PHP Optimization Techniques for Production

Introduction

PHP powers the majority of the web, and with proper optimization, it can handle massive traffic efficiently. These techniques apply to PHP 8.x running under PHP-FPM.

OPcache Configuration

OPcache stores precompiled bytecode in memory, eliminating the need to parse PHP files on every request. Edit php.ini:

opcache.enable=1
opcache.memory_consumption=256
opcache.interned_strings_buffer=32
opcache.max_accelerated_files=30000
opcache.revalidate_freq=60
opcache.save_comments=0
opcache.enable_file_override=1

JIT Compilation (PHP 8.0+)

opcache.jit=1255
opcache.jit_buffer_size=128M

JIT provides the biggest gains for CPU-intensive code (mathematical operations, data processing). For typical web applications, the improvement is modest but still worthwhile.

Session Handling

; Use Redis for sessions (faster than file-based)
session.save_handler = redis
session.save_path = "tcp://127.0.0.1:6379"

Error Reporting

; Production settings
display_errors = Off
log_errors = On
error_log = /var/log/php/error.log
error_reporting = E_ALL & ~E_DEPRECATED & ~E_STRICT

Memory and Limits

memory_limit = 256M
max_execution_time = 30
upload_max_filesize = 64M
post_max_size = 64M
realpath_cache_size = 4096K
realpath_cache_ttl = 600

Verify OPcache Status

php -r "print_r(opcache_get_status(false));"