CloudLinux MAx Cache now supports W3 Total Cache

From today, WordPress sites using the W3 Total Cache plugin on CloudLinux servers with cPanel can have cached pages served directly by Apache or Nginx, without PHP processing on every request. For those managing shared hosting WordPress means less per-request load; for those running it means pages reach visitors faster.

What's changing and when

W3 Total Cache 2.11.0, released on 20 October, works with MAx Cache, CloudLinux's web server module for cached WordPress pages. It's the first caching plugin besides AccelerateWP, CloudLinux's own solution, to support it. The plugin's official changelog confirms that 2.11.0 adds the CloudLinux Max Cache extension, along with licensing updates and fixes for minify and page cache.

MAx Cache didn't start with this integration: it first appeared in beta as an Apache module built exclusively for AccelerateWP, then arrived on Nginx with the same model—the hosting provider installs the daemon at server level, and the site owner enables the feature from the plugin. Only with module version 1.2.7 does it open up to third-party plugins.

Requirements and provider-side installation

You need a CloudLinux server with cPanel, Apache or Nginx, and MAx Cache 1.2.7 or later. On Apache the package is libmaxcache ea-apache24-mod_maxcache; on Nginx, even in front of Apache, you need libmaxcache maxcache-nginx-configd ea-nginx-maxcache. Nothing changes on the site until the owner enables the extension from the W3 Total Cache panel.

Who does what

	Hosting provider	Site owner
Benefits from	Less work per cached request on every activated site	Cached pages delivered faster
Controls	Whether the module is installed on the server	Whether the extension is enabled and W3 Total Cache settings
Starts with	Installing the module, version 1.2.7 or later	Setting Page Cache to Disk: Enhanced and enabling the extension

Performance figures claimed by the vendor

CloudLinux, on the official product page, claims approximately double the requests per second on Apache, time to first byte cut in half, and around 50 per cent reduction in CPU and memory; on Nginx it claims approximately triple the requests per second, time to first byte up to six times lower, and around 80 per cent CPU and memory reduction. These are vendor figures, not our own lab measurements, and should be read as such.

MAx Cache remains included at no extra cost in CloudLinux licences for Shared Pro, Admin and Solo editions, on CloudLinux 7, 8 and 9. Sites already using AccelerateWP continue to use it as before: the module serves one of the two plugins at a time, not both together on the same site.