Boa is a single-tasking HTTP server. That means that unlike traditional Web servers, it does not fork for each incoming connection, nor does it fork many copies of itself to handle multiple connections. It internally multiplexes all of the ongoing HTTP connections, and forks only for CGI programs (which must be separate processes), automatic directory generation, and automatic file gunzipping. Tests show boa is capable of handling up to several hundred hits per second on a 100 Mhz Pentium, dozens of hits per second on a lowly 20 MHz 386/SX, and thousands on more powerful CPUs.
