PHP web servers: Apache, Nginx, PHP-FPM, and IIS

PHP can work either as a CLI scrip or a as module for a web server.

There are several web server options available for using PHP.

• Apache HTTP Server: Apache is one of the most widely used web servers and supports PHP through the use of the mod_php module.
• Nginx: Nginx is a high-performance web server known for its scalability and efficient handling of concurrent connections. It can be used with PHP via FastCGI or PHP-FPM (FastCGI Process Manager).
• IIS: IIS is the web server provided by Microsoft for Windows-based servers. It can run PHP applications using the PHP module or PHP-FPM.
• Lighttpd: Lighttpd is a lightweight web server designed for speed and efficiency. It can be used with PHP through FastCGI.

Apache vs Nginx in practice

Further reading: open_in_new Apache vs Nginx: a practical view .

Summary: Nginx handles thousands of concurrent connections easily, stays lightweight, and excels at serving static files.

Apache

• Flexibility — dynamically loadable modules (many language interpreters).
• MPM modules for multiprocessing:
  • mpm_prefork
  • mpm_worker
  • mpm_event

Nginx

• Handles on the order of 10,000 concurrent connections.
• Lightweight and very strong for static content.
• Designed to hand off dynamic requests to other software (PHP-FPM, uWSGI, etc.).

Administrators often pick Nginx for efficient resource use and responsiveness under load, and because it works well as both a web server and a reverse proxy.

To run PHP behind Nginx, use one of: HTTP, FastCGI, SCGI, uWSGI, or memcache.

Further reading: open_in_new Nginx, PHP-FPM — what is it?