If you're looking to deliver a great website experience, the current environment presents a huge number of challenges that haven't been seen before. One of these is the ever-increasing number of web-enabled devices, as visitors are no longer limited to just desktop and laptop PCs.
Instead, more people are accessing their favourite sites from smartphones, tablet devices and even games consoles, which can present a challenge to web servers seeking to deliver a fast and reliable service due to their different properties, which can affect the way content needs to be delivered and displayed.
New module from Nginx
However, if you're basing your servers on the Nginx platform, help is at hand in the form of a new module. Nginx has been working with mobile web technology specialist dotMobi to come up with a new device detection module that sits on the server layer and can instantly tell what gadget a visitor is using to access a site.
The module, which uses dotMobi's DeviceAtlas solution, offers high-performance, high-speed device detection suitable for even the heaviest-traffic sites and gives servers the awareness needed to adapt content according to the properties of the requesting device.
Improved experience
The solution was welcomed by Igor Sysoev, chief technology officer and principal architect at Nginx, who said the fact it does not sit on the application layer helps deliver improved performance. He explained: "The DeviceAtlas module for Nginx enables us to offload device detection from applications to the web server, a logical step that helps us ensure the best possible customer experience."
It was observed that implementing the solution at the server layer of a technology stack offers huge advantages to website developers who value performance and efficiency. It is said to be especially useful for high-traffic sites, so if your servers are currently struggling to handle device detection processes for large volumes of simultaneous users, this could be the perfect solution for you.
In fact, a large number of sites may benefit from adding the module to their servers, as a recent survey by NetCraft revealed the use of Nginx is growing, with the platform now accounting for 12.77% of the world's million busiest sites.
