14 DAY TRIAL // Customers relying on Windows Server, Internet Information Services, SQL Server and PHP, rather than on Linux, Apache and MySQL, now have the option of easily deploying the latest version of phpBB. This because phpBB 3.0.7-PL1 is now available for deployment through the Windows Web Application Gallery and Web Platform Installer (Web PI) on top of Windows Server, IIS and SQL Server. According to Peter Galli, the open source community manager for Microsoft's Platform Strategy Group, version 3.0.7-PL1 of phpBB has been tailored to Microsoft technologies, containing optimizations that will allow customers to leverage SQL and PHP enhancements for Windows Server and SQL Server.
One such example is the “SQL Server Driver for PHP 1.1, which provides key interoperability for PHP applications to use SQL Server or SQL Azure for data storage, and is released under the OSI approved MS-PL license and available on CodePlex,” Galli states. “It also takes advantage of WinCache Extension for PHP 1.0.1, which provides increased performance for PHP applications on Windows and IIS, and which is released under the BSD license and available from the PHP Extension Community Library (PECL) website.”
Microsoft has poured a lot of work over the past years in making PHP applications feel right at home on Windows, or just as at home as on Linux. As far as phpBB 3.0.7-PL1 is concerned, the work has been focused on boosting performance (the gap between Windows and Linux for PHP apps speed is now narrower than ever), and on SQL interoperability with SQL Server but also SQL Azure.
“This release by the phpBB community is another great example of how Microsoft is working with the PHP community to provide higher levels of interoperability and performance as well as providing customers the choice of running the applications they want on the Microsoft Web Platform,” Galli adds.
The Microsoft Web Platform Installer is available for download here.