Apache / PHP bundle for production

Server Config
1

Hi.

Which Apache/PHP bundle is best suitable for production use?

Thanks.

2

What kind of server are we talking about?

Generally for production use it’s best to install and optimise/ fine-tune the separate components by themselves.
I’m not sure if cPanel and friends come with Apache/ PHP ‘built-in’.

3

Sorry, I forgot to mention, we use Windows environment.

I have so far, manually downloaded and installed Apache and PHP. But I am no expect, so I think it would be best, if there was a bundle available that was optimized for production usage. Also I worry a bit about, how to performs future updates and patches, in a production environment.

4

If you are on windows then run IIS, not Apache.

5

I’ll take Wyatt’s recommendation one step further. Since you’re obviously not a sysadmin, you have no business running a production server. However, knowledge is the minor part of that recommendation; monitoring 7/24/365 is something you MUST be able to do, too. It’s that last part that’s a killer.

Regards,

DK

6

You did not even try to answer my question.

7

That’s because there is no simple, singular answer.
You could download something like wampserver or xampp, but I wouldn’t run a production site on those at all.
Packages that include everything for you tend to be quite ‘open’, meaning there will be a lot of attack vectors live from the get-go.
Thus, packages that contain every bit ofweb-related software under the sun are not suitable for production environments.

That’s what David is trying to tell you: Server administration is a full-time job and a very specific skill-set.

8

Thanks for the reply. I completely agree, that system administration is important. One way to go, is to hire a full-time sysadmin to handle optimization, patching, etc. But I am a bit surprised that I can not not find any, even commercial, packages that are meant for production usage?

9

Are you talking ‘production’ usage as in running your own site from home, or as in running from a shared hosting account?

10

materix,

There is no “canned set” that any serious host would use BECAUSE each daemon is created as a separate piece of software which must be kept up to date (at least daily, preferably as soon as a new release is out because most new releases patch security vulnerabilities) {even asking such a question tells me that you’re not up to this task, i.e., it’s not a serious question}. Unless you’re prepared to go sleepless monitoring EVERYTHING while expending $$$ for the tools to monitor and update properly, use a host which has a staff that knows what they’re doing and have the tools to do it properly.

Edit:

We ARE trying to help you as there is a major liability incurred by hosts, not to mention the expense of redundent, proper servers and backup, connectivity to the internet and the software tools required and round the clock monitoring (and the knowledge to respond correctly to detected attacks). By asking these questions, it’s evident that you’re ready for any of this. While a learning exercise, there’s just too much to cover for a forum like this (Apache, PHP, MySQL, EXIM, DNS, and a plethera of other daemons). IMHO, the fastest way for you to learn is to START with a managed VPS and learn how to “drive” that, graduate to an unmanaged VPS then to a managed server and unmanaged server. You will learn a lot along the way and not incur the liability of hosting others (use a test domain so your own website(s) won’t suffer). Finally, if you believe you can graduate to being a host, buy a rack in a data center (for their connectivity) and have a go at it!

Regards,

DK

11

With production I mean running a site on remote virtual server (Windows).

12

Windows Server 2008? If so, grab the Web Platform Installer, click on products, find PHP and install it. I’d grab the mysql binaries from mysql.org rather than doing the web platform installer MySql install but that isn’t bad. For management, MySqlWorkbench (also from MySql.org) is pretty adequate.

Running Apache on Windows is generally not recommended for production use. Is there any particular reason you are trying to run apache?

13

Yes, we use Windows 2008 Server. Web Platform Installer sounds interesting. I will check it out, thanks.

The reason we are using Apache, are because of the mod_rewrite/.htaccess options, especially for creating friendly urls. Is there anything similar for IIS?

14

With IIS7 yes, install the UrlRewrite module, it is completely functionally equivalent to mod_rewrite. To the point there is a copy / paste translation part in the admin UI that takes mod_rewrite directives and makes UrlRewrite directives.

15

Thanks for the help :slight_smile:

16

Wyatt,

I’ve read that the follow-on version of IIS allows (most) mod_rewrite code to be used without translation, too.

Regards,

DK

17

Yes and no – the internals of the directives don’t change so much. But IIS’s web.config and .htaccess files are quite different. Most of what the translator does is takes the .hataccess layout and pushes things into appropriate places for IIS.

Conceptually just about all lessons apply across the board.