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Author Topic:   Network Problems
Admin
Director
Posts: 12998
From: EvC Forum
Joined: 06-14-2002
Member Rating: 2.3


Message 46 of 142 (736344)
09-07-2014 9:25 AM


Website Problems Hopefully Resolved
Hello everyone,
The new RAM hopefully brings this episode to a close, and in my subjective assessment it seems a bit peppier, too. I don't know why 2GB of RAM suddenly became insufficient after years with no problems, but my guess is the MySQL database, which grows with every new message. It's probably nearing 1.7GB now, I won't know the exact number until the next backup.
My vague understanding of the specific cause of the 503's is that Apache, using Fastcgi, will occasionally try to start new processes to service new requests (each process can successively handle many requests over time - I'm not sure why these processes don't persist indefinitely, but they don't last forever), but if the system is out of resources then the request just gets dropped on the floor, resulting in a 503 Service Unavailable error at the user end.

--Percy
EvC Forum Director

Replies to this message:
 Message 47 by RAZD, posted 09-07-2014 8:06 PM Admin has seen this message but not replied

  
RAZD
Member (Idle past 1405 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 47 of 142 (736353)
09-07-2014 8:06 PM
Reply to: Message 46 by Admin
09-07-2014 9:25 AM


Re: Website Problems Hopefully Resolved
just had another ...

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
RebelAmerican☆Zen☯Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.


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This message is a reply to:
 Message 46 by Admin, posted 09-07-2014 9:25 AM Admin has seen this message but not replied

  
jar
Member (Idle past 394 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 48 of 142 (736354)
09-07-2014 8:18 PM


They're back.

Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

  
Omnivorous
Member
Posts: 3978
From: Adirondackia
Joined: 07-21-2005
Member Rating: 7.3


(1)
Message 49 of 142 (736357)
09-07-2014 9:20 PM


Haven't had a 503 yet, but page loading has definitely slowed again.
This reminds me of the annoying "memory stack" problems in earlier versions of Windows which required regular, fairly frequent reboots.
So, I googled.
I've been away from nuts and bolts too long to know if this is relevant, but it matches the symptoms:
Forbidden

"If you can keep your head while those around you are losing theirs, you can collect a lot of heads."

Replies to this message:
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Percy
Member
Posts: 22392
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.3


(1)
Message 50 of 142 (736376)
09-08-2014 8:30 AM
Reply to: Message 49 by Omnivorous
09-07-2014 9:20 PM


We're on a Linux server. I've reengaged with the Webhosting company and we're exploring other avenues. We'll eventually get this fixed, but one of the nice side effects is that we now have 4GB instead of 2.
--Percy

This message is a reply to:
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Replies to this message:
 Message 51 by NoNukes, posted 09-09-2014 10:08 AM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
NoNukes
Inactive Member


Message 51 of 142 (736400)
09-09-2014 10:08 AM
Reply to: Message 50 by Percy
09-08-2014 8:30 AM


I am still experiencing 503s this morning.
I found the advice about adding RAM a bit curious. How can your host tell what resource is lacking? And hasn't your machine held up well in the past under much higher loading?

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison. Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (1846)
I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him. Galileo Galilei
If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning. Frederick Douglass

This message is a reply to:
 Message 50 by Percy, posted 09-08-2014 8:30 AM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
jar
Member (Idle past 394 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


(1)
Message 52 of 142 (736402)
09-09-2014 10:24 AM


Down for everyone
Just another datum for you.
Several times when I have been getting 503s I checked Down for Everyone and each time it showed the server up and running. My suspicion is that this is a dB error, maybe simply indexes that need rebuilding.
Edited by Admin, : Fix URL.

Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

  
Admin
Director
Posts: 12998
From: EvC Forum
Joined: 06-14-2002
Member Rating: 2.3


Message 53 of 142 (736861)
09-14-2014 3:16 AM


Update
I know the problem persists, so thank you, everyone, for your patience.
I just wanted to let everyone know that I just increased the memory limit for PHP processes. This actually makes sense as a possible cause of the problem. As the MySQL database for the site has grown, it is possible that there is an impact on PHP processes that query the database.
It's also possible that the mysqld process (services MySQL queries) needs a higher memory limit, so that's the next candidate for something to try.
There's no need to post here if you observe the problem. I use the site, too, and the site gets slow a while before we start getting 503's, so I'm bound to notice if the problem isn't really fixed.

--Percy
EvC Forum Director

  
NoNukes
Inactive Member


Message 54 of 142 (785104)
05-27-2016 10:20 PM


Network issues?
When trying to read messages or submit a post I am frequently getting time out messages suggesting a busy site or maintenance. Perhaps the issue has to do with my own section of the internet, but I am not having trouble accessing other sites.
If you could just confirm that there don't seem to be any problems on your end, that would be useful information for me.

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison. Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (1846)
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King
If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions? Scott Adams

  
NoNukes
Inactive Member


Message 55 of 142 (785105)
05-27-2016 10:22 PM


Network issues?
When trying to read messages or submit a post I am frequently getting time out messages suggesting a busy site or maintenance. Perhaps the issue has to do with my own section of the internet, but I am not having trouble accessing other sites.
If you could just confirm that there don't seem to be any problems on your end, that would be useful information for me.
ABE:
Having some difficulty submitting this message.

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison. Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (1846)
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King
If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions? Scott Adams

Replies to this message:
 Message 57 by Faith, posted 05-27-2016 11:51 PM NoNukes has replied

  
NoNukes
Inactive Member


Message 56 of 142 (785106)
05-27-2016 10:25 PM


Network issues?
duplicate
Edited by NoNukes, : accidentally posted after receiving 503.

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison. Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (1846)
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King
If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions? Scott Adams

  
Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1444 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 57 of 142 (785107)
05-27-2016 11:51 PM
Reply to: Message 55 by NoNukes
05-27-2016 10:22 PM


Re: Network issues?
Same for me all day. I finally gave up trying to post anything. But now it's quite zippy. Somebody must have fixed it.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 55 by NoNukes, posted 05-27-2016 10:22 PM NoNukes has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 58 by NoNukes, posted 05-28-2016 3:11 PM Faith has not replied

  
NoNukes
Inactive Member


Message 58 of 142 (785176)
05-28-2016 3:11 PM
Reply to: Message 57 by Faith
05-27-2016 11:51 PM


Re: Network issues?
Same for me all day. I finally gave up trying to post anything. But now it's quite zippy. Somebody must have fixed it.
I noticed a bit of an improvement shortly after posting my message. Not having any problems today.

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison. Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (1846)
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King
If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions? Scott Adams

This message is a reply to:
 Message 57 by Faith, posted 05-27-2016 11:51 PM Faith has not replied

  
Admin
Director
Posts: 12998
From: EvC Forum
Joined: 06-14-2002
Member Rating: 2.3


Message 59 of 142 (785201)
05-29-2016 9:20 AM


Website Performance Problems
I have been working on the performance problem and have not been able to find a solution. It comes and goes without giving any hints why. It affects only dynamic pages, so that implies a problem with PHP or MySQL, or in their interaction with Apache. Restarting the daemons helps for less than a minute, and the same is true of rebooting the server. Possibly there's been a break-in and someone is co-opting server resources, but if that's the case then they're hiding their tracks very well.
Another possibility is that our server is getting long in the tooth and needs to be upgraded. Software upgrades affecting the control panel (the server's control panel, not EvC's) occur on an ongoing basis, so possibly the new control panel and the older software are not playing well together. Software upgrades cost nothing or almost nothing (except time), but it can be risky putting the newest software on old hardware. Upgrading to a new server, which will have to be done eventually, would be costly.

--Percy
EvC Forum Director

Replies to this message:
 Message 60 by Tangle, posted 05-30-2016 4:01 AM Admin has replied

  
Tangle
Member
Posts: 9489
From: UK
Joined: 10-07-2011
Member Rating: 4.9


Message 60 of 142 (785213)
05-30-2016 4:01 AM
Reply to: Message 59 by Admin
05-29-2016 9:20 AM


Re: Website Performance Problems
Forum is unusable today - 8.30am UK time - a time that there can be virtually no load on your machine. I've seen this before and I'm sure it's a hosting problem.
503
The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later.

Je suis Charlie. Je suis Ahmed. Je suis Juif. Je suis Parisien.
Life, don't talk to me about life - Marvin the Paranoid Android
"Science adjusts it's views based on what's observed.
Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved."
- Tim Minchin, in his beat poem, Storm.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 59 by Admin, posted 05-29-2016 9:20 AM Admin has replied

Replies to this message:
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