[General] PHP CGI Upgrade

We have about three servers that are not running PHP as CGI. All of our other servers are running PHP as CGI with no problems at all. We are probably going to switch those three servers to PHP as CGI sometime next week (August 13 – August 17) just to bring all of our servers to a state of more uniformity.

Running PHP as CGI allows us to lock down PHP on the server a lot more and provide greater security. We have been converting servers over to PHP as CGI all summer long and really nobody has noticed the change. We have probably converted 3000 to 4000 accounts over to PHP as CGI and had maybe three minor issues. This really should be a seamless transition.

Running PHP as CGI allows us to track script and script exploits better. It also provides better security because open directories will no longer be required. We will also be able to disable most PHP functions that are used in PHP exploits by default and enable them on an account by account basis as needed, furthering the overall security of the server. On top of all of this, it also allows us to run PHP4 and PHP5 concurrently as we look to move towards a PHP5 default standard later this year.

We are not going to be sending out e-mail announcements concerning this because we just don’t view the change as being that big and warranting an e-mail message. Like I said, we have been converting servers over to PHP as CGI throughout the course of the summer during our server upgrade program and have not receive any substantial complaints. We are making an announcement here just so that our users will be aware of this.

Scott Mutter