How to run multiple PHP versions on one server using Nginx and PHP-fpm on CentOs 7

1. Install Necessary Software:

Make sure you have Nginx and PHP installed on your CentOS server.

sudo yum install epel-release
sudo yum install nginx
sudo yum install php php-fpm

2. Install Additional PHP Versions:

You can use a repository like Remi to install multiple PHP versions. Install the repository and the desired PHP versions.

sudo yum install https://rpms.remirepo.net/enterprise/remi-release-7.rpm
sudo yum-config-manager --enable remi-php74   # Replace with the desired PHP version (e.g., remi-php73, remi-php72, etc.)
sudo yum install php php-fpm

3. Configure PHP-FPM Pools:

For each PHP version, create a separate PHP-FPM pool configuration. The pool configuration files are typically located in /etc/php-fpm.d/. Create a new file for each PHP version, like php74-fpm.conf, and configure the necessary settings.

sudo nano /etc/php-fpm.d/php74-fpm.conf

Sample php74-fpm.conf:

[php74]
user = nginx
group = nginx
listen = /var/run/php74-fpm.sock
listen.owner = nginx
listen.group = nginx
pm = dynamic
pm.max_children = 50
pm.start_servers = 5
pm.min_spare_servers = 5
pm.max_spare_servers = 35

Repeat this step for each PHP version you have installed.

4. Configure Nginx to Use Multiple PHP Versions:

Edit your Nginx server block configuration to include different PHP-FPM sockets for each PHP version.

sudo nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf

Sample Nginx configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;
    root /var/www/html;

    location ~ \.php$ {
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php74-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
    }

    # Add similar blocks for other PHP versions if needed
}

5. Restart Services:

Restart PHP-FPM and Nginx to apply the changes.

sudo systemctl restart php-fpm
sudo systemctl restart nginx

6. Test Configuration:

Create a simple PHP file (info.php) in your web root with the following content:

<?php
phpinfo();
?>

Access this file in your browser (http://yourdomain.com/info.php) to see the PHP version information.

Repeat these steps for each PHP version you want to run on your server. Adjust configurations based on your specific needs and security requirements.