Hosting Requirements

Multi Host runs on standard PHP hosting infrastructure. This page details the specific requirements for different deployment scales and features.

Minimum Requirements

These specifications support basic installations with moderate traffic:

| Component | Minimum | Recommended | |-----------|---------|-------------| | PHP Version | 7.4 | 8.1 or later | | MySQL/MariaDB | 5.7 / 10.3 | 8.0 / 10.6 | | Memory | 256 MB | 512 MB+ | | Storage | 1 GB + uploads | SSD recommended | | Web Server | Apache 2.4 or Nginx 1.18 | Current stable |

Shared hosting plans meeting these specifications work for personal or small community deployments. Larger installations benefit from dedicated resources.

PHP Configuration

Required Extensions

These extensions must be installed and enabled:

• gd or imagick - Image processing and thumbnail generation
• mysqli or pdo_mysql - Database connectivity
• mbstring - Multibyte string handling for Unicode
• json - Data serialisation (built-in on PHP 8+)
• fileinfo - MIME type detection for upload validation
• curl - Remote URL fetching and API integrations

Verify installed extensions with:

php -m | grep -E "(gd|imagick|mysqli|mbstring|json|fileinfo|curl)"

Recommended Extensions

These extensions enable additional features or improve performance:

• opcache - Bytecode caching for faster PHP execution
• apcu - User-space caching for session and data caching
• exif - Image orientation handling and metadata extraction
• zip - Batch download and archive features
• intl - Internationalisation for date/number formatting

PHP Settings

Adjust these php.ini values based on your deployment needs:

; Upload handling
upload_max_filesize = 20M
post_max_size = 25M
max_file_uploads = 20

; Execution limits
max_execution_time = 120
max_input_time = 120
memory_limit = 256M

; Security
expose_php = Off
display_errors = Off
log_errors = On

; Sessions
session.cookie_secure = On
session.cookie_httponly = On
session.cookie_samesite = Strict

For installations accepting large uploads (50MB+), increase limits proportionally and consider chunked upload configuration.

Database Requirements

MySQL / MariaDB

Multi Host requires MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10.3+ with:

• InnoDB storage engine for transaction support
• utf8mb4 character set for full Unicode including emoji
• Sufficient max_allowed_packet for large text fields (16M minimum)
• Adequate innodb_buffer_pool_size for your data volume

Database sizing depends on usage patterns. The database stores metadata rather than file content, so storage needs grow slowly. A typical installation with 100,000 uploads uses under 500MB of database storage.

Connection Limits

Busy installations may need increased connection limits:

max_connections = 200
wait_timeout = 300

Connection pooling through PHP-FPM helps manage connections efficiently across many concurrent requests.

Web Server Configuration

Apache

Apache requires these modules:

• mod_rewrite - URL rewriting for clean URLs
• mod_headers - Security and cache headers
• mod_expires - Cache control for static assets
• mod_deflate - Response compression

Enable modules with:

a2enmod rewrite headers expires deflate
systemctl restart apache2

Nginx

Nginx handles static files efficiently and works well with PHP-FPM. Key configuration points:

• Proper try_files directive for URL routing
• FastCGI configuration for PHP processing
• Client body size limits matching upload requirements
• Gzip compression for text responses

A minimal Nginx configuration:

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name example.com;
    root /var/www/html;
    
    client_max_body_size 25M;
    
    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }
    
    location ~ \.php$ {
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.1-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $realpath_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }
    
    location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|webp|ico|css|js)$ {
        expires 30d;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
    }
}

Storage Considerations

Filesystem

Local storage remains common for uploads. Consider:

• SSD storage for cache and thumbnail directories
• Separate partition for uploads to isolate from system storage
• Appropriate filesystem - ext4 or XFS handle many small files well
• Regular monitoring of storage capacity

Object Storage

For larger deployments, object storage provides scalability:

• Amazon S3 or S3-compatible services (MinIO, Backblaze B2)
• Direct-to-storage uploads reduce server load
• CDN integration for global delivery

The Storage and Paths documentation covers configuration for different storage backends.

Memory and Processing

Image Processing

Thumbnail generation consumes significant memory, especially for large images. A 20-megapixel image may require 200MB+ during processing. Configure:

memory_limit = 512M  ; For large image support

Consider ImageMagick over GD for better memory efficiency with large files. ImageMagick processes images in streams rather than loading entirely into memory.

Concurrent Users

Estimate PHP-FPM worker processes based on expected concurrency:

workers = available_memory / memory_per_request

A server with 4GB available for PHP and 128MB average per request supports approximately 32 concurrent processes. Adjust based on observed memory usage.

Network Requirements

Bandwidth

Image hosting consumes significant bandwidth. Estimate needs based on:

• Average image size × daily views = daily bandwidth
• Peak traffic multipliers (often 3-5× average)
• Geographic distribution (CDN reduces origin bandwidth)

Firewall Rules

Required inbound access:

• Port 443 - HTTPS traffic
• Port 80 - HTTP (redirect to HTTPS)

Outbound access for:

• DNS resolution - Package updates, external integrations
• SMTP - If using external mail servers
• Object storage - If using S3-compatible backends

Scaling Considerations

Vertical Scaling

Increasing server resources helps to a point:

• More CPU cores improve concurrent request handling
• Additional memory supports more PHP workers
• Faster storage reduces I/O bottlenecks

Horizontal Scaling

For high-traffic deployments:

• Load balancer distributing requests across application servers
• Shared storage (NFS, object storage) accessible from all nodes
• Centralised sessions (Redis, database) for stateful features
• Database replication for read scaling

The reverse proxy guide covers load balancer and CDN configuration patterns.

Hosting Provider Compatibility

Shared Hosting

Many shared hosts work for smaller installations:

• Verify PHP version and extension availability
• Check upload size limits (often restricted)
• Confirm cron job access for background tasks
• Review storage quotas against expected growth

VPS / Cloud

Virtual private servers provide more control:

• Full configuration access
• Scalable resources
• Better suited for moderate-to-high traffic
• Requires more administration knowledge

Managed Platforms

Platforms like Cloudways, RunCloud, or Laravel Forge simplify server management while providing VPS-level control.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Multi Host run on PHP 8.2 or 8.3?

Yes, Multi Host supports current PHP 8.x versions. Running the latest stable PHP version is recommended for security patches and performance improvements. Test thoroughly after PHP upgrades as some hosting configurations may need adjustment.

What's the minimum RAM for a production server?

A dedicated server should have at least 2GB RAM, with 4GB or more recommended. This provides headroom for PHP workers, database caching, and operating system needs. Shared hosting with 512MB allocated to your account can work for low-traffic sites.

Do I need root/sudo access?

Not necessarily. Shared hosting without root access works if the host provides required PHP versions and extensions. Root access helps for installing extensions, adjusting limits, and troubleshooting, but isn't strictly required for basic installations.

How much storage should I allocate for uploads?

This depends entirely on your usage. Calculate based on expected users, average upload size, and retention policy. A small community might use 10GB over years, while a busy site could consume 100GB monthly. Monitor growth and expand proactively.

Is Docker deployment supported?

Multi Host runs in containerised environments. You'll need containers for PHP-FPM, a web server, and MySQL. Persistent volumes handle uploads and database storage. Community-contributed Docker configurations exist for common setups.