documentation:2.0:platformsoverview
Keywords: documentation,2.0,platformsoverview

# Platforms overview

LLNG is able to use different web servers to provide its services. Here is a resume of all possibilities. We recommend:

- For installations subject to small/medium load: Nginx with our default FastCGI server, or Apache (with mpm_prefork engine)
- For heavily loaded installation: Nginx. The choice for FastCGI server engine depends on the behavior of your users

## Portal/Manager installation

Since 2.0, both portal and manager are native FastCGI / PSGI Plack based applications. They can be powered by any FastCGI / PSGI compatible web servers. Some examples:

| Apache | Nginx | Plack servers family
--- | --- | --- | ---
Engines | mod_fcgid or mod_fastcgi | FastCGI/uWSGI server | Any Plack HTTP server (see our doc)
Link with webserver process | External processes managed by webserver (default) | External LLNG server | External LLNG server | Inside

## Application protection overview

Applications can be protected:

- by a LLNG handler
- by themselves if they can dial with a supported protocol (SAML, OpenID-Connect,...)

To protect applications with handler, LLNG can be used in two mode:

- Direct Application Mode : LLNG handler is an embedded application. Handler must be installed on application Web Server
- ReverseProxy Mode : applications are hidden behind a ReverseProxy which provides the required LLNG handler

### Handler integration

#### Direct Application Mode

LLNG handlers can be installed on the following web servers:

| Apache | Nginx | Plack servers family | Node.js
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Addon needed | ModPerl |  |  | Express
LLNG integration in webserver | Inside | Separate process: External LLNG FastCGI/uWSGI servers (auth_request) | Inside | Inside

#### ReverseProxy Mode

| Apache | Nginx
--- | --- | ---
LLNG integration in ReverseProxy webserver | Inside | Separate process: External LLNG FastCGI/uWSGI servers

### External servers for Nginx

Nginx supportes natively FastCGI and uWSGI protocoles.

Therefore, LLNG services can be provided by compatible external servers.

FastCGI or uWSGI server(s) can be installed on separate hosts. Also you can imagine a global cloud-FastCGI/uWSGI-service for all your Nginx servers. See more at SSO as a service (SSOaaS).

#### FastCGI

By default, LLNG provides a Plack based FastCGI server able to afford all LLNG services using FCGI engine.

However, you can use some other FastCGI server engines:

- AnyEvent::FCGI
- FCGI::EV
- FCGI::Engine
- FCGI::Engine::ProcManager
- FCGI::Async
- LLNG FastCGI server for Node.js(*)

(*) LLNG Node.js handler can only be used as Nginx `auth_request` server, not to serve Portal or Manager

#### uWSGI

- uWSGI server (with uwsgi PSGI plugin, see Advanced PSGI usage)