Re: [Phplib-users] OT: Virtual server setup/performance

[Richard A. <rh...@ju...>]

At 9:59 AM -0500 13/3/02, Mike Green wrote:

>In the other approach the hosting service has one instance of Apache per
>physical server. All virtually hosted sites are handled by one
>httpd.conf file. This file cannot obviously be available to anyone but
>the hosting service. The ability to enable site owners to make
>configuration changes for their virtually hosted sites is accomplished
>by pointing the AccessConfig directive for their virtual host to a
>directory in their space. They can then add whatever directives they
>need to configuration files in this directory.

I run a server with a few hundred virtual domains and this is the
approach I use. One global httpd.conf and the users can override
settings in their own .htaccess.

My feeling is that the current docs are misleading in the way they tell
you to add auto_prepend_file to the php.ini file. This may have been
the best way to set it up many years ago when only real hackers used
PHP and they all demanded full access to the server config. But it is
no longer the case that this generally possible.

I have proposed that the "auto_prepend_file" method becomes an
alternative, with the primary configuration method being to set the
path in $_PHPLIB["libdir"]. This method is guaranteed to always work,
and is much simpler to explain and set up than editing php.ini.


>The net result for configuration would seem to be (at least nearly) the
>same in both cases. What I would like to elicit here are some (more or
>less) objective pros and cons for the two approaches. It would be
>particularly interesting to hear of significant performance differences
>for the two approaches, since that is one of major reasons I am being
>given by one hosting service to choose their approach.

Well, having a bunch of httpd processes for each virtual server seems
to me to be a ridiculously inefficient use of system resources. I have
some sites which may not get hit at all for hours at a time especially
the PHPLIB ones which are often only accessed during local business
hours. Why should I have 6 httpd processes sitting idle waiting for a
hit?

But I guess if you have venture capital to burn, more machines and more
RAM is a better way to use it than fast cars and business trips.

 ...R.