Configuring Varnish

A lot of people know that "Varnish is fast", but doesn't know how to use it. This session will go through some of the basic tasks that are typically done on Drupal sites using Varnish. It will be oriented around Varnish and how it integrates with other applications.

I will explain some of the common pitfalls and how to get the most "bang for the buck" without investing horrendous amounts of time. A quick look at how one can troubleshoot common problems, safety precautions and common tricks employed to maximize performance.

It is assumed that the participants knows the basic concept of a cache and knows Drupal and the Web well enough to extrapolate from HTTP to PHP.

The participants will be presented with some common goals with regards to tuning which should offer a reference point when they later try it out.

The session will not cover installation or go into depth on the architecture. If applicable at the time, relevant Varnish 3.0-changes may be covered.