Conclusions

Hiawatha is a great project and highly interesting for applications in which a simple, well-functioning web server with basic security features is needed. Many installations that use Apache, Nginx, or similar complex solutions could get by with just the features that Hiawatha offers: the ability to call CGI in the background (usually for PHP), SSL capability, and virtual hosts to run multiple websites on one server.

Hiawatha is far more frugal in its use of resources than its big-name competitors. Especially in environments where CPU cycles and RAM are not available in abundance (e.g., in the embedded environment), Hiawatha is very interesting. Anyone who claims that Hiawatha is more or less a do-it-yourself solution for limited applications is doing the tool an injustice: It is a full-blown web server with a feature set that is completely sufficient for most requirements.