.. -*- mode: rst -*-

.. _server-backends:

===============
Server Backends
===============

.. versionadded:: 1.3.0

Bcfg2 supports two different server backends: a builtin server
based on the Python SimpleXMLRPCServer object, and a server that uses
CherryPy (http://www.cherrypy.org).  Each one has advantages and
disadvantages.

The builtin server:

* Is very stable and mature;
* Supports certificate authentication;
* Works on Python 2.4;
* Is slow with larger numbers of clients.

The CherryPy server:

* Is very new and potentially buggy;
* Does not support certificate authentication, only password
  authentication;
* Requires CherryPy 3.2, which requires Python 2.5;
* Is faster with large numbers of clients.

Basically, the builtin server should be used unless you have a
particular need for performance, and can sacrifice certificate
authentication.

To select which backend to use, set the ``backend`` option in the
``[server]`` section of ``/etc/bcfg2.conf``.  Options are:

* ``cherrypy``
* ``builtin``
* ``best`` (the default; currently the same as ``builtin``)

If the certificate authentication issues (a limitation in CherryPy
itself) can be resolved and the CherryPy server proves to be stable,
it will likely become the default (and ``best``) in a future release.