optimum setup for php server

Question

We have a number of servers running various different LAMP setups. One thing that seems to be different depending on who set the server up is the way PHP is configured. Some are set up to use the Apache DSO module, others are setup to use CGI. Some have suEXEC turned on, other servers its turned off. We are always trying to tweak our apps for performance but i'm not sure what gains there are to be had at this level.

If it helps a standard setup for our server is something like this:

• PHP 5.2.8
• MySQL 5.0.81
• Apache 2.2.11

Thanks.

Answer 1

I have always found that you get the biggest performance boost out of three things on a lamp box:

1) Installing a PHP cache 2) Drastically increasing memory allocating to MySQL for sorting 3) Hiring good programmers

You can also get some good memory improvements by limiting the number of threads/forks apache runs at any one time.

Answer 2

1. If you are not able to install 'ZendServer' due to some reasons: Have a quick meeting with your team and decide which modules of the Apache2 are not necessary and remove them. Also make your own PHP binaries to control what is included and what is not needed

2. If you are able to install 'ZendServer', get the software from zend.com and enjoy the highly increased performance of Zend's php optimizer.