Is it a good practice to place all static files out of a WAR/EAR file?

Question

For all my business applications, I place my css files, images, javascript (jquery, plugins, functions JS files, etc.) within my project.

I am using jBoss as my application server, fronted by an Apache server and mod_jk (using the AJP protocol). By looking at the jBoss tomcat status page, I am seeing a lot of current threads on stuffs like JS files, css files, etc... So, my thought is that if these static files were hosted somewhere else, it would not have to be managed by jBoss, resulting in less work required by jBoss.

The reason why I am concerned by that is that my application has a lot of concurrent connections, and sometimes it hits the maximum number of current threads (250). Before adding new jBoss instances to the load balancing mechanism, I want to make sure my application is properly set up in its structure.

Am I wrong? What is the best practice for building web business application?

Thank you!

Charles

Answer 1

If you are fronting JBoss (or any application server) with a web server, you are better-off (at least in terms of server and network resources) putting your static content out front on the web server. Your users will get their content more quickly and your application server will only be handling the "useful" requests for dynamic content.