What are the best practices for managing download speeds in PHP applications?

When managing download speeds in PHP applications, it is important to set appropriate headers to control the speed at which files are downloaded. This can help prevent server overload and ensure a smoother user experience. One way to achieve this is by using the `readfile()` function along with setting the appropriate headers such as `Content-Type`, `Content-Disposition`, and `Content-Length`.

$file = 'path/to/file.ext';
$filename = basename($file);
$size = filesize($file);

header('Content-Type: application/octet-stream');
header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="' . $filename . '"');
header('Content-Length: ' . $size);

readfile($file);
exit;