In this article, we will have explained the necessary steps to install and configure PHP OPcache on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. Before continuing with this tutorial, make sure you are logged in as a user with sudo privileges. All the commands in this tutorial should be run as a non-root user.
OPcache is an Apache module for the PHP interpreter. It is used to increase performance by storing precompiled scripts in shared memory space. It is a caching module built into PHP. When it is enabled, it surprisingly increases the performance of PHP-based websites.
Prerequisite:
- Operating System with Ubuntu 20.04
- Server IPv4 Address with Superuser Privileges (Root Access)
- Gnome Terminal for Linux Desktop
- PuTTy SSH client for Windows or macOS
- Powershell for Windows 10/11
- Familiar with APT Commands
Install PHP OPcache on Ubuntu 20.04
Step 1. First, before you start installing any package on your Ubuntu server, we always recommend making sure that all system packages are updated.
sudo apt update sudo apt upgrade
Step 2. Install PHP OPcache on the Ubuntu system.
- Install Opcache with Apache.
You will need to install Apache, PHP, and other PHP extensions to your server:
sudo apt install apache2 libapache2-mod-php php php-cli php-opcache
Once the Opcache is installed, edit the php.ini file to enable the Opcache extension:
nano /etc/php/7.4/apache2/php.ini
Add the following lines:
opcache.enable=1 opcache.memory_consumption=512 opcache.max_accelerated_files=3000 opcache.revalidate_freq=200
Save and close the file then restart the Apache service:
sudo systemctl restart apache2
- Install Opcache with Nginx.
Now install the Opcache extension with the following command:
sudo apt install nginx php-fpm php-cli php-opcache
Next, you will need to enable the PHP OPcache by editing php.ini file:
nano /etc/php/7.4/fpm/php.ini
Change the following lines:
opcache.enable=1 opcache.memory_consumption=512 opcache.max_accelerated_files=3000 opcache.revalidate_freq=200
Save and close the file then restart the Nginx service:
sudo systemctl restart php7.4-fpm sudo systemctl restart nginx
You can now verify the PHP OPcache installation with the following command:
php -i | grep opcache
You should get the following output:
/etc/php/7.4/cli/conf.d/10-opcache.ini, opcache.blacklist_filename => no value => no value opcache.consistency_checks => 0 => 0 opcache.dups_fix => Off => Off opcache.enable => On => On opcache.enable_cli => Off => Off opcache.enable_file_override => Off => Off opcache.error_log => no value => no value opcache.file_cache => no value => no value opcache.file_cache_consistency_checks => 1 => 1 opcache.file_cache_only => 0 => 0 opcache.file_update_protection => 2 => 2 opcache.force_restart_timeout => 120 => 120
That’s all you need to do to install PHP OPcache on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Focal Fossa. I hope you find this quick tip helpful. For further reading on PHP OPcache, please refer to their official knowledge base. If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below.