How FlyingHost’s Server Stack Works

FlyingHost runs each WordPress site in its own managed container. This article explains what each part of the stack does and what that means when configuring or troubleshooting your site.

How a request is handled

A dynamic request normally follows this path:

Visitor → Cloudflare → Nginx → PHP/WordPress → Redis or MariaDB

Cached pages and static files may be returned before PHP or WordPress is started.

Nginx

Nginx is the web server. It:

• Serves images, CSS, JavaScript, fonts, and other static files
• Routes WordPress permalinks
• Passes PHP requests to PHP-FPM
• Applies redirects, headers, and custom Nginx rules

FlyingHost does not use Apache or LiteSpeed. This means .htaccess rules do not work.

Add server-level rules from Cockpit → your site → Settings → Custom Nginx config.

PHP and PHP-FPM

PHP-FPM runs WordPress, themes, and plugins. FlyingHost supports PHP 8.3, 8.4, and 8.5; you can select the active version in Cockpit.

The managed PHP configuration includes:

• 512 MB PHP memory limit
• 120-second execution limit
• 100 MB upload and POST limits
• OPcache enabled

Each active PHP request uses one PHP worker. Your plan controls how many requests can run at the same time.

MariaDB

MariaDB stores permanent WordPress data such as posts, users, settings, orders, and plugin tables.

FlyingHost uses MariaDB 11.8. WordPress connects to it locally inside the site's container, and the database is not exposed publicly.

Use phpMyAdmin in Cockpit for normal database access. Always create a backup before changing or deleting data manually.

Redis

Redis provides object caching. It keeps frequently reused WordPress data in memory, reducing repeated database queries.

Redis is different from page caching:

• Page caching can serve a complete page without running PHP.
• Redis object caching helps after WordPress has started by reducing database work.

Redis is only a cache. MariaDB remains the permanent source of data.

Site isolation and access

Each site has dedicated plan limits for CPU, memory, storage, PHP workers, Redis, and MariaDB memory.

The WordPress document root is:

/var/www/public

SFTP, Web Terminal, and WP-CLI normally open in this directory.

FlyingHost manages the operating system and services. Root access and service restarts are restricted. Contact support if you need an operating-system package, global Nginx directive, database server change, or system service change.

For exact pricing and per-plan resources, see FlyingHost Plans and Resource Limits.

Updated on: 02/08/2026