It all started out as a "routine" update of all of the installed packages on my Gentoo-based server. For the most part, these updates are fairly straightforward, which is one of the biggest reasons I like Gentoo -- my system is always up-to-date without too much work.

Some packages don't upgrade all that cleanly, however. Database servers (like Postgres and MySql) often can require a dump/restore before upgrading. This is a little bit of an inconvenience, but otherwise not that big a deal. Upgrading Apache has always been a chore, though, and this last upgrade was so bad that I decided just to chuck Apache altogether on Gentoo. From reading the Gentoo Forums, I can see that I am not alone.

Lighttpd is refreshingly simple and easy. It has everything I need (virtual hosts, PHP, and eaccelerator support), doesn't have tight module dependencies like Apache, has a super easy config file (unlike Apache!), and -- most importantly -- seems immune to the config file madness going on at Gentoo right now.

If you want to see lighttpd in action, my web service Urldiff is now using it. I'm going to give it a trial period and, if all goes well, I'll be switching over prestonhunt.com and trainster.net as well.