2. Configure PHP

Once you have installed the software prerequisites that Perception requires, you'll need to configure PHP so that it works with Perception and at peak performance. You'll need to:

• Which version of PHP do I need?
• Enable the relevant PHP extensions
• Configure PHP settings
• Configure the FastCGI instances

Note: In some instances, if FastCGI hasn't been enabled, you won't be able to enable or disable extensions. For instructions on how to enable FastCGI, see Enable FastCGI Support in IIS 7 on Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista, or Windows 7.

Which version of PHP do I need?

Which version of PHP and the corresponding Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio are required depends on the version of Perception 5.7 you've installed.

Perception 5.7 with Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3

PHP 5.6.4 is supported for Perception 5.7 with Service Pack 1, Service Pack 2, and Service Pack 3.

Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2012 is required for PHP 5.6.4.

Download the Non-Thread Safe version of PHP 5.6.4 (php-5.6.4-nts-win32-vc11-x64.zip) here.

Download PHP Manager for IIS here.

Service Pack 4

PHP 7.1.19 is supported for Service Pack 4.

Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2017 is required for PHP 7.1.19.

Download the Non-Thread Safe version of PHP 7.1.19 (php-7.1.19-nts-Win32-VC14-x64.zip) here.

Download PHP Manager for IIS here.

Note: PHP 7.1.19 doesn't include cacert.pem, which is required when using HTTPS. If you're using HTTPS and PHP 7.1.19 with Service Pack 4, download cacert.pem here. Place the cacert.pem file at the appropriate place in the PHP file structure and make sure the variables in the php.ini file are pointing to the location of this cacert.pem file. 

Service Pack 5

PHP 7.3.20 is supported for Service Pack 5.

Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2017 is required for PHP 7.3.20.

Download the Non-Thread Safe version of PHP 7.3.20 (php-7.3.20-nts-Win32-VC15-x64.zip) here.

Download PHP Manager for IIS here.

Note: PHP 7.3.20 doesn't include cacert.pem, which is required when using HTTPS. If you're using HTTPS and PHP 7.3.20 with Service Pack 5, download cacert.pem here. Place the cacert.pem file at the appropriate place in the PHP file structure and make sure the variables in the php.ini file are pointing to the location of this cacert.pem file. 

Enable the relevant PHP extensions

After installing PHP and the corresponding Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio:

1. Launch Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager (not Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 Manager).
2. Select your server from the Connections list on the left.
3. In the Features View pane, locate and double-click PHP Manager.
4. Under PHP Extensions, click Enable or disable an extension.
5. Ensure that the following extensions are enabled:
   
   • CURL (php_curl.dll)
   • SOAP (php_soap.dll)
   • XSL (php_xsl.dll)
   • php_mbstring.dll
   • php_gd2.dll
   • OpenSSL if planning to run Perception using SSL via HTTPS (php_openssl.dll)
6. To enable an extension:
   
   • Select it from the disabled list.
   • Click Enable from the Actions pane.
     

Configure PHP settings

1. Launch IIS Manager.
2. Select  your server from the Connections list on the left.
3. In the Features View pane, locate and double-click PHP Settings.
4. Under PHP Settings, click Manage all settings.
5. Ensure the following settings are configured:
   • To edit a setting, select the setting, and click Edit... from the Actions pane.
   • To add a setting, click Add... from the Actions pane.
     

     Setting	Value	Section
     cgi.fix_pathinfo	1	PHP
     cgi.force_redirect	0	PHP
     error_log	C:\Windows\Temp\php.log	PHP
     expose_php	0	PHP
     extension_dir	This is the location of the PHP extension directory, e.g.,. C:\Program Files (x86)\PHP\v7.1\ext\.	PHP
     fastcgi.impersonate	1	PHP
     fastcgi.logging	0	PHP
     max_execution_time	300	PHP
     max_input_vars	2000	PHP
     memory_limit	256M	PHP
     post_max_size	20M	PHP
     realpath_cache_size	5M	PHP
     realpath_cache_ttl	1800	PHP
     session.save_path	C:\Windows\Temp	PHP
     upload_max_filesize	20M	PHP
     upload_tmp_dir	C:\Windows\Temp	PHP
     zend_extension	php_opcache.dll	PHP
     sendmail_from	[user@yourdomain.xyz]	Mail function
     smtp_port	25	Mail function
     SMTP	[Your SMTP server IP address]	Mail function
     opcache.cli_enable	1	opcache
     opcache.enable	1	opcache
     opcache.enable.cli	1	opcache
     opcache.file_cache	This is the location of the OPcache directory, e.g., C:\Questionmark\PHP\caches\opcache.	opcache
     opcache.file_cache_only	0	opcache
     opcache.interned_strings_buffer	16	opcache
     opcache.max_accelerated_files	25000	opcache
     opcache.memory_consumption	256	opcache
     opcache.revalidate_freq	4	opcache
     opcache.validate_timestamps	1	opcache

Configure the FastCGI instances

Note: If FastCGI has not been enabled on your server, see Enable FastCGI Support in IIS 7 on Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 for instructions on how to enable it.

Now, you will need to carry out some configuration changes to ensure that PHP is tuned for use with Perception. To do this:

1. Launch IIS Manager.
2. Select your server from the Connections list on the left.
3. In the Features View pane, locate and double-click FastCGI Settings.
4. Select the PHP entry, and click Edit... from the Actions pane.
   
5. Ensure that the Instance MaxRequests setting is set to 10000.
6. The Max Instances setting needs to be set to 10 times the number of processors you have on the server. For example, if your server has 2 processors, the Max Instances would be 20. If you server has 4 processors, the Max Instances should be 40.
   
7. The Activity Timeout setting should be set to 120.
8. The Idle Timeout setting should be set to 300.
9. The Request Timeout setting should be set to 140.
   
10. Click OK.

PHP has now been configured and is ready to use.

After you've enabled the relevant extensions and configured the FastCGI instances, continue on to step 3 using the link below.