Mod rewrite...is it a burden on webservers?
 

I have heard that mod rewrite is a burden on webservers from a few people, just wanted to see if anyone thinks so or not. I understand it's a extra step in loading a page, which sometimes requires a db call or parsing a page to see what the vars are.

Your thoughts...

Apparently so, it depends on the load and number of rules it has to compare.

Reading .htaccess in each directory also puts more load, so it's best to put it in httpd.conf

Now, that's a good idea. I'm thinking of doing just the basic kind of type=xxxx to do domain.com/xxx/ kind of thing. But, that's what I heard was the dir. .httaccess was more of a load.

An extra step is an extra step. Now, if you are running a ton of rules (say to block hotlinkers or limit access by scoop-bots) you might find your server getting bogged down a little. Check your server activity, watch the usage, and see what is going on. Test your web page download speed with and without the rules in there, and you will know the answer.

Alex

Not to my experience, it is not. Of course I am assuming that you aren't running 50 or so rewrite conditions & rules. In my case, there are often a dozen or two rules, and I don't feel it impedes performance in any [significant] way

I think if you keep the rules brief and write it into the webserver config not in .htaccess its pretty good

I run about 30 rules+ on freehosting machines without any noticeable effect on load

hmm interesting, never really considered the load effect of it. was planning for an upcoming project to do some intensive mod rewrites.

It's only a burden on the server if you are running a server with high traffic on a 386. :)