Upgraded PHP, and file_get_contents() hangs

[BrandonK]

I am having an issue with a local intranet script that has been running problem free for many months now.  Earlier this week I upgraded the PHP version on the sever as a requirement for a separate script that was upgraded on the server.  When I did this, I did not change the php.ini configuration, or ANY code on this script.  Now when I run this script it hangs.

 

I have narrowed down the script to a single line of code, and a even a single function: file_get_contents()

 

The return from the function is quick.  I can see the return echo'ed out and the script continues processing after that.  What does not happen is the page becoming "ready".  The page is in a "loading" stage for 3+ seconds longer than it needs to be.  My thought is that the problem lies in closing the connection with the file, but I cannot verify that.  I have tried using the fopen()/fread()/fclose(), stream_get_contents() and even some quick and dirty curl, but those all suffer from the same lag.

 

Here are come quick before and after benchmarks:

PHP 5.1.2 - 0.652, 0.813, 0.703

PHP 5.2.4 - 5.672, 5.547, 5.563

 

I am able to downgrade the PHP installation and the performance issues goes away.  I have tried upgrading to to 5.2.5 and even using the recommended php.ini for that setup, but the problem does not go away.

 

I have asked this question on another forum, but I was unable to get any solutions: http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=528407

 

Can any of the PHP gurus think of a cause of this problem?  Or maybe even a temporary work around?

[BrandonK]

My one and only bump.  I would really like to find a work around for this.  Currently, we are using a temporary work around that requests and saves an entire batch of orders at once.  The old script did it per order, as needed, which allowed for error handling.

[The Little Guy]

Please Post Your Code

[BrandonK]

Very simple:

	$promo_content = file_get_contents("http://www.MYDOMAIN.com/scripts/check_order_promo.php?order=".$ordernum);
if ($promo_content == 1) {
//this order wants a promotional item
}

 

MYDOMAIN.com is not the only domain that is experiencing the lag.  Also, as stated above, the lag is not in the response, but actually when the page finishes rendering.