title: Should I use Database Sessions or Native PHP File Sessions?
body: <p>I've just moved over from my own MVC framework to a community supported one (CodeIgniter).  I'm just converting my sessions over to the <a href="http://codeigniter.com/user_guide/libraries/sessions.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CodeIgniter functions</a> and am noticing that they, by default, store the session data in an encrypted cookie.  The alternative they offer are database sessions but not server-side file sessions like the native PHP library.</p>
  
  <p>Now on my site, I will be building a secure backend panel so an encrypted cookie doesn't seem like the smart option but I don't particually want to have to connect to my database unnecessarily as it's not very fast (shared hosting).</p>
  
  <p>I'm wondering what the reasoning behind them not supporting native sessions would be and whether <em>database sessions</em> or <em>server-side file sessions</em> are generally regarded as the better option.</p>
  
  <p>Thanks.</p>