Opinions Wanted: Php Version For Upcoming Server

[wolstech]

We're in the process of setting up a new server named Ricky, which will act as the replacement for the crashed Stevie server. Ricky is a Virtual Machine that lives on Stevie hardware (much the same as Tommy lives on Eddie).

 

We would like to know what PHP version you all want to see him run.

 

Stevie ran 5.3.x, and some have asked for the replacement to run 5.3 to offer a server for legacy application support. While PHP is often backwards-compatible, it's far from perfect. A lot of older software that is no longer in development doesn't work properly on 5.4 and newer and will never be updated, and thus cannot be run on our service. In addition, finding a web host that still offers 5.3 for these applications is becoming more difficult every day, and finding a free one is rapidly becoming nearly impossible.

 

Others think we should provide a multiple PHP setup like Tommy. This would basically provide us with additional capacity for stable accounts. The limitation here is that MultiPHP Manager and PHP 5.3 are incompatible with each other. If we offer MultiPHP like Tommy, we cannot offer 5.3. It will have the same versions of PHP as Tommy (5.4 - 7.1, your choice in cPanel).

 

It's also possible that we could offer a single, newer version of PHP such as 5.6, like we do on Johnny.

 

What do you all think we should do? Feel free to post comments in this thread, and be sure to vote in the poll.

[topgeardavid]

If MultiPHP wins, what would the difference be between Ricky and Tommy?

[Krydos]

The main difference is Tommy has Java/jsp/war, and ASP.net. Ricky will not have either of those. Heliohost users who want to experiment with php, java, aspx, ror, etc. that don't care too much about uptime can choose Johnny. Users who want java or aspx in a high uptime, high performance production environment should choose Tommy. Users who only want the basic lamp type setup (linux, apache, mysql, and php) should choose Ricky.

 

Before Tommy if you wanted java, asp.net or ror you had to deal with high load and downtime. Our goal when purchasing the new server was to be able to provide high uptime production quality java, and asp.net while keeping the unlimited signups and experimental setup of Johnny. Ricky is essentially just the new Stevie. Because the vast majority of users just want php and mysql we can balance them between Tommy and Ricky.

[Computer Nerd Kev]

The main difference is Tommy has Java/jsp/war, and ASP.net. Ricky will not have either of those. Heliohost users who want to experiment with php, java, aspx, ror, etc. that don't care too much about uptime can choose Johnny. Users who want java or aspx in a high uptime, high performance production environment should choose Tommy. Users who only want the basic lamp type setup (linux, apache, mysql, and php) should choose Ricky.

 

From a user's perspective, if Tommy offers everything and has high uptime, there's no reason to choose Ricky over Tommy. The only reason for someone to choose Ricky would be because it could do something that couldn't be done with Tommy (PHP 5.3), or because they don't trust that Tommy will actually be stable.

 

Unless you think that Tommy will be slower or have a significantly higher downtime, it seems that having PHP 5.3 would really be the only attraction Ricky has going for it.

 

That's perhaps ignoring that it might be easier to "catch" the account creation opening with Ricky because it will probably be less popular. but if that's the only attraction, wouldn't it be better to just to have a second Tommy-like server to spread out the demand?

[Krydos]

Tommy will need to have significantly fewer available free signups per day to keep from getting overloaded due to the extra high load services. Ricky will be a production quality server with free signups that should be open a lot longer than Tommy. We can't have another server like Tommy until we purchase another server. If we installed everything on Ricky that we have on Tommy it would barely even boot up probably. Tommy really is an amazing server.

 

The main thing to keep in mind here is there is finite amount of space available on any given server. The more popular our service becomes the more money we'll make. The more money we make the more servers we'll buy. The more servers we buy the more users we'll be able to host without load getting ridiculous and uptime plummeting. There's only so many configurations we can make. Eventually our servers are going to be identical, and your choice is going to simply be determined by which server has more free space for your account.

[bdistler]

while this thread is about which PHP versions for the new server Ricky

here is my opinion of some of controls it should have

###

 

my vote for Ricky is LAMP (i.e. Linux Apache MySQL PHP)

 

with

one account per household or individual

limit of inodes

limit of disk space

limit of databases

limit of domains

limit of Email accounts

limit of bandwidth

Limit of Cron jobs per time of X

no remote MySQL (in or out)

no SSH access

cPanel's MultiPHP Manager (versions 5.4 thru 7.1)

 

user must login to account with no more than X days from last login

or account will be suspended

the user can remove that suspension up to X days

anytime after that - the 'system' will delete the account (with its files and databases) with no backup

 

backups are the sole responsibility of the user

###

[wolstech]

Bdistler: If we severely crippled it like that, nobody would use it. It would basically make the server as useless as they are on competing providers who try to later upsell you. One of HelioHost's main goals is to not have all that nonsense.

 

In fact, we'd be competing with ourselves...if I have to wait until midnight either way, and can pick a severely crippled server or one with more functionality and not crippled, where am I going to go? Remember registrations will be limited on Ricky like they are on Tommy

 

The server is fully capable of being stable while allowing unlimited domains/bandwidth/etc. It used to host 10,000 accounts with only a limit on disk space and cron and 30 day inactivity suspensions, and it was perfectly fine.

[bdistler]

the key word here is "reasonable" limits - I did not say anything about the amount or size of those limits

 

If we severely crippled it like that...

The server is fully capable of being stable while allowing unlimited domains/bandwidth/etc.

-

while you account has unlimited addon domains - how many of them could you use when each of them has a Web site made with a CMS such as WordPress ( BTW I am a bigoted and opinionated hater of WordPress ) while your account has a disk space limit of 500 MiB - my point is - with that disk space limit - would a limit of 4 addon domains - that would allow 5 Web sites with your account - be unreasonable ?

###

[wolstech]

It may be, especially if you have multiple domains that point to the same cms install (say, a .com, .net, and .org...I run such a site, though currently on another provider). Similarly, we have several users here who successfully run 10+ sites on a tommy account with no issues.

 

The question I'm posing is more "Why bother with the other limits if the disk space and CPU/RAM use ultimately dictates how much you can fit on an account anyway?"

[Krydos]

Right now the vote is

multiphp = 16
php 5.3  = 3
the rest = 0

I think we have a pretty clear winner. Multiphp it is. When Ricky is released he will offer php 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 7.0, and 7.1 so users can pick which version works best for their scripts just like Tommy. Thank you to everyone who voted.