FastCGI seems to cause strange side-effects with unexpected null values when using INPUT_SERVER and INPUT_ENV with this function. You can use this code to see if it affects your server:
<?php
var_dump($_SERVER);
foreach ( array_keys($_SERVER) as $b ) {
var_dump($b, filter_input(INPUT_SERVER, $b));
}
echo '<hr>';
var_dump($_ENV);
foreach ( array_keys($_ENV) as $b ) {
var_dump($b, filter_input(INPUT_ENV, $b));
}
?>
If you want to be on the safe side, using the superglobal $_SERVER and $_ENV variables will always work. You can still use the filter_* functions for Get/Post/Cookie without a problem, which is the important part!