server performance issues thread

Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:21 pm

I'd like to get some feedback from everybody regarding your experiences with the server performance lately. I have a friend at Yahoo that will forward some info to the right people there. I'd like to have a thread here that I can show people at Yahoo so maybe they can get an idea of what's going on.

Please keep it civil, factual, and non-opinionated.

Include things like lost posts, double posts, number of error messages, and the kind of error messages, timeouts, and other such things. I know I get this one a lot:

click pic

I also notice that often the performance gets slower and slower over the course of maybe an hour, until almost nothing gets through, then it will stop altogether for a few minutes, then all of a sudden everything is dff with pages loading like the server was in the same room with me.

OK, so what do you got?

Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:26 pm

very slow to load when going from post to post , thread to thread etc. 12 to 15 sec measured by wristwatch
Sad

Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:30 pm

I have a headache because every single time that I have posted on this site since day one has taken longer than a minute to load a page if it loads at all or I have to close out the page and try again after typing the whole message out again.
The reaction time for this server takes entirely too much time to get the job done if it even feels like doing it at all.
That is not an opinion, it is a fact.

Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:41 pm

Very slow - when accessing from work <gasp>, I get "connection failure" errors reported from my proxy server. It's been particularly bad yesterday and today, resulting in double/triple posts and other weirdness.
For Instance:

Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 5:28 pm

slow very slow signing in

and sometimes it gives me a server error on sign in

i would not want dial up on this server

Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 5:33 pm

I've been having problems with:

* Extremely slow page loading (15-20 seconds or more)
* Pages that don't download at all and instead trigger a download screen on my computer that asks me if I want to download a file called "modules.php"
* An "Internal Server Error" screen like Gene posted above
* Double or even triple posts when the above "server error" screen appears
* When I click the "View posts since last visit" screen, I frequently get reports that there are no new posts, even when I can find dozens of new posts manually.

Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 6:34 pm

Quote:

also notice that often the performance gets slower and slower over the course of maybe an hour, until almost nothing gets through, then it will stop altogether for a few minutes, then all of a sudden everything is dff with pages loading like the server was in the same room with me.

Same here Gene.

I have learned when the connection error appears when posting to move on and most times the post did happen.

If it did not post, I use the back button to go back to the message and re-submit.

Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 6:50 pm

OldTimer wrote:

Quote:

also notice that often the performance gets slower and slower over the course of maybe an hour, until almost nothing gets through, then it will stop altogether for a few minutes, then all of a sudden everything is dff with pages loading like the server was in the same room with me.

Same here Gene.

I have learned when the connection error appears when posting to move on and most times the post did happen.

If it did not post, I use the back button to go back to the message and re-submit.

Yes, same here Tommy. When I get that error message, I go back twice and refresh the page. Very often the message did actually append, but the server didn't return the page view. If it did not post I then can go forward and re-submit the post. Chrome actually stores the input in the reply box so it's a simple matter to re-post without losing the work.

Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 8:52 pm

I experience most of what's already been reported , along with blank pages showing in place of a submitted post ( which usually does go through and posts ). If I want to verify that a reply did post , I have to reload , often more than once , or sometimes having to open the thread from the header page .

Slow is the most prevalent problem .

Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 9:42 pm

I also get "Page does not exist" and "Thread does not exist" when I post PMs too, how strange is that?

Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 9:58 pm

The last few days has been really bad. Very slow load time, error messages, post does not exist, debug mode, no new posts, you name it it comes up. Last night was so bad I finally just gave up was just too much work. It's just not working right.

Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 10:49 pm

I rarely see any errors anymore. If you're getting the 'modules.php' error, restart your browser. Unfortunately the 'debug' messages often require some direct invervention by either Gene or myself. We normally get to these fairly quickly. Also, for at least the past couple of months I'm seeing page load speeds in everything I do, including admin functions behind the scenes, have vastly increased. I used to sigh to myself any time I need to give somebody access to Over the Edge, knowing it would tie up by browser for several minutes. Now, it's extremely quick. Same with the vast majority of page loads. It's not just my PC or connection, either. I'm house-sitting this week and am typing this on a rather standard PC in Internet Explorer.

Finally, I really can't see how anybody can lose a post. Really, if you've spent time on something, protect yourself before posting and select it all (CTL-A in Windows) and copy it (Ctl-C). Then, if there's any problem posting, you can simply paste it (CTL-V) in a new post. Honestly, this is common practice with anything you have put any thought or time into. Should you HAVE to do it? No....but then you shouldn't have to run an antivirus or backup your important data or even have theft insurance. But we're talking real life there and bad things happen. Reminds me of the time a user I was supporting complained that he lost a very important spreadsheet he'd left open on his PC for nearly 24 hours WITHOUT SAVING. About as smart as using silicone in your engine.

Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:28 pm

I even get a message sometimes that simply reads

"Connection timed out."

Just the 3 words in the upper left corner of the screen Confused

I get occasional spurts of very snappy performance that soon go slow to nothing. It's very intermittent.

I have not found it to be any better overall in the last couple of months, but I'm on here a lot. Even when I'm not posting, I'm often here, sometimes splitting a thread, or editing someone's oversized pics, or moving a thread, etc. There are some periods of decent performance, but they seem to be shorter and fewer than the periods of unacceptably slow performance. I haven't had a day go by in a month where I haven't been plagued with countless refreshes, error messages, timeouts, or periods of over a minute between the time I click until the next screen comes up.

Usually it's during one of these slow server periods while several members are on and posting that the session table gets screwed up, which seems to leave the user table open and inaccessible. That's when the debug messages start. At that point, I am often trying to get in and disable the forum so everything will stabilize, and I can repair the session and user tables. This often requires people to login again, but hopefully gets the user table closed and intact without corruption.

So if you guys start getting debug messages more than 3 times in a row, just give it a rest for a while and try later please.

Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:45 pm

The "post does not exist" thing is a pointer in our software getting out of sync. It's a software problem, not a server error or data flow error from the host.

It is what happens when users get lost in the database from corrupted or different aged tables. This could very likely be the result of replacing the user table with a version that is not the same age as the rest of the database. There is no easy fix for it so far from the research I've done.

Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 12:43 am

ya, it seems like the server gets loaded up sometimes

Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 12:47 am

Yeah, it's loaded up alright, but it's not our little forum doing it. Even when the home page says there are 20 members online, I look in the admin area and there are only really maybe 10. The home page gives how many people have been here in the last hour or so. Admins can see who is posting within minutes.

We are small fry in data flow. The amount of bandwidth we use is miniscule. The site should rock.

Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 12:51 am

Oh I'm sure it's a bigger problem than us. I'd be willing to bet that other forums, website are having the same problems. We aren't running enough info to make that much difference

Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 12:58 am

Frank wrote:

Oh I'm sure it's a bigger problem than us. I'd be willing to bet that other forums, website are having the same problems. We aren't running enough info to make that much difference

The www.cb1100f.net site has the same kind of issues we do, we are both on the same account. We don't always have good or poor performance at the same time however, but on a couple of occasions both sites have gone totally dark at the same time. Confused

Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 9:09 pm

Here's a another error message I just received a few minutes ago:

This is the "Connection timed out" message I receive frequently.

Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 10:06 pm

I get that upper message all the time, I've almost come to expect it to happen. I just figured it was a bug in the system that can't be fixed. As ya'll all know I'm not really computer whippy but I would think if I was running this program that i would be doing my damdest to fix it, other wise it looks like I don't know what I'm doing. I just go with the flow. When it gets too slow, too many error messages or just becomes too much work to use I just log off and go to some of the other sites I lurk on

Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 10:32 pm

That's like saying you don't know what you are doing because you can't move on a jammed up freeway that's been clogged with 4 overturned semis 2 miles ahead and there are no off ramps. Even if you know about the semis being tipped over, there's not a damned thing you can do about it.

The problem is that it's a server side issue that must be fixed by the hosting company. None of us here on the board are signatories on the account, so the hosting company won't even talk to us. All we can access is the configuration of the forum, and database. As far as network tools or server controls or even access to an account manager, we don't have them.

I have a high school friend that is a heavy duty programmer at the company, that has offered to try to help me get some attention to see if we can get this spotty performance issue resolved.

Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 11:00 pm

That's really what I was saying that there is nothing you or I can do about it but you would think that the powers to be that could do something about it would have enough pride in there site/work to do something about it. Maybe it boils down to money? I know I sold you a defective car but for a price I could fix it!

Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2010 6:33 am

All I know is I can't fix it but I wish the people who can would

Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2010 8:17 am

Gene, I cannot recall ever getting the timed out error message. Maybe it has to do with what part of the world we are in?

Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2010 3:08 pm

OldTimer wrote:

Gene, I cannot recall ever getting the timed out error message. Maybe it has to do with what part of the world we are in?

That particular message may be browser related, but it's because of poor performance from the connection.