Hi everyone,

Wondering if I could get a couple of opinions.

For the last 8 years I've had hosting through two different companies. And I'm looking for a new one. Both of my previous hosts ran PHP as an Apache module. At the time, I didn't know what the heck the difference is and it wasn't a major concern for me which way it was running.

However, when doing some research on here for a new company (with CPanel), I find most of the major recommendations on here are for companies that run PHP as a CGI.

1) Will I ultimately have much trouble transferring sites to my new host if they run PHP/CGI but the sites were developed on a server running Apache Module?

2) I've done lots of reading, but what is the general consensus on running PHP as CGI? Should I try and avoid it? Or is it no big deal and just find a good host period?

3) any good recommendations on companies? ;-)

Thanks for all your help!
Glenn

Most will run PHP4 as a module in Apache and PHP5 as CGI (so they run concurrently).

I don't think you'l have much trouble moving, unless you had a very specific configuration, which doesn't seem to be so

You might want to search and ask the sales department if they offer your needs and then consider whom to go with.

Good luck with your search

You might want to search and ask the sales department if they offer your needs and then consider whom to go with.
Actually, that's what I don't want to do. When I ask, I get their opinion on why one is better than the other from their point of view. I'm looking for opinions of users not the 'sellers.' I'm just looking to see if I will have any problems moving servers.

Thanks Anthony for the response.

Who is your current host at the moment and it might be the case that the users/clients are generally not watching this particular thread...

Do you have some hosts in mind with whom you want to go with..

Who is your current host at the moment and it might be the case that the users/clients are generally not watching this particular thread...

Do you have some hosts in mind with whom you want to go with..

OK, you've lost me. All I'm asking is whether making a switch to PHP CGI from Apache Module is OK.

Hi panorama, welcome to the Forum. :)

You might not get the type of replies you are hoping for as many Hosters are not using PHP5, thus, they have no personal experience to draw upon. This is true for ourselves as, like most good Hosters, one has to go with what works with their Control Panel(s) and ability to install / figure out, whatever is being added.

As to whether or not, switching to PHP CGI from Apache Module would be OK, if the Hoster already has PHP5 installed and things are working properly, then it will be up to you / your Clients, to get used to the new way of doing things. File setup / operation is different with PHP5 and some scripts are not going to work.

Easiest way to get the information you need is probably to ask the potential Hoster what changes will be required by you and what scripts will not work. I know you want feedback from people already using PHP5 and as a CGI, but if you're looking for answers in replies at a Forum, you may have to wait a long time. ;)

CPanel gives hosts the choice of running PHP4 as Apache module or CGI (suexec). Most seem to choose mod_php. Personally I would only want to use CGI because I don't like the idea that others sharing the server (and any script kiddies they let in through insecure scripts) would be able to read my php files, including database passwords etc.

The most common problem with moving to a server running php-cgi is file permissions - unsafe permissions like 777 (often required when running mod_php) will cause 500 errors on CGI. But these are easily fixed with chmod and 600 is ok for sensitive scripts.

The other issue is that Apache environment variables are not available to php-cgi, which can cause problems with features like short-url support. Some popular applications are already written to support cgi, all can be modified to work. PHP scripts using Apache authentication are particularly tricky but there's a hack available for that too.

HTH

Thanks everyone for your replies. Helps a lot.
Glenn