OPcache is a PHP extension that improves PHP performance by storing precompiled script bytecode in shared memory, thereby removing the need for PHP to load and parse scripts on each request. The extension is built-in for PHP 5.5+. If you want to improve PHP performance, the first step should be to use PHP 8+, which […]
Search results: php performance
Monitoring PHP Performance and Diagnosing Bottlenecks
As one of the most widely used scripting languages for web development, PHP is known for its flexibility and ease of use. However, with complex applications and increasing traffic, PHP performance can sometimes take a hit. Monitoring PHP performance and diagnosing bottlenecks is essential to ensure that your web applications are running smoothly and efficiently. In […]
PHP Performance: Additional CPU cores vs Faster CPU cores
Some time ago, I received an email from a client experiencing slow performance issues with a LEMP (Linux, Nginx, MySQL, and PHP webserver). During a full audit, I found that the server’s load average was pretty low (see below screenshot). However, the website was indeed very slow. There were some misconfigurations, but one of the […]
PHP Benchmarks: OPcache vs OPcache w/ Performance Tweaks
A few weeks ago, I wrote a short article highlighting GUI solutions for monitoring and controlling PHP OPcache. We all know that enabling PHP OPcache provides massive performance gains (see benchmark graph at the end of the article). In addition, since PHP 5.5, OPcache is now enabled by default. With these facts in mind, is […]
PHP 8 Compatibility Check and Performance Tips
PHP 7 was first released back on 03 Dec 2015. It’s been around a while! The PHP team encouraged upgrading to PHP 7, hailing its improvements such as being twice as fast, consistent 64-bit support, removing old and unsupported SAPIs and extensions, and improved fatal error resistance, to name a few. A few years ago, […]
PHP-FPM tuning: Using ‘pm static’ for max performance
Let’s take a very quick look at how best to set up PHP-FPM for high throughput, low latency, and more stable CPU and memory use. By default, most setups have PHP-FPM’s PM (process manager) string set to dynamic and there’s also the common advice to use ondemand if you suffer from available memory issues. However, let’s […]
Set PHP realpath_cache_size ‘correctly’
In 2012, I started enabling PHP realpath_cache_size and realpath_cache_ttl for performance benefits. At the time, I followed the settings I found here (has since been deleted). It bugged me that I was blindly setting the cache size without knowing how much storage was actually being used. In this post, I will demonstrate how to view the […]
atop for Linux server performance analysis (Guide)
When optimizing Linux server performance, ‘atop’ is a command every system administrator should have in their toolkit. While many sysadmins are well-acquainted with top and htop, atop stands out as a powerhouse tool for real-time system monitoring and in-depth server analysis. In this article, we will explore the ‘atop’ Linux command, examine its advantages, and […]
MySQL Performance Tuning: Tips, Scripts and Tools
With MySQL, common configuration mistakes can create severe performance problems. If you misconfigure just one of the many config parameters, it can cripple performance. Of course, the performance of MySQL is often tied to the efficiency of your MySQL queries. It’s essential to ensure that your performance issues are not due to poorly written MySQL […]
Apache Performance: Disable .htaccess
In 2013, while seeking a detailed guide on performance enhancements for a StackLinux client, I began a quest to find an article that explained the impact of WordPress Caching plugins—specifically, how those utilizing .htaccess might be less efficient than their counterparts. This search turned out to be unexpectedly time-consuming, but it eventually led me to this […]