NGINX/VARNISH FULL PAGE
CACHING FOR DRUPAL
DANIEL KANCHEV
Twitter: @dvkanchev
SITEGROUND.COM

WHY YOU NEED FULL PAGE
CACHING ?

CODE RED
WHILE
OUT AT
LUNCH

WHAT EXACTLY IS FULL PAGE
CACHING?

Pep

Pep

Pep

Pep
Apache

Pep
Apache
PHP

Pep
Apache
PHP
MySQL

Pep
Apache
PHP
MySQL
HTML

Pep
CACHED
HTML

Pep
CACHED HTML

DRUPAL 7
Pros:
• Full page caching is available
Cons:
• It is not Nginx/Varnish friendly
• It does not offer easy cache invalidation
• Not enabled by default

DRUPAL 8
Pros:
• Reverse proxy (Nginx/Varnish) friendly full page caching
• Easy to invalidate
• Enabled by default
Cons:
• None I can think of :)

Pep
Apache
PHP
MySQL
Nginx
Varnish
Reverse Proxy Backend Server
REVERSE PROXY?

DRUPAL 7 + VARNISH/NGINX
• Install Varnish/Nginx
• Create a configuration file for Varnish/Nginx
• Install a plugin which will invalidate the cache

DRUPAL 7 + VARNISH/NGINX
• Install Varnish/Nginx
• Create a configuration file for Varnish/Nginx
• Install a plugin which will invalidate the cache

SITEGROUND SOLUTION
• Our own plugin for Drupal 7
- Cache auto invalidation
- URL cache blacklisting
• Custom Nginx configuration
- Suitable for shared hosting servers
- Cached copies are kept in RAM

map $http_cookie $nocache_cookie_drupal {
~*(^|;s*)(drupalSGCacheBypass=1)(;|$) 1;
~*Drupal.visitor.name 1;
default 0;
}
map $http_cookie $skipcache_cookie_drupal {
~*(^|;s*)(drupalSGCacheBypass=1)(;|$) 1;
~*Drupal.visitor.name 1;
default 0;
}
map $request_uri $nocache_uri_drupal {
~*^/admin/content/backup_migrate/export 1;
~*^/(status.php$|update.php|install.php) 1;
~*^/(admin|admin/.*$|user|user/.*$|info/.*$|flag/.*$|ajax/.*$|aha/.*$) 1;
default 0;
}
map $request_uri $skipcache_uri_drupal {
~*^/admin/content/backup_migrate/export 1;
~*^/(status.php$|update.php|install.php) 1;
~*^/(admin|admin/.*$|user|user/.*$|info/.*$|flag/.*$|ajax/.*$|aha/.*$) 1;
default 0;
}
NGINX CONF

DRUPAL 7 PLUGIN
function supercacher_page_alter(&$page)
{
if ( !variable_get('supercacher_enabled', 0) || supercacher_isUrlBlacklisted())
{
drupal_add_http_header('X-Cache-Enabled', 'False');
return;
}
drupal_add_http_header('X-Cache-Enabled', 'True');
// Logged In Users
if ( user_is_logged_in() || ( ! empty( $_POST['op'] ) && 'Log In' === $_POST['op'] ) )
{
setcookie( 'drupalSGCacheBypass', 1, time() + 100 * 60, '/' );
}
elseif ( !user_is_logged_in() && (!isset($_COOKIE['drupalSGCacheBypass']) ||
($_COOKIE['drupalSGCacheBypass'] != 1)))
{
setcookie( 'drupalSGCacheBypass', 0, time() - 3600, '/' );
}
//dirty hacks:
if (isset($_POST['form_id']) && $_POST['form_id'] == 'system_theme_settings')
supercacher_purge();
}

SOME MORE CODE FROM THE
DRUPAL 7 PLUGIN

OUR PLUGIN
http://download.siteground.com/drupal/drupalSGCache.zip

ROADMAP FOR OUR
SUPERCACHER
• Support For Drupal 8
• Use cache tags/meta data for invalidation
• Implement user based caching

RESOURCES
• https://groups.drupal.org/nginx
• http://wiki.nginx.org/Drupal
• https://www.drupal.org/node/1054886
• https://www.drupal.org/project/varnish
• http://wimleers.com/blog/drupal-8-page-caching-enabled-by-
default
• http://wimleers.com/blog/renderviz-prototype

FRIDAY SPRINTS
• Sprint with the Community on Friday.
• We have tasks for every skillset.
• Mentors are available for new contributors.
• An optional Friday morning workshop for first-time sprinters
will help you get set up.
• Follow @drupalmentoring.