PHP7 support

We've been hearing about EA4 (Easy Apache 4) since forever, but it hasn't been released.

php7 should be supported way before that. We shouldn't need to wait for EA4

EasyApache 4 will be making its debut in 11.52, which our development cycle ends in 2 weeks. PHP7 will eventually make its way into EasyApache 4, but we have no plans to put it into EasyApache 3 at this time.

Great news! So will 11.52 be in edge in only two weeks ? or is there a delay between end of developement cycle and it making it to the edge version ?

PHP 7 is currently in beta and all applications still need to check their compatibility etc.

We've tried it on our CloudLinux servers and while WordPress without plugins works fine, there are quite a few plugins that arent' compatible yet…

Development versions have historically went to EDGE after the current RELEASE version has gone to STABLE. Since this just happened yesterday, I imagine that we'll see 11.51 in EDGE in the next week or two.

The point is to include php 7 as soon as possible, once it releases its stable release (once php 7.0 or 7.0.1 is final and out of beta). I don't think people should be forced to wait a whole yearly quarter just for php 7 or any php release to be added to cPanel.

Both Plesk and DirectAdmin can do it in a timely manner and I would like to see cPanel be as competitive and up to date as their compitition.

When will cPanel have PHP 7 support? ServerPilot already supports it. So does DirectAdmin.

Hi,

We plan to release PHP 7 within the next couple of months. We're still working strong on EasyApache 4 and MultiPHP.

Thanks for your great work guys! looking forward to enjoy PHP 7

Tried enabling EA4 and building a profile there but ran into errors. Had to revert back to EA3 :(

EA4 broke my server. Had to revert back too. 13 minutes downtime :(. The problem lied with the vhost. I also dislike that there are no "easy" custom PHP compilations anymore.

I can't convert yet as i use cloudlinux 7. Plus i'm giving it time, as it looks like it still got teething problems.

EA4 also broke mine. 48 hours down.

Will EasyApache4 contain PHP7 when it'll be released?

Cloudlinux 7 isn't even supported yet, so alot of us cant use EA4.

Hi,

There are no plans currently to add PHP 7 support for EA3. Can you let us know what problems you had with EA4 via a ticket? Thanks!

Ok, thanks!

true, but it WILL be stable very soon.

EA4...... probably not so much, as no ETA was ever given...

EA4 initial version is in v11.52 which is already in stable branch. Their plan was that EA4 should be completly stable in v54 and maybe even force the passage from EA3 to EA4 in that version.

Cpanel cannot give any eta when they will support PHP 7 until this version is stable.

The last update from php:

This release candidate is unplanned and ships instead of the announced RTM for the reasons of yet additional quality improvement. If no major issues appear within the usual two-week test period, the 7.0.0 general availability (GA) release will be brought out. You can also read the full list of planned releases on our wiki.

Currently EA4 is labeled as a technology preview because of the automation AROUND the apache and PHP stack. The packages provided by it are absolutely stable.

The biggest point of concern for us involve the migration process of moving people on to EA4 and the simple WHM UI for working with EA4. There are also a few features that still need to be completed to work fully with EA4. This does not mean that EA4 is in a state that will leave your server as unstable or your web services will magically break. This means that the ease of use of EA4 for non-technical users is not where it should be yet and some issues that require a sysadmin may occur (more than I would consider acceptable).

Unfortunately these are a result of the fact that we have so many edge cases to concern ourselves with in the migration process. Manually configuring a server to meet the specs of an EA3 server is a trivial task for an experienced system administrator (installing a few packages view yum, possibly some hackery to get pear/pecl to where it should be).

I appreciate that you ARE considering edge cases and are handling this properly. Better late than lousy. I am also happy the php people are holding off on php 7 until it’s ready, though I do look forward to it. (And I wonder what the number under my avatar means?)

GA release now available

PHP 7.0 GA Dec 3, 2015

When will cpanel support be released?

Any updates?

PHP 7 GA is released for over a week now.

Did you begin working on this?

Hi!

There are some issues with mod_security & RUID2/ITK, however those are also present in EA3, but we still allow those two options to be used at once. We made the determination to make those RPMs conflict due to those issues because we wanted a chance to get them working 100% before marking them compatible.

If you were using CentOS 7, php-imap is not available. This is also not available upstream via CentOS for release 7, hence why we didn't build it out on our first pass through of RPMs. We haven't gotten time to get this built yet unfortunately.

The packages lacking are due to us still figuring out the full release process, syncing to mirrors, etc. We have updates for PHP on our testing repository (ea4testing.cpanel.net), if you'd like to use cutting edge packages. We haven't synced any packages to the public mirrors in the past month or so because we're needing to do a full testing run on the new release, but we've been deep in refactoring MultiPHP to continue abstracting Apache away from cPanel & WHM.

We also did some *major* work to the migration process for 11.54. This will convert your existing EA3 profile to an EA4 profile and attempt a 1:1 parity of extensions and modules. I think you'll have no issues upgrading with 11.54.

If you're still interested in checking out EA4, feel free to throw in a ticket wtih 'Attn Jacob P', and I'll be more than happy to check out any problems you faced and see if we can come to a solution.

Thanks for testing out EA4!!! I appreciate your feedback and look forward to making EA4 work great for you.

Sounds great, thanks for the clarification on the lacking packages :) Maybe you can keep the feature request description or "best answer" up-to-date with the latest info (like such important details about the package syncing), so all of us kan keep an eye on that.

The status of this has not changed. Please note the previous posts for updates.

Is it possible to manually install PHP 7 without waiting for EasyApache 4, or will it cause problems with the current WHM (and EA3) installation?

@cPanelJacob can you keep the 'best answer' or 'request post' up to date with the latest status? That way half of us don't have to ask for updates :)

Hi,

There is no status update. We haven't started working on this yet, so there's nothing to really add. As I've stated numerous times, once we begin working on it, we'll update this request :)

Ghehe, thanks. Then that's the status right? If that isn't clear from this topic people will keep asking.

You haven't even STARTED working on this yet?? OMG

PHP 7 GA hasn't been released yet.

It actually just been released !

http://php.net/archive/2015.php#id2015-12-03-1

WOOT! There were talks of delay due to a new OpenSSL release yesterday, but I'm glad they got it out.

Then? PHP 7.0.0 either in EasyApache 3 (No 4, because there is not support for CloudLinux) or in PHP Selector, but there is a GA !!!!

I fully agree, I'm not too fond of all the work that comes with EasyApache 4 when trying to achieve something custom.

Manual packages seems just like so much work compared to EasyApache 3's checkboxes when trying to maintain a perfect installation.

Although off-topic, but related to this comment:

A tailored package that will support WordPress Multisite, csv and mbstring with custom vhost (Domain Mapping), MariaDB + cache and OpCache is much appreciated.

If that package exists I'll jump to EA4 in less than a heartbeat!

Can't wait for PHP7 :) Have been programming on it for a while now and it's far from 2 times as fast. It's rather 5 times as fast!

many more, thats why even rpm packages are not complete... you have to wait few more months

Which ones? https://github.com/gophp7/gophp7-ext/wiki/extensions-catalog

If you have litespeed, all you have to really do, in CentOS 7, is make php7 and use the SAPI binary. There are some good tutorials on how to do this online and this would save you some time. Basically get the config that cPanel is using from phpinfo(); and run ./configure with those parameters. Unlikely you would run into problems, but some old PHP 4 code may be in your way depending on what you are hosting. I have it running here with little changes that needed to be made.

Beta? PHP 7.0.0 is currently stable. 7.0.1 is pending release in fact with 7.0.2 being planned out, while 7.1 is in early development stages.

Try to keep up.

It is not in beta. It's been out of beta for over a week.

Don't be a jerk. I know it's been out of beta “for over a week.” I meant that I did not see any reason for them to start working on it before it came out of beta, and then I did not expect them to POUNCE and say, "php 7 is out! We need to have Cpanel support NOW!!!!!”

They should've started working on the EA4 integration once features and the way PHP7 works were cemented and only bug fixes were outstanding, which would've been late in the beta.

Waiting for the final version to start from zero is just retarded, but I reckon they have their hands full with other issues. The result? This.

PHP 7 is not still in beta.

Moderator note: There is no need for name calling.

Thank you. I personally value stability above all, and my experience has been that promises of x% increase in speed often don’t pan out anyway. I do look forward eagerly to php 7, but not at the cost of days of troubleshooting and server problems... and version 0.0 releases tend to have security issues as well as bugs. Starting on it now (okay, last week) makes sense to me; by the time you integrate it, the rough edges should have been taken off and it'll be ready for actual use.

Well PHP 7.0.0 Released December 3, 2015

I am looking forward to it as it will be stable for cPanel users and general applications that would support it.

PHP 7.0.1 Released

I am hoping they will wait for PHP 7.0.1 bugfix release expected Dec. 24th since this has resolved some major issues with PHP 7. Its not hard to compile PHP 7 with a SAPI wrapper and deploy it, so I would not expect it to take long for WHM/cPanel to actually add support for it, really.

"take months to implement properly" ?

I've found this page that explains how to install php 7 in like 5 minutes...

https://www.codepunker.com/blog/how-to-install-php-7-on-a-cpanel-whm-driven-server-without-breaking-everything

I don't understand why it would take cpanel "months" to support it officially.

The above tutorial looks easy enough. Wonder how much longer before cPanel officially supports this or would it be worth adding similar to the way it was done above?

Thanks for the update. Are you thinking weeks or months until the 11.54 update is released? Are we looking at February, March, April, May, or June?

We all work with software, so we understand that delays happen with new code but any kind of ETA would be helpful.

Thanks!

11.54 == cPanel 54, which is already released, so I guess an incremental release in it, like maybe cPanel 54.1

Hi Michael,

Unfortunately I'm not able to provide a date or a deadline for this. We're working on it, and we'll be releasing it when it's fully complete, or in a place where it's usable for end users. I've learned the hard way (missed deadlines, upset customers) to not give dates or a time period for new software / features :) We hope to be complete in the next few weeks with it, but as I stated, I'm not able to give a definite ETA at this time.

Sorry sir!

Thanks. Even that rough ETA of a few weeks gives us some visibility. I promise to not to start a revolt if it takes a little longer :)

You can set which PHP you want on a per-domain basis with our MultiPHP Manager that comes with EasyApache 4.

https://documentation.cpanel.net/display/ALD/MultiPHP+Manager

It takes some time to propagate to your mirrors :)

Are you running EasyApache 4? If so, it should be there. We've updated our mirrors and seeds, so everyone should have it by now I'd think.

Hi,

We will not be providing PHP 7 for EasyApache 3. It's currently available through EasyApache 4, and it's already version 7.0.3.

Oh well. I won't use EA 4 until you make the interface less obtuse, more user oriented. Sorry.

Peace,

Gene

We got nothing then..... GRRRR

Hello.

Please add it on 3 too.

Thank you!

If you won't be providing PHP 7 for EA 3, Is there any plan to have EA 4 available for CloudLinux? We already have CloudLinux 7.1 installed over CentOS 7 but it reports as below:

EasyApache 4 requires either CentOS 6 or higher or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 or higher. EasyApache 4 does not supportCloudLinux. You must upgrade your system to a compatible operating system before you can migrate to EasyApache 4.

Wordpress is compatible with PHP7, but some plugins and themes may not be yet

Joomla support will come with 3.5, but extension compatibility is another matter

Hi Tony,

I have on my backlog to get PHP 5.6 provided for CentOS 5 systems. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get to it, but it's definitely something I want to provide. However, PHP 7 will only be available for EasyApache 4, which isn't available for CentOS 5. You'll need to have those systems upgraded (I'd recommend CentOS 7) to use EA4.

Glad to hear we will get PHP 5.6 eventually Jacob.

While I understand the push to move away from EL5, cPanel needs to stop treating it like a red headed step child until it is officially EOL. Not properly supporting an OS that is listed as supported through EOL is simply not good enough when hundreds of thousands of servers are still relying on that version and paying for cPanel to support it.

The only issue I have seen used as an explanation for the poor level of support over the past year for EL5 is the lack of modern OpenSSL provided by the distro. This is such a simple issue to get around with an alternate installation to /opt/openssl (just like /opt/curlssl) which is what many have had to do manually to maintain PCI compliance or site/application/payment gateway compatibility.

While it would take little work from cPanel to include this, it would greatly help a large number of hosts that are paying cPanel for support (license) for EL5 which is really only receiving partial support from cPanel lately.

There isn't anything preventing mod_geoip usage with EasyApache 4. If you'e had issue installing it, I'd recommend opening a ticket. We don't have to provide a mod_geoip package for it to be used in EA4, you can compile it from source (or install EPEL packages) and configure Apache.

Custom modules are allowed. You'll need to either build and distribute an RPM, or build from source on your server.

I also initially had issues with php56 (should be the same for php70) but I managed to iron them out

https://forums.cpanel.net/threads/php-fpm-503-errors-ea4.518771/#post-2095621

Make sure your ProxyPassMatch in the fpm.conf of the domain in question is configured properly

thanks solved my problem was package conflict :)

Hi Richard,

EA4 is in beta atm. There's a couple more things we need to get working before it's 'Stable', including CL (they are almost done I think) and PECL / PEAR. We only have a few weeks left in our 56 development cycle, and I don't think we'll be ready for "STABLE" in 56, but more like 58.

We haven't looked at http2 for EA4 yet unfortunately.

I hope this helps!

I've been actively involved with mod_h2 development. Upcoming Apache 2.4.19 is definitely a preferred target, since a boatload of issues have been fixed since the module was introduced in 2.4.18.

I've been running latest mod_h2 on a production server for a couple of months and once the initial quirks got worked out, I'm very happy with the improvement this provides over legacy HTTP/1.x.

My assumption was that h2 would be supported out of the box because EA supports Apache 2.4.18+

So apparently it seems this isn't that easy? :)

Hi,

This is what EasyApache 4 is for, it allows you to run multiple PHP versions on a system and assign those versions to accounts. https://documentation.cpanel.net/display/EA4/How+to+Install+or+Uninstall+EasyApache+4

This feature request is about PHP 7. I'd recommend opening a new feature request for MOD_HTTP2 for EasyApache 4.

There already was a feature request for mod_h2, which actually is marked as completed already:

https://features.cpanel.net/topic/mod_h2-apache-http2-support

Correct, PHP 7.0 is only available for EasyApache 4.

Any idea when these extensions will became available on EA4?

“Cpanel::Easy::Apache::Access” ignored since it does not have an RPM.

“Cpanel::Easy::Apache::MemCache” ignored since it does not have an RPM.

“Cpanel::Easy::PHP5::FileInfo” ignored since it does not have an RPM.

“Cpanel::Easy::Speed” ignored since it does not have an RPM.

mod_access is provided by default now.

mod_memcache can be built on it's own with pecl-memcache

PHP5 :: FileInfo is now provided by default via PHP.

Is 'Cpanel::Easy::Speed' pagespeed? If so, you can compile this from source (you might need to install httpd-tools package from EA repositories for apxs and such).

switching to EA4 now! thanks!

Though EA4 is still officially beta, we think it is completely stable enough for a production server. We're working really hard to get it pushed to 'stable' / 'production ready' next release (v58). The only things stopping us right now are PEAR/PECL issues (which is currently targeted for v58), the Include Editors don't work (we're hoping to fix that v56), and CloudLinux doesn't have official support for EA4 yet (but we're hoping that will be corrected within a month or so).

If none of those affect you, I'd highly recommend checking it out! Worst case, you experience issues, and you can revert very quickly. However if you do experience issues, let us know (https://tickets.cpanel.net/) so we can help you out with them. We've got 95% of the use cases working great, we're working on the edge cases right now :)

This is also a good spot to check on the status of EA4:

https://documentation.cpanel.net/display/EA4/Current+Status+of+EasyApache+4

Thanks for the update. What's the exact "revert" procedure if the EA4 update bombs for some reason?

Aha, probably this

https://documentation.cpanel.net/display/EA4/How+to+Install+or+Uninstall+EasyApache+4

--revert Revert the system to the previous version and configuration.

I wonder well it handles everything.. what are the chances of failing revert and leaving the system in a place where only a filesystem snapshot restore will help?

These sorts of conversations are best had outside the feature request system, either on the forums or in a ticket with our support system. I'm going to lock comments on this request, but if you need anything else please feel free to email me directly: benny@cpanel.net

That's correct. It's just like any other yum command that you might right, and you run it as root. If you have any problems with it, feel free to reach out to our support team ( https://tickets.cpanel.net/ ). They can absolutely help you with any questions you have!