PHP handler – suPHP is the default PHP handler on Mumbai Hosting Servers.
In order to run a PHP site, the server must interpret the PHP code and generate a page when visitors access the website. It interprets the code based on which PHP library you are using. A PHP handler is what actually loads the libraries so that they can be used for interpretation. PHP handlers determine how PHP is loaded on the server.
suPHP stands for Single user PHP. suPHP also runs PHP as a CGI module instead of an Apache module. It differs from CGI in that PHP scripts that are called from the web will run under the user that owns them, as opposed to ‘nobody’. suPHP is typically the default handler and is recommended by cPanel for serving PHP because you will be able to see which user owns the account that is running the PHP script.
suPHP is beneficial in that if you are using a file upload tool on your site (such as an automatic updater or theme/plug-in installer for WordPress), the files will already have the right ownership & permissions. Uploading and other WordPress functions will not work without suPHP or FastCGI.
suPHP also offers a security advantage that any php script that is not owned by the particular user (such as another account or root) will not be executable. Also, files that have permissions set to world writeable will likewise be non-executable. This means that if one account is compromised, the malicious scripts will not be able to infect other accounts.
suPHP runs PHP as a separate service that then passes the compiled code back to Apache for serving. It is technically a CGI module. The main difference, and the advantage of having suPHP, is that with suEXEC enabled it runs the PHP scripts as the user calling them, rather than as the ‘nobody’ user. For example, if an account is owned by the user ‘sachin’, all instances of Apache serving that user’s website will run as user ‘sachin’. The advantage here is that it makes tracking down websites using excessive resources easier.
Another advantage of running the process as the user is that it simplifies the overall permissions scheme. The webserver will be able to write to files that are owned by the user and not just ‘nobody’. What this means in the long run is that auto-update/install features in many CMS solutions will work more easily, and the general permissions of your file/directories is more clear-cut: 644 and owned by user and group user for files, and similarly 755 and user:user for directories.