Nginx Plus 2.0 Targets Enterprises With Commercial Improvements

The lead commercial sponsor behind the open-source Nginx Web server continues its efforts to make the Nginx Plus server more commercially attractive.

The Nginx Plus 2.0 platform now includes improved support for Java applications as well as enhanced application health monitoring and high-availability features. Nginx users have long been able to have a high-availability Web server, but what the Nginx Plus 2.0 release does is it makes that process easier with a new configuration utility to rapidly set up and deploy fault-tolerant high-availability Web servers.

Enterprise Tool

The Nginx Plus Web server first debuted in August 2013, extending the core open-source Nginx Web server with bundled enterprise-grade capabilities and configuration tools.

Since the launch of Nginx Plus in August 2013, more than 100 customers have adopted the product, and the list keeps growing, Gus Robertson, CEO of Nginx, told eWEEK.

“The majority are midmarket and enterprise accounts who are running production applications which directly impact their business operations and revenue,” Robertson said. “Nginx Plus provides the advanced features and support they require to manage these systems.

The Nginx Plus 2.0 release tracks to version 1.5.7 of the open-source Nginx Web server release, which also continues to grow in terms of features and use.

Since the first Nginx Plus release, there have been seven incremental updates for the Nginx open-source Web server, including five in the 1.5.x branch and two in the 1.4.x branch. New features that have landed in the open-source edition include full support for the next-generation IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6).

There are now more than 120 million Websites using the open-source Nginx software, and Nginx is now the leading Web server for the top 1,000 busiest Websites, Robertson said.

Overall Ranking

According to w3techs, Nginx recently became the No. 2 Web server overall.

Nginx competes in the Web server space with Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) and the open-source Apache Web server. According to the January 2014 Netcraft Web Server Study, among active Websites, Apache has the biggest share, with 54.5 percent of all sites; Nginx is in second place, at 11.97 percent. Microsoft is just a little behind Nginx, with an 11.61 percent share.

With the growth in popularity and use of Nginx, the company also recently raised $10 million (£6m) in new funding to help fuel expansion. That expansion includes a new office in San Francisco and new hires. Nginx plans to hire an additional 25 people in the next 12 months.

“We continue to focus on product development of Nginx and Nginx Plus; we are putting a strong investment in our community with the appointment of Sarah Novotny joining the team to lead our community and technology evangelism efforts, and we’re hiring more staff in the US to support our growing base of commercial customers,” Robertson said.

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Originally published on eWeek.