Installing Apache2 and PHP5 using mod_fcgid
All this time I used to use Apache with prefork method (apache2-mpm-prefork) combined with PHP5 module (libapache2-mod-php5). Until the day my web server choking out of resources because lots of users accessing. Apache with PHP module consumes a lot of memory because each request is handled by one process.
When I was googling, I found that Apache2 using worker is more efficient and less resource consuming because one process can handle many request (by using multithreading).
But heck, when I tried to install apache2-mpm-worker, my Ubuntu start whining about wanting to uninstall my libapache2-mod-php5. I found out that PHP5 module is not compatible with multithreading version of Apache. It only want the prefork version.
I was googling again, and I find that with worker version of Apache, PHP must be used in CGI form. Dang! I have bad experience with GCI version of PHP. But things have changed, now there is FCGI that much better handling CGI applications. Also by using this version of PHP, Apache will be less loaded because it will only handles static elements (html pages, images, css, etc). All PHP requests will be handled by PHP itself.
$ sudo apt-get install apache2-mpm-worker libapache2-mod-fcgid
And then we turn on the FCGI module:
$ sudo a2enmod fcgid
PHP5 Installation
Then we install PHP5 packages. These are what I used to have in my web servers. You can add or remove the packages you want:
$ sudo apt-get install php5-cgi php5-curl php5-gd php5-ldap php5-mysql php5-mysqli php5-sqlite php5-xsl
Apache Configuration
Now you edit the file /etc/apache2/sites-available/default, and then put these text below on the part after "NameVirtualHost" and before <Virtualhost>:
<Directory /var/www>
AddHandler fcgid-script .php
FCGIWrapper /usr/lib/cgi-bin/php5 .php
</Directory>
And then put ExecCGI to each <Directory>.
Example:
Options ExecCGI Indexes
Now you can just restart your new Apache:
$ sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 force-reload
You can test it out by using phpinfo(). Enjoy your new and cool Apache+PHP!
Thanks for the info. Just what I needed to get apache set up the way I wanted it.
BTW...I had to move FCGIWrapper /usr/lib/cgi-bin/php5 .php inside my <virtualhost><directory>.
Mark
Hey your Captcha is challenging. Distinguishing between upper/lower case on some letters.
I am getting lots and lots of 503 errors after doing this. When a few clients are hitting the machine at the same time - it doesn't take long for "503"s to be the only response. Has anyone seen this with this setup?
Thanks for the information but
Apache gives this error on reload.
************************************
FCGIWrapper not allowed here
failed!
************************************
i put
AddHandler fcgid-script .php
FCGIWrapper /usr/lib/cgi-bin/php5 .php
as mentioned above.
@bcg:
In file /etc/apache2/mods-available/fcgid.conf, you may add the following lines:
IPCCommTimeout 3600@Ravi:
Sorry those lines aren't complete. I have updated my blog.
Hi Ivan -
I had a similar issue with apache and php, sure with I had seen your post before I spent days trying to find a solution!
@cell phone: so datahawk.com is now using fcgid? thanks for coming into my blog.
"But heck, when I tried to install apache2-mpm-worker, my Ubuntu start whining about wanting to uninstall my libapache2-mod-php5. I found out that PHP5 module is not compatible with multithreading version of Apache. It only want the prefork version."
This is inaccurate. The _Ubuntu_ build of mod_php is not built with thread safety. PHP5 is perfectly capable of running with Apache 2 in worker. Frankly, IMO, if you are running a web server that you rely on, you should be building your own binaries or using a distro like Gentoo that allows you to build them based on their USE flags.
@Brian: thanks for your information. but i'm lazy and i hate compiling stuff. :D
Mr. Moon maybe wants to discuss with this guy:
http://neosmart.net/blog/2008/dont-believe-the-lies-php-isnt-thread-safe...
Ivan, you are a hero. I've been scouring the Internet, following endless complicated fcgi tutorials, and yours is the first that's actually worked. Thanks!
Now if I can just get it working with suexec I'm all sorted.
Works like a charm. Thanks Ivan