LiteMage Cache for Magento¶

What is LSCache?¶

LiteSpeed Cache (also called LSCache) is LiteSpeed's more efficient and highly customizable answer to Apache mod_cache and Varnish.

LSCache is built from the ground up and integrated into all LiteSpeed server products. It can:

• dramatically speed up dynamic website content (like PHP pages)
• provide more efficient handling of static content (like images)
• reduce server load

Understanding Caching¶

If you are new to website caching, allow us to demystify a few basic concepts.

What is Caching?¶

Generally speaking, a cache is a mechanism for storing data in such a way that it is easier or faster to retrieve than the original source.

Web application sites consist of dynamic pages that are built with PHP or some other method. The pages of these sites don’t exist anywhere in the file system; they are constructed on-demand by the web app, and then served to the visitor as HTML. Generating these dynamic pages can be resource-intensive and slow.

There are actually several types of caches. LSCache is a "page cache." A page cache's job is to take this dynamically generated web page, and store it as a static HTML snapshot. That way, the next time the page is requested by a visitor, the snapshot can be served immediately. Serving a snapshot is much faster and uses far fewer resources than generating the page dynamically does.

How does LSCache Work?¶

Imagine you have an uncached page.

A visitor requests that page, and a few things happen:

• LiteSpeed looks for the page among its stored cache objects and does not find it
• LiteSpeed returns a "cache miss"
• The web app dynamically generates a static HTML page while the visitor waits
• LiteSpeed serves the static HTML page to the visitor
• LiteSpeed stores the static HTML page as a cache object for later use

A few minutes later, another visitor requests that same page. Here's what happens:

• LiteSpeed looks for the page among its stored cache objects and finds it
• LiteSpeed returns a "cache hit"
• LiteSpeed immediately serves the static HTML page to the visitor

Notice how the inefficient web app is not in the picture at all once the page has been cached? From this point on, until the cache object expires, any visitors who request that page will not have to wait around for the web app.

You can see why caching is good for your visitors, and good for your server load!

Why Use a Plugin?¶

The LiteSpeed Cache Engine can be controlled through rewrite rules in the .htaccess of a web app's document root. So what do you gain by using an LSCache plugin?

An LSCache plugin bridges the knowledge gap between a web app and the Cache Engine.

Put another way: web apps have rules about what content may be cached, for how long it may be cached, and what events would cause a cache object to become stale. LSCache plugins are a way of communicating these web app rules to the Cache Engine. LSCache plugins allow you to manage the cache in such a way that more objects may be stored for a longer period, and with unparallelled accuracy.

LiteMage Cache is the world's fastest full-page caching solution for Magento. Built on top of LSCache and designed specifically for Magento, LiteMage can assemble both public and private blocks from cache by hole-punching through ESI to deliver the best performance around.

Obtain a LiteSpeed Web Server¶

You will need a LiteSpeed Enterprise license with the LiteMage Module, which you can obtain in one of the following ways:

• Request a trial
• Purchase a new license
• Upgrade an existing license

Configure the Server¶

LSCache must be set up at the server level before it can be made available to any sites on the server.

See Configure Cache Root and Cache Policy for instructions.

Understanding LiteMage Tiers¶

The LiteMage module is available as a purchasable add-on to new and existing LiteSpeed Licenses, and comes in three tiers: Starter, Standard, and Unlimited, based on the number of cached objects you need. The LiteMage Cache extension for Magento is free to download but requires the LiteMage module to work.

A trial license will allow you to experience the ultra-fast LiteMage full page cache for fifteen days. See for yourself how LiteSpeed + LiteMage can save considerable hardware costs while greatly boosting your Magento store's performance.

Please check our LiteMage pricing page for more information.

Counting Public Cache Objects¶

If your store is not yet up and running, it may be difficult to know how many public cache objects you will need. If you know the following, you can estimate:

• Number of items for sale, and how many configuration options are available for each
• Number of languages or currencies supported
• Whether the store has separate desktop and mobile themes, or a single responsive theme

You will also want to consider that public cache objects are stored based on URL. If your site uses a layered navigation menu for example, each combination of selections from the layered menu will be its own publicly cached object.

Limits and Exceeding Them¶

The LiteMage Tiers are as follows:

• Starter, 1500 public cache objects
• Standard, 25000 public cache objects
• Unlimited, ∞ public cache objects

For Starter and Standard, once the limits are reached, further public cache objects will not be stored. Your site will still work without any problems, but it will only be partially cached.

Uncached pages will be served by Magento directly. These pages will load more slowly than those that were cached. Overall, your site being partially cached is still much better than having no cache.

For shared hosting servers, limits on LiteMage objects are applied to each domain instead of the whole server. When one domain reaches the limit, the other domains may be still served from cache without issue, unless they reach their own limit.

Install, Configure and Use the Plugin¶

Once you've set up your web server and configured the cache root and cache policies, you're ready to install the plugin. The plugin will allow you to configure and manage your LiteSpeed server's cache simply and easily, through your site's own familiar admin interface.

Start with Installation and follow the documentation menu to configure and use the plugin.

Additional Support¶

Community Support¶

If you've explored our documentation and still have questions, you can find assistance from other LiteSpeed users through our Community Support forums:

• Join the GoLiteSpeed Slack community
• Visit the LiteSpeed Forums

Official LiteSpeed Support¶

To be assisted by a LiteSpeed support technician, you can submit a support ticket from the LiteSpeed website's client area or by emailing support@litespeedtech.com.

Thank you for choosing LiteSpeed!

Feedback¶

Do you have some thoughts about this documentation site? Join our GoLiteSpeed Slack, drop by the #documentation channel, and let us know what you think!