Install the PHP extension APC on Debian

This howto is tested on:

• Debian 5.0 Lenny
• Debian 6.0 Squeeze
• Debian 7.0 Wheezy

Prerequisites

This howto need a working PHP setup such as, for example, the one in described by Install PHP-FPM on Debian.

Installation

Install from the Debian package if it is available:

if [ -n "$(command apt-cache pkgnames php5-apc)" \
    -a -n "$(command dpkg --status "php5-common" | command grep "dotdeb")" ]; then
  # Check for dot-deb packages.
  command apt-get -y install php5-apc
elif [ -n "$(command apt-cache pkgnames php-apc)" ]; then
  command apt-get -y install php-apc
fi

If the Debian package is not available, install PEAR and build the extension:

if [ -z "$(command apt-cache pkgnames php-apc)" -a -z "$(command apt-cache pkgnames php5-apc)" ]; then
  command apt-get -y install php5-dev make php-pear apache2-prefork-dev libpcre3-dev
  command pecl install apc --with-apxs='/usr/bin/apxs2'
  echo 'extension=apc.so' > '/etc/php5/conf.d/apc.ini'
fi

Reload the configuration :

test -x /etc/init.d/php5-fpm && /etc/init.d/php5-fpm restart
test -x /etc/init.d/apache2 && /etc/init.d/apache2 force-reload
test -x /etc/init.d/lighttpd && /etc/init.d/lighttpd force-reload
test -x /etc/init.d/nginx && /etc/init.d/nginx force-reload

Installation from sources

Before installing from sources the last version of APC extension, make sure to uninstall the php-apc package:

command apt-get remove php-apc php5-apc

Install the software needed to build APC:

command apt-get install php5-dev make php-pear apache2-prefork-dev libpcre3-dev

Build and install APC:

command pecl install apc --with-apxs='/usr/bin/apxs2'

Enable APC PHP extension:

echo 'extension=apc.so' > '/etc/php5/conf.d/apc.ini'

Reload the configuration :

test -x /etc/init.d/php5-fpm && /etc/init.d/php5-fpm restart
test -x /etc/init.d/apache2 && /etc/init.d/apache2 force-reload
test -x /etc/init.d/lighttpd && /etc/init.d/lighttpd force-reload
test -x /etc/init.d/nginx && /etc/init.d/nginx force-reload

To be alerted of APC extension upgrades, read Setup a email alert for PEAR upgrades.

Configuration

The APC default configuration is sufficient. Make sure the APC extension is enabled, and turn on the upload progress status option:

echo '; APC Configuration
apc.enabled = 1
; Memory allocated to APC. Use Munin or APC Info to see if more is needed.
apc.shm_size="96M"
; rfc1867 allow file upload progression display.
apc.rfc1867 = on' \
    > '/etc/php5/conf.d/apc-config.ini'

Reload the configuration :

test -x /etc/init.d/php5-fpm && /etc/init.d/php5-fpm restart
test -x /etc/init.d/apache2 && /etc/init.d/apache2 force-reload
test -x /etc/init.d/lighttpd && /etc/init.d/lighttpd force-reload
test -x /etc/init.d/nginx && /etc/init.d/nginx force-reload

Thanks

• Thanks to Alternative PHP Cache (en) developers.