Why is the TUX Web Server Dead? Does Nginx/Lighttpd/Epoll/Kqueue Replace it?

Question

I recall a very fast kernel module for Linux called "TUX" for static files to answer IIS's superior-to-Linux static file web-serving performance and solve the "C10K problem." Now I keep seeing:

1. Nginx
2. Lighttpd
3. CDNs

... for "fast static file-serving." Serving static files quickly isn't difficult if your OS has the right features. Windows has since the invention of IO Completion ports, overlapped I/O, etc.

Did Tux die because of the security implications? Was it an experiment that Kqueue/Epoll combined with features like Sendfile made obsolete? What is the best solution to serve 100% static content -- say packshots of 50 or so images to simulate a "flipbook" movie.

I understand this ia "Server-related" question, but it's also theoretical. If it's purely static, is a CDN really going to be better anyway?

Answer 1

Mostly because Ingo Molnár stopped working on it. Why? I believe it was because kernel version 2.2 implemented the sendfile(2) call which matched (approximately) the massive performance benefits previously achieved by Tux. Note the Tux 2.0 Reference Manual is dated 2001.