PHP exec not working on zend serveur zf2 app, but working on easyPHP

Question

I made a simple script for our webservices (a zf2 rest application) that will receive a post request with params asking the script to call a C program via PHP exec() with those params in order to send a sms via a modem and return a json response success = true;

<?php
$phoneNumber = "5145551234";
$message = "Sample sms text";


$smsAgentPath = "C:\installpath\smsagent.exe";                          //install path to smsAgent
$optionA = 40;                                                              //Request Type (int)
$optionB = $phoneNumber;                                                    //Cellphone number to send the SMS to
$optionC = 1;                                                               //Auto update flag 1 = true
$optionD = 1;                                                               //Confirm delivery flag 1 = true;
$optionE = strlen($message);                                                //Length of the message
$optionF = $message;                                                        //Message to send
$optionG = 1;                                                               //Message delivery request reference number

$cmd = $smsAgentPath . " [A:" . $optionA . "][B:" . $optionB . "][C:" . $optionC . "][D:" . $optionD . "][E:" . $optionE . "][F:" . $optionF . "][G:" . $optionG . "]";


$out = exec($cmd);

This script runs perfect on easyPHP and sends and sms the the given number as expected. However once inside ZF2, on a zend server install, all latest stable version, the page stays on waiting for localhost to response, and launches a download of an empty file after 30 seconds or more.

Reading the web, found out about the php.ini disable_functions, string is empty in zend server config, also found about apache safe_mode, could not find any mention of it inside apache config on zend server nor its php.ini. Adding the safe_mode = Off to php.ini did not change anything.

Am I missing something?

<?php
namespace Sms\Controller;

use Zend\Mvc\Controller\AbstractRestfulController;
use Zend\View\Model\JsonModel;

use BaseApi\V1\Model\Log;
use Sms\Model\SmsBase;


class SendController extends AbstractRestfulController
{

    protected $smsTable;
    protected $logTable;



public function create()
{
        $phoneNumber = "5145551234";
        $message = "Sample message";


        $smsAgentPath = "C:\\installpath\\smsagent.exe";                            
        $optionA = 40;                                                              
        $optionB = trim($phoneNumber);                                              
        $optionC = 1;                                                               
        $optionD = 1;                                                               
        $optionE = strlen($message);                                                
        $optionF = $message;                                                        
        $optionG = 1;                                                               



  $cmd = $smsAgentPath . " [A:" . $optionA . "][B:" . $optionB . "][C:" . $optionC . "][D:" . $optionD . "][E:" . $optionE . "][F:" . $optionF . "][G:" . $optionG . "]";

        exec($cmd);


    return new JsonModel(array('success' => true, 'cmd' => $cmd));


  }
}

Answer 1

After more than 8 hours on it, turns out to be because zendServer starts Apache as a service. Stop the service, start Apache manualy and on windows startup and php exec will work...