"Normal" number of Apache processes?

What is a fairly "normal" number of Apache process to be running at any one
time? My server typically has anywhere from 35-105 processes (more at peak
periods).

I'm running Apache v2.0.46 on a RedHet EL3 dedicated server:
Dual Xeon 2.8 GHz Server
ECC Registered 2048 MB RAM

according to Urchin web stats I get about 22,000 uniques a day, 275,000 page
view per day. A fair number of those hits are search engines, which don't
download images, etc.

The relevant bit from by httpd.conf is below. Any comments on what I should
see in terms of Apache processes, ways to tune the config, etc. would be
appreciated.

From httpd.conf file:

#
# Timeout: The number of seconds before receives and sends time out.
#
Timeout 180

#
# KeepAlive: Whether or not to allow persistent connections (more than
# one request per connection). Set to "Off" to deactivate.
#
KeepAlive On

#
# MaxKeepAliveRequests: The maximum number of requests to allow
# during a persistent connection. Set to 0 to allow an unlimited amount.
# We recommend you leave this number high, for maximum performance.
#
MaxKeepAliveRequests 100

#
# KeepAliveTimeout: Number of seconds to wait for the next request from the
# same client on the same connection.
#
KeepAliveTimeout 10

##
## Server-Pool Size Regulation (MPM specific)
##

# prefork MPM
# StartServers: number of server processes to start
# MinSpareServers: minimum number of server processes which are kept spare
# MaxSpareServers: maximum number of server processes which are kept spare
# MaxClients: maximum number of server processes allowed to start
# MaxRequestsPerChild: maximum number of requests a server process serves
<IfModule prefork.c>
StartServers 8
MinSpareServers 5
MaxSpareServers 20
MaxClients 250
MaxRequestsPerChild 1000
</IfModule>

# worker MPM
# StartServers: initial number of server processes to start
# MaxClients: maximum number of simultaneous client connections
# MinSpareThreads: minimum number of worker threads which are kept spare
# MaxSpareThreads: maximum number of worker threads which are kept spare
# ThreadsPerChild: constant number of worker threads in each server process
# MaxRequestsPerChild: maximum number of requests a server process serves
<IfModule worker.c>
StartServers 2
MaxClients 250
MinSpareThreads 25
MaxSpareThreads 75
ThreadsPerChild 25
MaxRequestsPerChild 0

#
# To reduce memory usage in the worker MPM, the thread guard page
# can be disabled, at the expense of some protection against stack
# overflow.
#
#ThreadGuardArea off

</IfModule>

DesignGuy <dontbother@nowhere.com> wrote:
> What is a fairly "normal" number of Apache process to be running at any one
> time?

It depends how many visitors/connections you have. It can range from
just 5 to over 1000...
What's the problem?

Davide

--
| All things are possible, except skiing thru a revolving door.
|
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"Davide Bianchi" <davideyeahsure@onlyforfun.net> wrote in message
news:c6q0td$f65ib$5@ID-18487.news.uni-berlin.de...
> DesignGuy <dontbother@nowhere.com> wrote:
> > What is a fairly "normal" number of Apache process to be running at any
one
> > time?
>
> It depends how many visitors/connections you have. It can range from
> just 5 to over 1000...
> What's the problem?

No real problem, just was curious. My old web host would cap processes at
40, and after moving to a dedicated server I wanted to know what I should
expect to see, given the parameters in my original post.