PHP via FastCGI under Arch Linux

The Apache web server can be run in two modes: prefork and threaded. Threaded is far more efficient from a memory standpoint, however, PHP is not generally threadsafe and therefore canot easily be used with threaded Apache with mod_php. Using a wrapper like FastCGI allows easy use of PHP with threaded Apache. Here is how to configure it in Arch Linux.

First, install PHP, Apache, and FastCGI.

# pacman -S apache php-cgi mod_fcgid

FastCGI needs a wrapper or else suexec will get angry, so create one in /srv/http:

# mkdir /srv/http/fcgi-bin.d/php5-default
# ln -s /usr/bin/php-cgi /srv/http/fcgi-bin.d/php5-default/php-fcgi-wrapper

Create the FastCGI Apache configuration file /etc/httpd/conf/extra/php5-fcgid.conf with the following content:

<file - php5-fcgid.conf> <IfModule !mod_php4.c> <IfModule !mod_php4_filter.c> <IfModule !mod_php5.c> <IfModule !mod_php5_filter.c> <IfModule !mod_php5_hooks.c> <IfModule mod_actions.c> <IfModule mod_alias.c> <IfModule mod_mime.c> <IfModule mod_fcgid.c>

  # Path to php.ini – defaults to /etc/phpX/cgi
  DefaultInitEnv PHPRC=/etc/php
  
  # Number of PHP childs that will be launched. Leave undefined to let PHP decide.
  #DefaultInitEnv PHP_FCGI_CHILDREN 3
  
  # Maximum requests before a process is stopped and a new one is launched
  #DefaultInitEnv PHP_FCGI_MAX_REQUESTS 5000
  
  # Define a new handler "php-fcgi" for ".php" files, plus the action that must follow
  AddHandler php-fcgi .php
  Action php-fcgi /fcgi-bin/php-fcgi-wrapper
  
  # Define the MIME-Type for ".php" files
  AddType application/x-httpd-php .php
  
  # Define alias "/fcgi-bin/". The action above is using this value, which means that
  # you could run another "php5-cgi" command by just changing this alias
  Alias /fcgi-bin/ /srv/http/fcgi-bin.d/php5-default/
  
  # Turn on the fcgid-script handler for all files within the alias "/fcgi-bin/"
  <Location /fcgi-bin/>
      SetHandler fcgid-script
      Options +ExecCGI
  </Location>

</IfModule> </IfModule> </IfModule> </IfModule> </IfModule> </IfModule> </IfModule> </IfModule> </IfModule> </code>

Now, add the necessary information to /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf to load FastCGI:

LoadModule fcgid_module modules/mod_fcgid.so
Include conf/extra/php5_fcgid.conf

Finally, restart apache:

# rc.d restart httpd

• FastCGI
• Apache mod_fcgid
• Using PHP with mod_fcgid (typo3.org)