PHP – FastCGI Process

PHP FastCGI Process Manager (PHP-FPM) is an efficient alternative to traditional CGI-based methods for handling PHP requests, particularly in high-traffic environments. PHP-FPM has a number of important features. These features are as follows −

Reduced Memory Consumption

With the help of a pool of worker processes to handle requests PHP-FPM significantly reduces memory overhead compared to traditional CGI methods that spawn a new process for each request.

Improved Performance

PHP-FPM's worker processes are persistent. It allows them to handle multiple requests. It doesn’t need ti repeatedly create and destroy processes. This leads to faster response times and improved handling of high concurrency.

Enhanced Scalability

PHP-FPM's pool of worker processes can be dynamically adjusted based on traffic demands, allowing it to scale effectively to handle varying workloads.

Advanced Process Management

PHP-FPM offers graceful startup and shutdown. It also has granular control over process management, including, emergency restarts, and monitoring of worker processes.

Environment Isolation

PHP-FPM enables the creation of separate pools for different applications or user groups, so that better isolation and security can be provided for each environment.

Customizable Configuration

PHP-FPM uses php.ini based configuration options. With these extensive options, fine-tuning of its behavior is possible to match specific application requirements.

Supports multiple PHP Versions

PHP-FPM can manage multiple PHP versions simultaneously, enabling the deployment of different PHP applications on a single server.

PHP-FPM is commonly used with web servers like Nginx or Apache. It acts as a backend processor for handling PHP requests. It has become the preferred method for managing PHP applications in production environments due to its performance, scalability, and reliability.