PHP-FPM (PHP FastCGI Process Manager), it is a process manager for PHP that is designed to optimize and manage the execution of PHP scripts in a web server environment.
FastCGI (Fast Common Gateway Interface) is a protocol for interfacing external applications with web servers. It allows for the separation of the web server and the PHP interpreter, improving performance and providing more flexibility.
PHP-FPM acts as a process manager for PHP scripts. It manages the execution of PHP processes in a more efficient way than traditional CGI (Common Gateway Interface) or mod_php (an Apache module for PHP). PHP-FPM can handle a pool of PHP processes, each capable of processing PHP scripts concurrently.
Key features
PHP-FPM is designed to be faster and more efficient than other PHP handlers. It processes PHP scripts asynchronously, reducing the overhead associated with starting and stopping PHP processes for each request.
PHP-FPM maintains a pool of worker processes that are ready to execute PHP scripts. This allows for better resource utilization and faster response times, as there is no need to start a new process for each incoming request.
PHP-FPM provides features for controlling and managing resources, such as process priority, timeouts, and the number of processes in the pool. This helps optimize server performance and prevents resource exhaustion.
Configuration
PHP-FPM has its own configuration file where you can define settings for the process manager. The configuration file is typically located in a directory like /etc/php-fpm.conf or /etc/php/{version}/fpm/php-fpm.conf. This file allows you to customize various aspects of PHP-FPM, such as the number of processes, user and group settings, and more.
Integration with web servers
PHP-FPM is commonly used with web servers like Nginx or Apache. When a web server receives a request for a PHP script, it forwards that request to the PHP-FPM process manager for execution. PHP-FPM then processes the script and returns the result to the web server, which delivers it to the client.
In summary, PHP-FPM is a process manager for PHP that enhances the performance and scalability of PHP-based web applications by efficiently managing the execution of PHP scripts in a web server environment.