PHP session variables on nested Apache request

[arst]

Configuring Apache/PHP is not my usual occupation, so bear with me if I make some mistakes.

 

The scenario is this one:

1 - The web server gets a SOAP WSDL request from a browser (something like http://localhost/magento/api/?wsdl)

2 - While processing this request in PHP, the PHP script makes another server request to get the WSDL data: http://www.mysite.se/magento/api/index/index/wsdl/1/?SID=9xeZigrCy3hPF.... And the host www.mysite.se resolves to localhost.

 

The first script waits for 2 to complete, does some processing of the result and then sends it back to the browser.

 

Both scripts (actually the same script called with different URLs) use PHP session variables. Now, what happens in 2 is that a PHP call to session_start takes very long to complete (2 minutes).

 

Searching the Internet on this topic, I find an explanation "The files holding session vars are locked in exclusive use by the script/process using them." 

 

Now I wonder:

- Is there some way to configure PHP session var handling with Apache so that a 'nested call' to the server could use the same session vars?

- I've configured Apache and PHP in default mode (Apache 2.2.9, PHP: 1.2.6). As I understand it, no separate process is spawned for a nested call. I understand that file locking works per-process. But here, the process should be the same one?

 

Some useful input / explanation is appreciated.

 

Regards

// Arne S.