LiteSpeed and OpenLiteSpeed #

This page is for hosting companies whose shared or managed hosting runs on LiteSpeed or OpenLiteSpeed. It answers: whether Exponential runs there, which rules to use, what the code knows about LiteSpeed, and what to test before a plan goes on sale. LiteSpeed's own menus and settings are not described here; check your LiteSpeed documentation for them.

Contents #

1. What the sources say
2. Setting a site up
3. PHP under LiteSpeed
4. What to test before selling a plan
5. Velocity on a LiteSpeed host
6. The page cache of LiteSpeed
7. Checklist

What the sources say #

Tier 3 means "a reasoned expectation, not a test result" (The four tiers): the project has not watched Exponential run on LiteSpeed in its own tests. "In most cases" is the honest wording; test your own LiteSpeed version.

Setting a site up #

1. Document root is the installation root, the directory with index.php.

2. Rewrite rules: copy the shipped rules, as for Apache:

   cp .htaccess_root .htaccess

   or, as the site's user, ./console exp:setup:htaccess --apply (Setting up .htaccess and config.php from the console). LiteSpeed Enterprise reads it on the next request. OpenLiteSpeed reads only the rewrite rules, only with autoLoadHtaccess on and only after a restart; put the rules in its virtual host instead (LiteSpeed example). Use .htaccess_root_static instead (--static) only when the site serves a generated static cache (Static cache).

3. PHP: 8.0 or later with the required extensions (Chapter 2), memory_limit at least 64M (the setup wizard's floor; give production more), date.timezone set, file_uploads on (Chapter 2, php.ini settings).

4. Writable directories: var/ and the settings/ directories, written by one user (Writable directories and permissions).

5. Install with the setup wizard in the browser when the customer has no shell, or with exp:install or the kickstarter where a shell is available (One-click installers).

PHP under LiteSpeed #

• The SAPI is litespeed (LSAPI). The web PHP and the command-line PHP are configured separately and are often different builds: give both the same version and extensions (Chapter 2, Command line and web PHP).
• The setup wizard's optional test wants open_basedir empty. Shared hosting often sets it; the kernel already handles the LSAPI shutdown directory under open_basedir, but other features (for example the background preload run, which needs proc_open, setsid and the PHP binary) may be refused by it (Preloading caches, section 7).
• Exponential identifies the server it runs under: the system report (expSystemReport::serverKind()) classifies a LiteSpeed SAPI as other, and the debug bar says "Served by" the server, the SAPI and the port, "not by Velocity", so support staff can see at a glance what answered.

What to test before selling a plan #

Run the four routing checks of Web servers and engines first. Then:

Velocity on a LiteSpeed host #

Velocity is a long-running process; on shared LiteSpeed hosting it is usually not allowed. On a LiteSpeed server that you control, Velocity can run beside it on its own ports and the LiteSpeed server can act as a reverse proxy, the same shape as with Apache or nginx (Velocity beside Apache or nginx). The proxy must be trusted and must set X-Forwarded-Proto (Chapter 8, Behind a reverse proxy).

The page cache of LiteSpeed #

LiteSpeed Enterprise and OpenLiteSpeed have a page cache built in. For an Exponential site it is switched on without any plugin and without code: .htaccess_root carries a commented block (## >>> LiteSpeed page cache) that marks anonymous GET and HEAD requests without a query string, session cookie or is_logged_in cookie, outside the administration, user, shop and editing views, for max-age (120) seconds. Removing the first # of each line of the block switches it on; Apache and nginx ignore it (<IfModule LiteSpeed>). For a virtual host, Plesk's "Additional directives for HTTPS", cPanel's include files or DirectAdmin's custom configuration there is litespeed-page-cache.conf; OpenLiteSpeed's cache module is in the OpenLiteSpeed example.

What a host should know before offering it:

Step by step for every panel, purging, troubleshooting and security: Page caching with LiteSpeed and OpenLiteSpeed.

Checklist #

• To do: .htaccess copied from .htaccess_root; document root is the installation root.
• To do: Web and CLI PHP are the same version with the same extensions.
• To do: The routing checks and the tests above pass on a staging account.
• To do: open_basedir effects on preload and other background runs are known and documented for support.
• To do: After each upgrade, .htaccess is refreshed from the new .htaccess_root (./console exp:setup:htaccess shows the diff; --force --apply copies after a backup).
• To do: With the page cache on: a second anonymous request says X-LiteSpeed-Cache: hit, a signed-in request never does, and customers know the max-age delay after publishing (Page caching with LiteSpeed and OpenLiteSpeed).

Demo mode on LiteSpeed. LiteSpeed reads SetEnv in .htaccess like Apache and passes it to lsphp: SetEnv EXP_DEMO_MODE 1 in a public demo's .htaccess switches demo mode on for its web requests, and security.log then shows demo/mode on ... sapi=litespeed. Recipe: run a public demo on LiteSpeed and Plesk.

Related pages #

• Apache with PHP-FPM
• Shared hosting
• Choosing a web server
• Operating system support
• Setting up .htaccess and config.php from the console
• Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.