Load limits

A web server (program) has defined load limits, because it can handle only a limited number of concurrent client connections (usually between 2 and 80,000, by default between 500 and 1,000) per IP adress (and TCP port) and it can serve only a certain maximum number of requests per second depending on:

  • its own settings;
  • the HTTP request type;
  • content origin (static or dynamic);
  • the fact that the served content is or is not cached;
  • the hardware and soft limitations of the OS where it is working;

When a web server is near to or over its limits, it becomes unresponsive.