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Windows Server AppFabric vs Zend PHP Engine comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Windows Server AppFabric
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
18th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zend PHP Engine
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of Windows Server AppFabric is 0.9%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zend PHP Engine is 1.5%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

VIJAY RAGAVAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Ensure seamless deployment and networking with a focus on critical uptime
The most important issue I've found is the blue screen errors, particularly when customers use external displays with a P-type cable. I have advised against using external displays for crucial applications and recommended using VGA or laptop adapter screens to mitigate this issue. However, the blue screen error remains a major concern because it causes data loss during reboots.
SatyendraGupta - PeerSpot reviewer
The fact that it is available open-source is the best feature
The fact that it is available open-source is the best feature.  A general scripting language should be further developed and should be embedded into it. I have been Zend PHP Engine for nine years.  Multiple people are using the solution.  Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The ability to seamlessly deploy, image, and patch without causing downtime is extremely helpful and user-friendly."
"It is very usable and easy to understand. Antivirus and VPN are the main features being used now. It allows my clients to access the network from home, which was very crucial because of the pandemic."
"The product's deployment phase was very easy."
"The most valuable feature is AppFabric's hosting solution, which is what we need for running workflows."
"Zend PHP Engine is a good tool for developing and collecting data, offering strong performance."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the speed at which it compiles and sends the dynamic cache."
"It offers good support for various types of classes, along with many open source libraries that we can readily utilize in our application development process. This gives us a lot of options when it comes to custom development solutions, without having to worry about licensing or other programming-related issues."
"​Zend Engine is the core of PHP. It makes PHP fast, efficient, and basically, the language of choice for web applications."
"The solution's initial setup process is easy."
"The fact that it is available open-source is the best feature."
"Zend Engine gives the flexibility to use external modules to easily expand the functionalities you need for your web project."
"The Zend Framework provides an easy, open source way to produce coding based on the needs of our customers.​"
 

Cons

"The most important issue I've found is the blue screen errors, particularly when customers use external displays with a P-type cable."
"Microsoft will stop supporting the product next year, and we can't run unsupported programs in our systems."
"The product is unable to connect with different cloud services."
"Its price and licensing policy can be improved. It could be a little cheaper. Licensing is sometimes confusing. There are so many different options. It is difficult to find out what to buy or what to choose for my necessity."
"Zend PHP Engine needs to improve the loading time of its libraries and make it faster."
"Its object oriented programming language needs improvement."
"Integration of MVC with ORM tools for PHP is okay, but lacking a short list of decent ORM tools for PHP to choose from; there is ample room for improvement in both areas."
"The biggest problem with PHP is you have to write lot of conditions or have to use a framework."
"Although it offers a complete environment to develop and deploy PHP applications, it has some limitations. For example, when the volume of data increased exponentially, I had problems scaling the system."
"In terms of improvement, it doesn't support concurrent processing. When we want to process anything on a concurrent basis, we have to divide it into a number of things, like a queue, or we have to run it using Cron jobs. We would like to have the capability to run any thread or process in parallel."
"The main area that Zend needs to improve is to support asynchronous programming tasks, which is facilitated in PHP 7, but not at the same degree as HHVM.​​"
"SQL queries have always been an issue with PHP, especially if you use large tables, which require caution from the side of the developer.​"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive, and its licensing is a bit confusing."
"The product is affordable, in my opinion."
"The solution is open source and you just pay for the server cost."
"No problem with pricing and licensing, as tools are open source. You have to consider training cost, mindset setup cost, as part of the TCO."
"Zend PHP Engine is not an expensive solution."
"The Zend PHP engine is open source technology, so there's no need for us to worry about licensing or other costs."
"Its pricing depends on the number of users."
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Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Windows Server AppFabric?
The product's deployment phase was very easy.
What needs improvement with Windows Server AppFabric?
The most important issue I've found is the blue screen errors, particularly when customers use external displays with a P-type cable. I have advised against using external displays for crucial appl...
What do you like most about Zend PHP Engine?
The fact that it is available open-source is the best feature.
What needs improvement with Zend PHP Engine?
Integrating AI tools would make PHP more competitive, as other tools already have AI features.
 

Also Known As

No data available
PHP Engine
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

OSIsoft
Cisco
Find out what your peers are saying about Windows Server AppFabric vs. Zend PHP Engine and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.