authenticated versus anonymous user server load [#704968]

I'm told that in out of the box Drupal that the server load for anonymous versus authenticated users is 50 to 1 (meaning 1 authenticated user = 50 anonymous users in terms of load). Can anyone tell me if that's accurate and, if so, what impact authcache has on that?

My example use case is a site where there is private content, so you have to be logged in as a specific role in order to view private content. This role is not creating content or anything like that, just viewing pages that are private.

Comments

Comment #1

Jonah Ellison CreditAttribution: Jonah Ellison commented 4 February 2010 at 20:37

If Drupal core caching is enabled, then the 50:1 is a fairly accurate statement. Page load time, however, is ultimately dependent on how complex your site is (e.g., how many modules are installed, how many Views you are using, how powerful your host is, etc). The Drupal page cache is cleared on a fairly regular basis (such as when the cronjob is run), especially for more community-oriented websites (such as when a comment is made).

What Drupal core does not offer is caching for authenticated users, which is what this module achieves. If you are creating a specific role in which each of these users receives a nearly identical page, then Authcache can be implemented fairly easily. These logged-in users would then be able to receive cached pages as fast as an anonymous user would!