You may have heard of a LAMP or a LEMP stack when referencing a web server configuration, and wondered what the differences are between the two. The difference is just in the web server software used. With a LAMP stack the web server used is Apache, whereas with a LEMP stack environment the web server used is Nginx (Engine X).
Both web servers operate differently, and require different configurations to set them up. Your requirements on which one to use will depend on the software you wish to run on the server.
Apache can handle .htaccess files, where as with Nginx this needs to be done in the configuration file.
Apache is more common (especially in a shared hosting environment), however can cause heavy ram usage if not configured correctly on cloud servers.
The term “LEMP” stack is used to describe a specific web server environment consisting of a web server (Nginx), database server (MySQL), web programming language (PHP), all running on a Linux system.
The LAMP acronym is made up from the first letter of each of those items (except Nginx, due to this being pronounced “Engine X”. The E is taken from the pronunciation):
Linux
Nginx (Engine X)
MySQL
PHP
The term “LAMP” stack is used to describe a specific web server environment consisting of a web server (Apache), database server (MySQL), web programming language (PHP), all running on a Linux system.
The LAMP acronym is made up from the first letter of each of those items:
Linux
Apache
MySQL
PHP