five million hits per day. The site now gets more than 120 million hits per day. We describe many iterations through the loop of watching the load increase, finding various failures, and fixing what was broken. We hope our experience will help readers configure a high-performance server from the start and then know what to look for when it becomes overloaded