CloudFoundry PHP Example Application: pgbouncer

This is an example application which also runs pgbouncer for Postgres connection pooling.

This is an example of how it's possible to run an additional process in the background. In this case, we package pgbouncer but you could adjust the example to run one or more a different processes.

Usage

1. Clone the app (i.e. this repo).

git clone https://github.com/cloudfoundry-samples/cf-ex-pgbouncer
cd cf-ex-pgbouncer

1. If you don't have one already, create a Postgres service. With Pivotal Web Services, the following command will create a free Postgres database through ElephantSQL.

cf create-service elephantsql turtle pgsql

If you are using a different service provider, make sure that you edit .profile and change the provider name.

1. Push it to CloudFoundry.

cf push cf-ex-pgbouncer  # change this app name to something unique

Access your application URL in the browser. The output should list each service bound to the application and the results of connecting (pg_connect) & pinging (pg_ping) the service.

1. If there are any problems, you can run the following command to get more information.

cf logs --recent cf-ex-pgbouncer

How It Works

When you push the application here's what happens.

1. The local bits are pushed to your target. This includes apt.yml which is used by the Apt buildpack to install pgbouncer.
2. The server downloads the PHP Buildpack and runs it. This installs HTTPD and PHP.
3. Prior to the application starting, the .profile script runs. This configures pgbouncer based on VCAP_SERVICES. If you don't want this automatic configuration, you can manually specify database configurations in the included pgbouncer.ini file. The script also instructs the build pack to run and monitor the pgbouncer process.
4. At this point, the app runs which includes the processes for HTTPD, PHP-FPM & pgbouncer.

Caution

This example application configures pgbouncer so that it works. This does not necessarily mean it's the best configuration or that it's a secure configuration. You should absolutely audit the configuration and adjust as necessary for your application.

Suggestions for improvements or PR's to the example are welcome as well.