Valkey and Redis #

This page is for hosting companies that run Redis or Valkey and want to offer it to Exponential sites, for speed or for sites served from several web nodes. It answers: what the sevenx_valkey_cache extension moves into Redis or Valkey, how to set it up, how several customers can share one server without seeing each other's keys, and what the limits are. The source is sevenx_valkey_cache: Redis and Valkey cache backend.

Contents #

1. What it stores
2. Requirements
3. Setting it up
4. Settings
5. Several customers on one server
6. Clearing
7. What it does not cover
8. Checklist

What it stores #

The extension replaces disk storage for:

• {valkey-block ...} template blocks;
• the content view cache (content/view full view);
• the compiled INI cache, which "removes the per-request touches of var/cache/ini/*.php and makes INI caches safe for clusters".

Entries have TTL-based expiry, generation locks against cache stampedes, and reverse node and subtree indexes, so publishing content purges exactly the entries it affects. The kernel calls the extension only when its classes exist, so a site without it pays nothing; on a miss or when disabled, the kernel falls back to the files as before.

Requirements #

• Exponential 6.0.15 or later (its kernel calls the extension's hooks).
• The PHP redis extension, in every PHP that serves the site (the PHP-FPM pool, or Velocity's PHP) and in the command-line PHP that runs cron jobs and cache clears.
• A reachable Redis or Valkey server.

Setting it up #

1. Install and activate the extension:

   composer require se7enxweb/sevenx_valkey_cache

   # settings/override/site.ini.append.php
   [ExtensionSettings]
   ActiveExtensions[]=sevenx_valkey_cache

2. Configure the connection in settings/override/valkeycache.ini.append.php:

   [ValkeyCacheSettings]
   Host=127.0.0.1
   Port=6379
   Database=0
   KeyPrefix=sevenx_valkey_cache:
   InstallationHash=auto
   DefaultTTL=3600
   LockTTL=30
   Persistent=disabled
   LocalCache=enabled
   IniCache=enabled

3. Regenerate autoloads and clear the caches (and restart Velocity if it serves the site):

   php bin/php/ezpgenerateautoloads.php -e
   php bin/php/ezcache.php --clear-all --allow-root-user

4. Check: request a page twice, then list the keys:

   redis-cli --scan --pattern 'sevenx_valkey_cache:*'

Settings #

All in valkeycache.ini, block [ValkeyCacheSettings]:

The content view cache entry is stored for 3600 seconds, a value set in kernel/private/classes/views/content/view.php, not in an INI file.

Several customers on one server #

The extension's own advice is a unique KeyPrefix per installation. For a host:

Size the server for the number of pages and siteaccesses and set an eviction policy; "a server outage turns into cache misses"; the extension decides how errors are reported.

Clearing #

• Clearing the INI cache deletes the INI entries; publishing purges the view and block entries of the affected nodes and their ancestors.
• The extension's page names bin/php/ezvalkeycacheclear.php (added 20 July 2026), which clears all caches through the same handlers the administration uses, flushes the keys the extension wrote, and regenerates extension autoloads. It is the fallback when Clear all caches cannot clean up after an extension is removed or a cache backend is disabled.

What it does not cover #

settings/file.ini mentions that a cache layer such as Memcached or Redis can be added in the cluster backend; that is a separate, clustering topic (Clustering and shared storage).

Checklist #

• To do: PHP redis extension in web and command-line PHP.
• To do: Unique KeyPrefix per installation; InstallationHash decided.
• To do: Server sized, eviction policy set, access control between customers considered.
• To do: Keys appear after two page views; the behavior with the Redis or Valkey server stopped tested on staging.
• To do: Support knows ezvalkeycacheclear.php.

Related pages #

• Caching layers
• Several web nodes
• Cache clearing and warming
• sevenx_valkey_cache
• Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.