News

PHP Cache Accelerator for Windows Unveiled

Microsoft on Tuesday announced a test version of an extension that's designed to help speed up PHP-based Web applications running on Windows platforms.

The new "Windows Cache Extension for PHP" solution, currently in beta release, is an accelerator that works with the PHP engine in Windows and Windows Server. Microsoft released two versions. Users of PHP 5.2 can download the beta here, while PHP 5.3 users can get it here.

To add the accelerator, IT pros need to run the Microsoft Web Platform Installer 2.0 RC application. The extension works with Internet Information Services (IIS) versions 7.5, 7.0, 6.0 and 5.1, which are part of Windows Server products.

With the accelerator in place, developers do not need to modify their code to take advantage of any performance improvements, according to a blog by Ruslan Yakushev, a program manager on the Microsoft IIS team.

There are a few caveats to using this extension, the blog noted. It works only with "non-thread-safe builds of PHP." Also, IIS needs to be configured to "run PHP via FastCGI." (Microsoft is currently planning to release FastCGI 1.5 sometime this fall.) For users of PHP 5.3, the extension "can only be used with the x86 VC9 build."

The beta can improve Windows' PHP cache performance in three ways, according to Microsoft. Compiled PHP script bitecode gets stored in shared memory for repeat use. A file cache component reduces the number of file operations handled by the PHP engine. Finally, Microsoft added a caching system for relative file paths that reduces the time spent mapping them to absolute file paths.

Microsoft provides a guide authored by Yakushev on how to use the extension. There's also a forum to report bugs and ask questions or suggest new features.

Microsoft hasn't yet tested the extension with Zend Server, according to a Forum reply on Sept. 2. Zend Server is a Web server product specialized for running enterprise-grade PHP code.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.

comments powered by Disqus

Featured

  • Mastering Blazor Authentication and Authorization

    At the Visual Studio Live! @ Microsoft HQ developer conference set for August, Rockford Lhotka will explain the ins and outs of authentication across Blazor Server, WebAssembly, and .NET MAUI Hybrid apps, and show how to use identity and claims to customize application behavior through fine-grained authorization.

  • Linear Support Vector Regression from Scratch Using C# with Evolutionary Training

    Dr. James McCaffrey from Microsoft Research presents a complete end-to-end demonstration of the linear support vector regression (linear SVR) technique, where the goal is to predict a single numeric value. A linear SVR model uses an unusual error/loss function and cannot be trained using standard simple techniques, and so evolutionary optimization training is used.

  • Low-Code Report Says AI Will Enhance, Not Replace DIY Dev Tools

    Along with replacing software developers and possibly killing humanity, advanced AI is seen by many as a death knell for the do-it-yourself, low-code/no-code tooling industry, but a new report belies that notion.

  • Vibe Coding with Latest Visual Studio Preview

    Microsoft's latest Visual Studio preview facilitates "vibe coding," where developers mainly use GitHub Copilot AI to do all the programming in accordance with spoken or typed instructions.

  • Steve Sanderson Previews AI App Dev: Small Models, Agents and a Blazor Voice Assistant

    Blazor creator Steve Sanderson presented a keynote at the recent NDC London 2025 conference where he previewed the future of .NET application development with smaller AI models and autonomous agents, along with showcasing a new Blazor voice assistant project demonstrating cutting-edge functionality.

Most   Popular

Subscribe on YouTube