Tornado behind Nginx, should I use TCP nodelay config in python or nginx.conf?

Question

I have a Tornado server running behind Nginx reverse proxy. The proxy is configured with tcp_nodelay: on. I see there's also an option to call WebSocketHandler.set_nodelay(True) on a WebSocket instance once it's connected.

Do these two create the same effect? Are there pro's con's for using one over the other? Or both?

Answer 1

In general, if you are using nodelay and proxies, you should turn it on at all levels to see any benefit. Otherwise any piece of the system that doesn't have nodelay will insert the delays you're trying to avoid.

According to the nginx docs for tcp_nodelay, it applies only when a connection is in the keep-alive state, so it will have no effect on proxied websockets.