Knowledge base

This guide explains how modify PHP version available for the sites of your Web hosting Infomaniak.

Preamble

• It is possible to switch from an old and potentially vulnerable PHP version to a recent version, but then go back to this vulnerable version will no longer be possible for security reasons.
• The change is real immediately and to the infinite.
• Be aware of this other guide if you are looking for information about the configuration of the PHP version used in SSH.
   

Edit the PHP version used for a website

It is possible to easily modify the PHP version used on the whole of a website:

1. Click here in order to access the management of your product on the Manager Infomaniak (Need help?).
2. Click directly on the nameallocated to the product concerned.
3. Click on ‍ More information.
4. Click on Edit:
   
5. Choose the desired PHP version:
   
6. Click on Save at the bottom of the page to save the modification.

This guide explains how to use PHP environment variables with the Web hosting which operate in php-fpm.

Preamble

Use environment variables

To use PHP environment variables:

1. Set PHP environment variables in a file .htaccess:

   • SetEnv EXAMPLEVARIABLE hello

2. In your PHP file, the name of the variable to call must be prefixed by REDIRECT_:

   • <?php getenv('REDIRECT_EXAMPLEVARIABLE');

In this example, the result displayed will be Hello..

Go further with environmental variables

It is possible to configure environment variables directly from the Manager for your entire website:

1. Click here in order to access the management of your product on the Manager Infomaniak (Need help?).
2. Click directly on the nameallocated to the product concerned:
3. Click on Manage under Advanced Parameters:
   
4. Click on the tab PHP / Apache.
5. Click on the chevron ‍ to develop the game Environmental variables.
6. Click on the icon ‍ Add.
7. Enter the variable and its value.
8. Click on the button for save:
   

This guide explains how modify PHP version directly in command line when you run PHP scripts using PHP CLI (Order Line Interface) on a Web hosting Infomaniak.

Preamble

• This can be useful when you need to temporarily change certain settings for a specific script or for a PHP session.
• If you only use the mention php below, it is the release before the one that was already in place that will be installed (last version -1): if the last version installed is 8.1, it is 8.0 that will be used with "php"). Preference should be given to the indication php-7.0, php-7.1, etc. so that the version does not change as updates are made.
• Be aware of this other guide if you are looking for information about the configuration of the PHP version defined on the Infomaniak Manager.
   

Edit PHP version used in CLI

It is possible to easily modify the PHP version used in command line (CLI) via SSH:

1. Log in to the SSH server (Need help?).

2. Create a file .profile if there is no:

   touch ~/.profile

3. Edit file .profile:

   nano ~/.profile

4. Add this code inside the file to choose the desired php version:

   export PATH=/opt/php7.4/bin:$PATH

5. Load file .profile:

   source ~/.profile

6. Check the version of php:

   php -v

Interactive mode

The file .profile mentioned above is only loaded when the user interface is used. In SSH ( login mode), this is the file .bash_profile Who's psyched. And in interactive (non-login) mode, it's the file .bashrc Who's psyched.

Some server deployment scripts open sessions in interactive mode ( non-login) and environment variables are not loaded into PATH even if the SSH session is properly configured.

In this case you have to load the php version in the file .bashrc (export PATH="/opt/php7.4/bin:$PATH"), and source in files >.bash_profile and .profile the file .bashrc (. ~/.bashrc).

After following these steps, the PHP version you have specified should be loaded into your shell environment every time you log in again. This will allow you to run scripts using this command line PHP (CLI) version.

This guide explains how to redirect a domain name directly to another or how to automatically send visitors to your website to another page address (internal or external URL).

Introduction

• To redirect traffic, you will need to act…
  • … or on the domain name itself (it must be hosted by Infomaniak and its DNS must be Infomaniak's as well),
  • … or on the code present in your pages (page .htaccess, homepage, etc.) if you have a website.

Act on the domain name

via Web Redirection Tool

The tool available on the Manager allows you to easily redirect the domain name (or subdomain) to the Internet address of your choice.

via DNS modifications or A record

Change the DNS of the domain name or modify its A/AAAA records to direct web traffic to another provider.

Act on the page code…

… via HTML code to insert

Insert this line of code between the <head> and </head> tags of your homepage (usually named index.html):

<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="5;url=INSERT-HERE-NEW-URL">

Replace 5 with the desired wait time in seconds (0 for immediate redirection).

The search engine Google indicates that it is preferable to use a 301 redirect on the server side (read more below). The W3C also advises against using it.

… via PHP code to insert

If the site page has a .php extension, insert this header function call at the very top of the file:

header("refresh: 5; url=INSERT-HERE-NEW-PAGE-URL");

… via .htaccess file

To redirect all traffic targeting your site (regardless of the page called) to another address, insert this into the .htaccess file at the root of your site:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ INSERT-HERE-NEW-URL/$1 [R=301]

To target the page that should be redirected:

Redirect permanent /ancienne_page.html insérer ici adresse URL de destination

Redirectpermanent, Redirect permanent and Redirect 301 are equivalent commands.

Here is another example of redirecting a sub-section to the homepage (this directive has the advantage of working with "deep links" unlike a permanent redirect):

RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule "old/path/url "/" [L]

Refer to this other guide on this topic.

This guide explains how to configure the PHP settings Web hosting directly on the command line when you run PHP scripts using PHP CLI (Order Line Interface).

Preamble

• This type of setting can be useful when you need to temporarily change certain settings for a specific script or for a PHP session.
• These changes will only be valid for running the current script and will not change the overall PHP configuration.

Edit PHP CLI Settings

For e.g. temporarily modify the settings for a specific script without having to change configuration Global PHP of the server, follow the method below; with the PHP CLI environment you can specify several PHP settings at the same time by separating them with spaces.

Use parameter -d 

When running PHP in command line, you can use the parameter -d to specify PHP configurations. This allows you to change PHP settings for this specific execution. P.e. to set the maximum run time to 90 seconds, the memory limit to 256 MB and disable the secure mode, you can do so as follows:

php -d max_execution_time=90 -d memory_limit=256M -d safe_mode=Off -f test.php

This guide explains how to transfer to Infomaniak data (Web, Mail, Domain, and even Cloud) currently hosted elsewhere. You obviously remain the owner of your data, without any loss or interruption!

Specific guides

Click on the link corresponding to your current host:

• Swisscom: complete guide to migrate Web, Mail and domain name

Guides for any other hoster

To retrieve any other data, follow the procedures below:

1. Guide to copy Web data (all PHP, HTML sites, etc. - for WordPress refer to this other guide)
    
2. Guide to copy Mail data (email addresses, mailbox content, etc.)
    
3. Guide to transfer the domain name (domain management, DNS zone, etc.)
    

You can also bring other types of data to the Infomaniak servers:

• Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. content: refer to this other guide
• Data on NAS Synology or QNAP: refer to this other guide

Why join Infomaniak?

By grouping your domain names, websites, and email addresses with Infomaniak, you simplify the management of your invoices and services. Moreover, your domains will automatically link with your site and email address. You will therefore not need to manually configure the DNS of your domains with another registrar.

Learn more about Infomaniak

• Infomaniak, the Ethical Cloud
• Infomaniak's eco-responsible approach

This guide explains how enable PHP-FPM status in order to e.g. debug a slow site at PHP level.

Preamble

• PHP-FPM status In particular, it allows real-time tracking of scripts that are executed as well as their running time.
• This operation is only possible on Cloud Server.

Enable PHP-FPM status

To enable PHP-FPM on a site, contact Infomaniak support from an email address mentioned on your user account to authenticate your request.

In your request, please indicate the source IP address that must be authorized.

Once PHP-FPM status enabled, the following URLs will display the necessary information:

• https://domain.xyz/fpm-status?json&full
• https://domain.xyz/fpm-status?html&full
• https://domain.xyz/fpm-status?xml&full

Attention: if your site contains rewriting rules (rewrite rules) including the path /fpm-statusIt will certainly have to be made an exception.

This guide explains why it is dangerous to use a version of PHP that is no longer officially up-to-date and how to use a newer version of PHP with a website hosted by Infomaniak.

Is it dangerous to have an obsolete version of PHP?

When you are using a version of PHP (in a short time) that is vulnerable on one or more of your sites, a warning message is displayed in the relevant hosting dashboard.

PHP language evolves regularly and when you use a version of PHP that is no longer up to date, you expose your website to security risks For example, malicious people could exploit known security flaws to enter your site and modify its content. It is therefore strongly recommended to always use a recent version of PHP.

3 statutes are possible:

• PHP version is fully supported‍: no action is required
• PHP version only receives security updates‍: it is recommended to use a more recent version of PHP
• PHP version is no longer up to date‍: it is strongly recommended to use a more recent version of PHP

Further information: http://php.net/supported-versions.php

Use a more recent version

The latest versions of PHP are more efficient and speed up the loading of websites.

Before to use a more recent version of PHP, it is necessary to take the following precautions:

• If your site works with a CMS or web application (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, etc.), it is recommended to check that its current version is compatible with the PHP version you plan to use
• if your site has been developed by hand, it is necessary to consult the official documentation of PHP in order to become aware of the modified functions as well as possible incompatibilities

If you find problems after you migrate a site to a more recent version of PHP, it may be possible to go back to a previous PHP version if it is still supported.

This guide concerns the ODBC functions of PHP.

What is ODBC?

The following are some examples of the use of PHP ODBC functions :

• Read data from an external database and display it on your website...
• Insert or modify data in an external database...
• Perform complex queries on an external database...

This guide explains how to activate on a Web hosting Infomaniak supports certain file types (.inc e.g. by PHP so that they are treated in the same way as a file .php.

Preamble

• Previously, the next line had to be added to a file .htaccess:
  • AddType application/x-httpd-php .inc
  • This prevented the contents of the file from being displayed in text during browser access instead of being correctly interpreted by PHP.
• Now you can manage file extensions via the field FPM Extensions in the Manager of your accommodation.

Manage PHP-recognized extensions

To add support for a specific file type:

1. Click here in order to access the management of your product on the Manager Infomaniak (Need help?).
2. Click directly on the nameallocated to the product concerned.
3. Click on Manage under Advanced Parameters:
   
4. Edit field FPM Extensions allowing you the desired addition:
   

Do not forget to save the changes at the bottom of the page.