Deploying a web server fast-OS/Distro/Tools?

I'm interested in your opinion on this topic. Let's say you want a web server up for development or testing ASAP.

Here are some requirements, but feel free to discuss solutions that don't address all of them.

- Fast to deploy, without requiring to read a manual that is TL;DR
- As little configuration files to edit as possible, and all the configuration files contain commented guidelines and examples. Automation of the menial work would be very appreciable.
- Can be used for standard configurations (Apache+Mysql+Php) but also for less common ones (LightHttpd+FastCGI+Ruby+PostgreSql)
- FTP, SSH and SFTP
- Steps to take are not likely to change much in the next few years.
- Bonus requirement: secure and performant enough to be actually usable for production too.

>>8
Simple enough: Ruby is slow. Really slow. They're working on this, but it probably won't become mainstream for at least another year or two.

Most people who use lighttpd and fastcgi are probably after speed. This is premature optimization though, because you can have the world's fastest http daemon, and use fastcgi to keep from constantly recompiling the script, but it'll still be slow. Ruby is the primary bottleneck here.

The proper method is to generate static html through ruby, in which case you probably don't need fastcgi ruby processes sucking up ram that could be used for filesystem caching and http daemons. If your site is too dynamic for that, Ruby simply isn't a good choice for a high-load site.

Them's the facts.