1and1 using server-side DEFLATE HTML compression - how?

[Spanitz]

# <IfModule mod_deflate.c>
# SetOutputFilter DEFLATE
# SetEnvIfNoCase Request_URI .(?:gif|jpe?g|png|jpg)$ no-gzip dont-vary
# SetEnvIfNoCase Request_URI \
# \.(?:exe|t?gz|zip|gz2|sit|rar)$ no-gzip dont-vary
# Header append Vary User-Agent env=!dont-vary
# </IfModule>


I've tried the above in the .htaccess file, but nothing is getting compressed. The 1and1 shared hosting server is running Apache 2, which supposedly has deflate built in. I have read online that people *have* gotten this to work on 1and1 shared, but they don't go into details. I don't have access to the PHP config file.

Ideas?

Thanks!


(wow, fancy new editor!!!)

[jscher2000]

[quote name='Spanitz' post='773364' date='01-May-2009 15:57']The 1and1 shared hosting server is running Apache 2, which supposedly has deflate built in. I have read online that people *have* gotten this to work on 1and1 shared, but they don't go into details.[/quote]
Hmmm, 1&1 offers a very short list of .htaccess commands they promise will work. (1&1 Webhosting FAQ | Modifying Apache Webserver configuration.) Most of the commands in your example are not listed. But... there's no harm in trying.

So I added this to an .htaccess file on a 1&1 Linux shared hosting account --

SetOutputFilter DEFLATE

-- and I got a 500 error. Whoops! That's a bad sign. I got the same error with:

AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/plain text/xml text/css

That's pretty discouraging. It suggests that the reason the following do not have any effect --

<IfModule mod_deflate.c>
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/plain text/xml text/css
</IfModule>

<IfModule deflate_module>
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/plain text/xml text/css
</IfModule>

-- is that the module is not loaded.

You might be able to confirm that with customer service. I'm not sure why they don't load that, just as I disagree with their rationale for defaulting to PHP4. Their philosophy with shared hosting appears to be to be as backwards compatible as they can at the expense of users who want more advanced features. Considering their prices and the possible costs of support, I guess that is necessary to make their business model work. But it is frustrating!

[jscher2000]

[quote name='Spanitz' post='773364' date='01-May-2009 15:57']I don't have access to the PHP config file.[/quote]
Someone has blogged about how to use PHP's compression from .htaccess, but there are many steps. I won't be trying it myself, but if you have the energy: mrrena: How to Compress PHP and Other Text-Based Files with 1&1 (and Other Shared Hosts).

[Spanitz]

[quote name='jscher2000' post='773437' date='02-May-2009 14:58']Hmmm, 1&1 offers a very short list of .htaccess commands they promise will work. (1&1 Webhosting FAQ | Modifying Apache Webserver configuration.) Most of the commands in your example are not listed. But... there's no harm in trying.

So I added this to an .htaccess file on a 1&1 Linux shared hosting account --

SetOutputFilter DEFLATE

-- and I got a 500 error. Whoops! That's a bad sign. I got the same error with:

AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/plain text/xml text/css

That's pretty discouraging. It suggests that the reason the following do not have any effect --

<IfModule mod_deflate.c>
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/plain text/xml text/css
</IfModule>

<IfModule deflate_module>
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/plain text/xml text/css
</IfModule>

-- is that the module is not loaded.

You might be able to confirm that with customer service. I'm not sure why they don't load that, just as I disagree with their rationale for defaulting to PHP4. Their philosophy with shared hosting appears to be to be as backwards compatible as they can at the expense of users who want more advanced features. Considering their prices and the possible costs of support, I guess that is necessary to make their business model work. But it is frustrating![/quote]





Thanks -- that is exactly what happened to me -- I guessed the module wasn't loaded, but there are places on the Internet that mention THEY have a 1and1 *shared* account (like me) and are using compression................. Ccustomer Service was a complete waste of time -- the guy had absolutely no idea what I was talking about

;-(

[jscher2000]

[quote name='Spanitz' post='774004' date='06-May-2009 15:38']Thanks -- that is exactly what happened to me -- I guessed the module wasn't loaded, but there are places on the Internet that mention THEY have a 1and1 *shared* account (like me) and are using compression.[/quote]
My Googling only turned up people claiming success with VPS accounts, so I may have used different search terms than you did.