If you are already using a compression tool like mod_gzip, does it tend to be
worthwhile to add an Apache::Clean phase as well?
I'm curious to know if other Apache::Clean users have felt there was significant benefit or a noticeably performance penalty.
It would same the bandwidth is more of an issue than the processor time, so my
assumption is that a little extra processor time would be a reasonable trade-off.
It's one of those things that really depends on your circumstances.
If your HTML is generated by tools that inserts lots of whitespace and extra tags then you'll see more benefit than if you hand-craft or machine-generate HTML.
Looking at a typical hand-built homepage I'm seeing around a 9-10% saving from cleaning (at level 9) before and after compression. I reckon it's probably worthwhile _if_ you've got plenty of CPU to spare and would like to knock 10% off your bandwidth utilisation.
Realistically it's one of those things you'll need to test for yourself. Monitor your system for a period of time, noting CPU load and bandwith usage. Install Apache::Clean and perform the same monitoring. You can then make the decision based on your real-world situation.
Carl
