Ask HN: Is there any advantage of using APC + Varnish + Cloudflare?

[aravindc]

I am running a content site (php/mysql/smarty) which already uses APC. I am thinking of installing varnish to cache frequently fetched pages as each pageload hits the DB. Am also thinking of using Cloudflare for speedingup static content and provide a cache if server breaks as it does many times.

Am wondering if this setup will offer me a considerable advantage or will I do better just using fewer of them so as to save server resources in the case of apc/varnish and cost in the case of cloudflare?

[lifeguard]

Everyone I talk to raves about Varnish.

[aravindc]

I would too. It is the simplest and single most effective piece of software for performance you can and should put on your web-server.