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Based on what Apache Infra team can offer now, this is a compromise solution that can address this issue. A Chinese CDN which is pointed by a different but similar domain name ‘mxnet.cdn.apache.org’ is set up by Apache Infra team. It is a Chinese CDN provider and there is a huge improvement on website loading speed in China, as shown below.
To achieve optimal results, this project is scoped into two parts, both of which aim to increase the usability of MXNet website and provide better user experience.
Part 1. Redirect Chinese Visitors
In .htaccess file, add rewrite rule for Chinese visitors with the help of Apache mod_Geoip module- This is the most accurate and fastest way to redirect.
05/28 - According to Apache Intra team [1], Mod_Geoip is enabled on their server.
Solutions not considered:
- Perform a server side redirect by checking Accept-Language header of HTTP requests when users initially attempts to access the website. This is a fast and relative accurate approach which can avoid the client side loading and subsequent redirect.
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- Use Apache server side 3rd party Geo iP based redirect module - more accurate filter to visitors, but is not likely available to use, for Apache only offers limited modules for incubator project websites to use
- Check browser navigator.language - Server side redirect can achieve same function with faster speed
- Use browser Geolocation API - Accurate, but much slower and need users’ permission to get related data
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