Advanced Configuration

Tuning for production: environment flags, cache, sessions, queues, and storage drivers. Most defaults work fine for small installs — reach here when traffic grows or you're going live.

For deeper detail, the Laravel performance docs cover the underlying mechanics.

Cache

Caching is disabled by default. Enable a driver once you have one available.

Driver	When to use	.env
file	No extra services. Cached to flat files.	CACHE_DRIVER=file
redis	Recommended. Fastest, requires Redis server.	CACHE_DRIVER=redis
apc	PHP-APC extension installed.	CACHE_DRIVER=apc

Other drivers (memcached, dynamodb, etc) — see config/cache.php.

Sessions

Sessions store login state. Disk by default; Redis recommended if available.

.env

SESSION_DRIVER=redis    # or: file, apc, database

Queues

phpvms uses asynchronous queues for slow tasks (sending email, exporting to vaCentral). Default mode is sync — tasks run inline, which can slow user requests.

If you see slow page loads, switch to database (no extra services needed):

.env

QUEUE_DRIVER=database

For higher throughput, use Redis:

.env

QUEUE_DRIVER=redis

Other drivers — see config/queue.php.

info

Non-sync queues require a worker process to actually run the jobs. Set up php artisan queue:work via supervisor, systemd, or your cron. Otherwise jobs queue up but never run.

Storage Drivers

Redis

Single Redis install can power cache, sessions, and queues simultaneously. Easiest performance win for medium-traffic VAs.

PHP-APC

Server-side PHP extension. No .env config beyond pointing CACHE_DRIVER/SESSION_DRIVER at apc.

Other Laravel drivers

Any driver Laravel supports works in phpvms — Memcached, DynamoDB, SQS, Beanstalkd, etc. Configure per Laravel docs.