WORK IN PROGRESS – Come back later to see if this blog has been updated with some real time findings. It will be. But maybe take a bit of time. I’m just busy in the real world doing real stuff and and this install is kind of tricky stuff… I can tell you 😉
Using MariaDB (MySQL) with IBM i PHP
Following Part 3 – where we verified our installation of IBM i MariaDB (MySQL) – the next red hot, and slightly relieved, question is “OK, So just how do we use this darn MySQL Database on our IBM i Server??”
Me – with a cold coffee
Now that MariaDB is on your IBM i Power System, let’s fire it up and see if it works.
1 – Download WordPress
Grab the latest WordPress from https://wordpress.org/download/
Now let’s choose a PHP Server which will power WordPress to the Cloud
2 – Download PHP Server
Side-by-Side Comparison of PHP Options
| Feature | CommunityPlus+ PHP | Zend Server | ZendPHP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provider (and link to offering home page) | Seiden Group | Zend by Perforce | Zend by Perforce |
| Free to use? | Yes | No | Yes |
| Suitable for production workloads? | Yes, with support in place | Yes, with support in place | Yes, with support in place |
| Support | Available from Seiden Group and/or IBM. | Available through Zend Server paid license | Available from Perforce or IBM. |
| Supported release lifespan | Determined by open source community | Long term support beyond community project timeframes | Determined by open source community Long-term support beyond community project timeframes is also available. |
| Classic ibm_db2 database connector support | See this document for details | See this document for details | See this document for details |
| How to acquire and install? | Install as RPM from Seiden Group | Download from Perforce portal. Installed as IBM i Licensed Program (LPP) or an IBM i RPM | Install as RPM from Perforce’s repository |
| Available PHP extensions | full list here. Others available upon request. | Contact Perforce | full list here |
| IBM i toolkit included with distribution | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Can integrate with IBM’s integrated Apache HTTP Server? | Yes (can be automatically configured) | Yes | Yes (automatically done by installer) |
| Can integrate with the Nginx HTTP Server | Yes (requires manual setup) | Yes (requires manual setup) | Yes (requires manual setup) |
| Database connectivity | PDO_ODBC or odbc, requires setup of ODBC driver ibm_db2 or PDO_IBM modules (included) | PDO_ODBC or odbc if 64bit, requires setup of ODBC driver ibm_db2 or PDO_IBM modules (included) | PDO_ODBC or odbc, requires setup of ODBC driver ibm_db2 or PDO_IBM modules (PDO_IBM module requires manual build) |
| Bit modes available | 64bit | 32bit (LPP) 64bit (RPM) | 64bit |
| Compatible with Zend Framework | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Can run inside a chroot-based container? | Yes (doc) | No | Yes |
| Comes with 5250 management interfaces | No | Yes | No |
| Comes with preconfigured subsystems for job management | No | Yes | No |
| Performance tools | xdebug | Zend Server performance tools | xdebug |
| Comes with Zend Server interface for deploying and monitoring applications | No | Yes | No |
Choices… Choices…. Choices….
I’ve opted for the Seiden CommunityPlus+ PHP Server
To install Seiden CommunityPlus+ PHP, follow these steps:
STEP 1: Make sure your IBM i Open Source environment is properly set up.
STEP 2: Install CommmunityPlus+ PHP RPMs. (The document password is seidenrpms)
STEP 3: Set up an Apache web server instance: automatically with our siteadd utility or manually
STEP 4: Configure common settings such as PHP error logging and mail(), if needed.
Hi Nick, hope your well? Did you manage to get any further on this project, as it was just starting to get very interesting 😉 & I had already installed PHP, MariaDB many moons ago and curious if WordPress worked.