Run PHP as a FastCGI on a MediaTemple DV 3.5 Server

If you found this article, you probably have a reason to want to move away from mod_php.  Mine was because I was trying to operate a Magento install on a MediaTemple DV 3.5 server with periodic problems and outages.  The symptoms were that the site would slow down tremendously, to the point that requests would just hang… no response from the server.  Eventually, I was able to look at server resources in the Plesk interface and this is what I saw:

The CPU usage was through the roof.  And it stayed there too.  In case you’re not familiar with Plesk, you can find the CPU usage by logging into Plesk, then going to Virtuozzo >> Resources.  So I performed various upgrades to the server to try and get this system under control.  First, I installed APC (Alternative PHP Cache) which is a handy little program that caches the compiled PHP opcode to save the computer some processor cycles.  That helped a bit, but still didn’t solve the periodic problem of server slowdowns.  I decided to install php as a FastCGI to free up some resources.  Doing so on Media Temple was not as easy as I’d have liked, and the lack of documentation made it a bit of a challenge.  Here are the steps I took:

1. You must enable root access on your Media Temple DV account.  This is required, since some of the files you’ll be creating need to go into directories where only root is allowed. Media Temple has a knowledgebase article on the subject.  Basically you click a button on your Media Temple Account Center page.
2. Enable CGI and FastCGI on the domain where this will be applied.  Here’s how: 1. Log into Plesk  2. Click on Domains on the left side   3. Click the blue VR icon next to your domain   4. Under services check the boxes next to CGI support and FastCGI support  5. Click the OK button at the bottom
3. Now your domain is ready to run FastCGI.  Log into your server via SSH as root.
4. Run the commands below (without the quotes.  replace yourdomain.com with your actual domain name)
5. “cd /var/www/vhosts/yourdomain.com/”
6. “cp /usr/bin/php-cgi bin/”
7. “chown -R username:psacln bin” (replace username with your FTP login name for this domain)
8. “vi conf/vhost.conf”  (using vi or your favorite editor, create this file)
   AddHandler fcgid-script .php

FCGIWrapper /var/www/vhosts/yourdomain.com/bin/php-cgi .php
Options ExecCGI
allow from all

9. Save the file, then if you’re using SSL on this server, run this command: “cp conf/vhost.conf conf/vhost_ssl.conf”
10. Now, restart the server: “/etc/init.d/httpd restart”
11. If you want to see if it really worked, you can create a php page on your server with the line phpinfo();  Look through the page and you should see “Server API: CGI/FastCGI”  if so, you’re in business.
12. Good luck.

UPDATE: Due to popular demand, I’ve written an article on how to cure 500 errors using this configuration. Click here to read.