Maximum number of images in nginx directory

Question

Nginx

How does the number of files in the directory affect the speed of sending images to nginx.
What is the maximum number that can be placed without sacrificing performance.

Answer 1

It affects only the File system, that it has to look for this file for a long time.
I have my own OpenMapStreet server deployed at each deputy level, the number of images is increasing ...
at the 10th level in one directory 180,000
at the 15th level 3,967,815
And so on until the 18th.
Of course, you need to spread the files into directories. to make life easier for the file system.

Answer 2

Even in nginx, you can try to enable open_file_cache, if a lot of static (pictures) are distributed and they practically do not change, it can help if there are a lot of files in the folders.