The issue: Compiling PHP code takes a lot of time Your PHP code is recompiled on every request Even if it takes only 0.5 sec per request, this are more than 2 minutes for 250 requests Compiling a script takes sometimes longer than executing it The solution: OP code caches Zend engine compiles PHP code into OP codes before executing it The generated OP codes do not change until you change the script An OP code cache saves you from the compile step Recommendation: OP code caches APC (open source) http://pecl.php.net/APC Zend performance suite (commercial) http://zend.com mmCache (deprecated) http://turck-mmcache.sourceforge.net/