Best Practices in PHP Application Deployment

Shahar Evron | Zend Technologies

Best Practices in PHP Deployment

Agenda

● The PHP Application Lifecycle

● What problem are we trying to solve?

● What are the current ways to solve it?

● A little bit of what Zend is working on

● Hopefully more discussion than talk● This is what I've learned● Maybe you know better

A few things about me...

● Shahar Evron (שָחַר עֶבְרוֹן)

● Working with PHP since 2002

● In Zend since 2005● “Technical Product Manager”

● I'm not a programmer, I decide stuff ;)

● I get to play with cool technical sh!t

● My boss is in marketing (but I do not talk about it)

● I also try to contribute to Zend Framework

Part I: Broken Cycles

The Development Lifecycle

Development

● Purpose● Provide developers with an environment to

work in efficiently

● Characteristics● Should be similar to production, though it

usually isn’t● Often more open security● Error reporting and debugging enabled● Local or semi-local to the developer

Testing

● Purpose● Provide a stable environment to test

functionality on

● Characteristics● Continuous Integration could be included● Environment closer to production setup● Stable - no development occurs, only testing● Test a specific code snapshot / tag● Developers should not do the testing

Staging

● Purpose● To test your deployment process / scripting● Not your code!

● Characteristics● A specific version is pushed after it passes

QA● No developer access!● Very restricted outbound networking● Mirrors production as best as possible

Production

● Purpose● Do whatever it is that it’s supposed to be

doing (duh)

● Characteristics● Developers do not have access● Deployment should be done without

requiring developer input● Tuned for high performance and security

Bridging the Gap

developers sysadmins

What Are We Trying To Solve?

● Bridge the gap● And be able to safely cross the bridge a few

times a day

● Avoid technical difficulties along the way● Controlled, repeatable process● Zero downtime● Cluster-wide consistency● Planned recovery

Application Considerations

● Build Semi-Portable Applications● Separate configuration from code● Configuration can be environment aware

● Zend_Config is good at this● Environment should be set outside code● Default to production configuration to

reduce risk

A Quick ZF Example: config.ini

[production]log.verbosity = WARN php.display_errors = off php.error_reporting = E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE

db.adapter = PDO_MYSQL db.hostname = myhugedbcluster.myapp.lan db.dbname = productiondb

[testing:production]log.verbosity = NOTICE php.error_reporting = E_ALL | E_STRICT

db.hostname = mytestdb.myapp.lan db.dbname = testingdb

[development:testing]log.verbosity = DEBUG php.display_errors = on

db.adapter = PDO_SQLITE db.dbname = localdev.sq3

A Quick ZF Example: index.php

/* Set the application environment */ if (! ($environment = getenv('MYAPP_ENV'))) { $environment = 'production'; }

/* Or, in enigmatic PHP 5.3 shorthand style ;) */ $environment = getenv('MYAPP_ENV') ?: 'production';

/* Load configuration file */ $config = new Zend_Config_Ini($configFile, $environment);

/* Do the usual stuff... */ Zend_Registry::set('config', $config);

A Quick ZF Example: httpd.conf

Alias /myapp-dev /home/shahar/Sites/myapp-dev/public <Directory /home/shahar/Sites/myapp-dev/public> Order allow,deny Allow from all AllowOverride All # Set the application environment SetENV MYAPP_ENV development </Directory>

Part II: The Bridge of Death

Requirements

● Supports upgrading existing code

● Can roll back in case of a blowup

● Can deploy to different environments

● Reproducible deployments

● Minimal downtime

● Minimal in-house development

● Maximal consistency

Solution #1: rsync

● Benefits● Widely available and used by *nix sysadmins● Incremental pushes

● Drawbacks● No deployment hook scripts support● Basically a file-system copying solution● Does not understand versioning or context● Incremental pushes

Solution #2: Source Control

● Benefits● Easy, fits in the workflow● You already use it (god I hope you do...)● Supports versioning, pre/post deploy hooks

● Drawbacks● Requires production access to entire source

repository (security)● Usually no context understanding● Developers cross over to the admin side

Solution #3: PEAR

● Benefits● Designed for PHP, maintained by PHP folks● Very scriptable● Understands PHP context ● Cross Platform

● Drawbacks● Format not 100% ideal for app deployment● Available tooling is restrictive● Admins cross over to the developer side

Solution #4: OS Native

● Benefits● Works natively with server provisioning ● Your sysadmin will buy you a beer● Can describe OS-level requirements● Lots of problems solved by someone else

● Drawbacks● Environment specific● No tight PHP integration● Will require quite a lot of “build” knowhow

Solution #5: Capistrano

● Benefits● Clustering Support● Designed for Web Deployments

● Drawbacks● Designed for RoR deployments

● Will require some manual scripting to support PHP

● Usually has tight SCM coupling

What should I use?

● Where are you on the maturity scale?

● How much control do you need?

● How portable do you need to be?

● Can you afford downtime?

● Can you afford a non-scalable solution?

● Can you afford in-house maintenance?

Part III: Deliberate Ambiguity

So what's up with Zend Server?

● Zend is working on a deployment solution● You have seen some of it in today's keynote

● IT'S NOT READY YET!● I cannot say when it's going to be ready● It's a prototype, lots of things may change● I want your feedback!

Zend Server Deployment

● Based on an open, simple package format● Basically a zip/tarball with an XML

descriptor● You can create it using common tools

● Package includes and defines:● Code, hook scripts● Configuration, dependancies● Required and optional parameters

Zend Server Deployment

● Synchronized cluster deployments● Two-step stage / activate workflow

● Apache / IIS integration● Will define vhost / alias as needed

● Upgrades

● Rollbacks● A simple switch-back to the previous version

which is already staged

Questions? Feedback?

● Find me at the Zend booth

● Email me: [email protected]

● IRC: #zftalk, #zendserver @ FreeNode

Thank You!