Learn the fundamental concepts of web servers and their role in the internet.

• Web server definition
• Client-server architecture
• Server hardware vs software
• Web server functions
• Request-response cycle
• Static vs dynamic content
• Server vs browser
• Internet infrastructure

Master the HTTP protocol that powers the modern web.

• HTTP protocol overview
• HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE)
• HTTP status codes
• Request and response structure
• HTTP headers
• URL structure
• HTTP vs HTTPS
• HTTP versions (1.1, 2, 3)

Understand different web server architectures and design patterns.

• Server architecture types
• Single-threaded vs multi-threaded
• Event-driven architecture
• Process vs thread models
• Load balancing concepts
• Horizontal vs vertical scaling
• Microservices architecture
• Monolithic vs distributed

Explore different web server software and their characteristics.

• Apache HTTP Server
• Nginx web server
• Microsoft IIS
• Node.js as a server
• Tomcat application server
• Lighttpd server
• Server comparison
• Choosing the right server

Learn how to configure and manage web servers effectively.

• Server installation
• Configuration files
• Virtual hosts
• Port configuration
• Directory structure
• File permissions
• Log configuration
• Performance tuning

Master the basics of serving static content like HTML, CSS, and images.

• Static content overview
• Document root
• Directory indexing
• MIME types
• Content encoding
• Cache headers
• Compression (gzip)
• Static file optimization

Understand how servers generate and serve dynamic content.

• Dynamic vs static content
• Common Gateway Interface (CGI)
• Server-side scripting
• Application servers
• Database integration
• Template engines
• Session management
• Content generation

Learn essential web server security practices and threats.

• Common security threats
• HTTPS and SSL/TLS
• Certificate management
• Authentication mechanisms
• Access control
• Firewall configuration
• Security headers
• Vulnerability scanning

Optimize web server performance for better user experience.

• Performance metrics
• Caching strategies
• Content Delivery Networks
• Connection pooling
• Resource optimization
• Bandwidth management
• Performance monitoring
• Bottleneck identification

Implement comprehensive logging and monitoring for web servers.

• Access logs
• Error logs
• Log formats
• Log rotation
• Real-time monitoring
• Performance metrics
• Alerting systems
• Log analysis tools

Learn to scale web servers and distribute traffic effectively.

• Load balancing concepts
• Load balancer types
• Distribution algorithms
• Health checks
• Session persistence
• Auto-scaling
• Cloud load balancers
• High availability

Master web server deployment and DevOps practices.

• Deployment strategies
• Containerization (Docker)
• Orchestration (Kubernetes)
• CI/CD pipelines
• Infrastructure as Code
• Cloud deployment
• Blue-green deployment
• Rollback strategies