View Full Version : Site uptime is less than 75%
I've been complaining to Support lately because my site is constantly (well, 25% of the time) down. They don't believe me because it's working every time they happen to check. I signed up for this site uptime service and it's now proving my point, I guess -- http://www.siteuptime.com/statistics.php?Id=59766&&UserId=75390 -- down 25% of the time (checks once every 30 minutes) for the past 2 days.
Question I have for the forum is whether I should continue to blame this entirely on Powweb, or if there are other things I should be investigating with my site configuration that might result in intermittent response timeouts. I'm using Drupal and Menalto Gallery, so I'm not sure if MySQL issues might be the source of my woes. If so, how do I debug? It's just a family site -- nothing too fancy going on. Any ideas?
Site is http://www.hillfamily.net/
joshuamc
11-3-07, 05:30 PM
Any chance you know which MySQL server you are on?
MySQL must be the culprit. The main site is taking over 90 seconds to load right now but I can get to subdomains and folders that are just static HTML or PHP pages almost immediately. Anything I can do beyond continuing my appeal to Support? I just got another "your site is fine" message from them.
Keep bugging support - keep pointing out in the first line 'my site is using mysql and I'm on pow11' to get their attention focussing on the real issue.
I've been complaining to Support lately because my site is constantly (well, 25% of the time) down. They don't believe me because it's working every time they happen to check. I signed up for this site uptime service and it's now proving my point, I guess -- http://www.siteuptime.com/statistics.php?Id=59766&&UserId=75390 -- down 25% of the time (checks once every 30 minutes) for the past 2 days.
Question I have for the forum is whether I should continue to blame this entirely on Powweb, or if there are other things I should be investigating with my site configuration that might result in intermittent response timeouts. I'm using Drupal and Menalto Gallery, so I'm not sure if MySQL issues might be the source of my woes. If so, how do I debug? It's just a family site -- nothing too fancy going on. Any ideas?
Site is http://www.hillfamily.net/
No, you are definitely not alone here. There have been MYSQL problems for a long, long time now. Some people are reporting an improvement over the past few weeks but many (myself included) are still experiencing very poor MYSQL service.
Part of our difficulties are coming from terminology. As you said, it can take 90 seconds (or more) for some MYSQL driven sites to load. Powweb will typically report this as "slowness" but in reality it is down. Slowness means taking a few extra seconds to load. Anything beyond that is down for all practical purposes.
As was suggested already, really the only thing you can do is nag, but I wouldn't hold my breath. The only thing I can suggest to you is that if you need a more reliable host, you look elsewhere.
Either way, I feel your pain and wish you the best.
joshuamc
11-5-07, 09:04 AM
pow11
Ah. Ok. That server has yet to be updated to the new MySQL configuration that seems to be resolving the slowness issues folks have been complaining about for some time.
We're working as fast as possible to get all 15 servers upgraded to the new configuration. There's a slim chance all will be done within the next two weeks, but don't hold me to that yet.
Excellent - looking forward to the fix.
My experience with Support has been very frustrating. Are they a completely separate organization or something? I'm curious to know why none of the 4 or so individuals I interacted with (two chats, a couple of tickets -- one that was escalated) made the MySQL connection. If MySQL is a known issue, you'd think they'd have a "hot issues" sticky note so if someone complains about site outages or slowness, MySQL would be the first place they'd look. They're pretty quick to assume user error.
The forum seems to be a lot more aware of issues than they are. Glad you guys are here.
Double Tee
11-5-07, 12:50 PM
I too have been having problems with my site. This morning its been down for more than 5 hours so far. It sucks..
dmacminn
11-5-07, 01:21 PM
They need to to rule out other causes -- the reasons why, I have detailed in other threads in the Forum.
The agents do not support applications -- most would have no experience with the application you are running (Drupal) and would not have been able to have the top down overview to know that Drupal is one of the most MySQL intensive applications you can operate -- to be frank, I've have not seen a Drupal application that operated well on a shared webhost -- its is full featured and well written -- but it requires significant MySQL resources and invariably runs slower than some other CMS apps; that unfortunately is the reality.
That is not to excuse the spotty MySQL performance, but, it is to recognize that you have a worst-case experience.
Thanks - that's helpful info. I'm not necessarily tied to Drupal, although I like it quite a bit, esp. integration with Gallery. Is there another CMS app you recommend that's decent and easier on MySQL?
to be frank, I've have not seen a Drupal application that operated well on a shared webhost
Apparently you are not a legacy Powweb employee. ;)
I saw Drupal running well on legacy Powweb systems and currently on other shared hosts. This is of course assuming that it has been configured properly. Throwing excessive Drupal modules into the mix is not recommended.
slck0, try these steps to optimizing Drupal...
1) update from 5.1 to 5.3
2) install the Devel module to identify how long queries are taking. This can pinpoint what is causing slow loads. (http://drupal.org/project/devel)
3) avoid the SIFR module as it takes time to render this type.
4) explore the caching options of Drupal
entrecon
11-5-07, 09:41 PM
Something is odd with the site right now. I can get to photos.hillfamily.net, but www.hillfamily.net almost instantly gives me a page can't load error.
Something is odd with the site right now. I can get to photos.hillfamily.net, but www.hillfamily.net almost instantly gives me a page can't load error.
That would be MySQL again -- the front page is powered by Drupal, which uses MySQL. The photos subdomain is Gallery 1, which doesn't use a database.
Thanks for the tips, spamjim. I'll try 'em out.
entrecon
11-5-07, 11:49 PM
Not sure it is your MySQL...
If I go to http://www.hillfamily.net it changes to http://www.hillfamily.net/ (note the ending slash). If I type in http://www.hillfamily.net/index.php it loads a little slow, but it does load.
I am guessing something isn't right in the Drupal config, or your .htaccess
The www version loaded quite quick for me - but it is in the small hours in the US!
I did note a couple of red X's - the 'home' icon and the India picture seem unavailable.
Not sure it is your MySQL...
If I go to http://www.hillfamily.net it changes to http://www.hillfamily.net/ (note the ending slash). If I type in http://www.hillfamily.net/index.php it loads a little slow, but it does load.
I am guessing something isn't right in the Drupal config, or your .htaccess
Interesting. If it's an .htaccess issue, would it be intermittent like it is? Sometimes everything loads just fine. My .htaccess file has the Drupal defaults plus some redirects I added for pages and directories that no longer exist. I'll try taking out the part I added in case that's throwing things off.
Croc Hunter
11-6-07, 09:43 AM
Hi sick0, did it ever run fast or has it always been this way? A repair/optimise of your MySQL tables won't hurt if you haven't already done so.
1. Login to the database through OPS> Services> MySQL> click "Administer" for the database.
2. Click the name of the database on the left hand side, wait until all the tables appear.
3. On the right hand side scroll to the bottom.
4. Click on "Check All"
5. From the "With selected" drop down box choose "'Repair table" from the list and wait for it to complete.
6. Repeat 4 & 5 only this time select "Optimise" from the list.
Hi sick0, did it ever run fast or has it always been this way? A repair/optimise of your MySQL tables won't hurt if you haven't already done so.
It seems to be an all-or-nothing thing -- it either flies or I can't access it at all. Mornings (EST) seem to be the worst, but that's probably when I'm most likely to be checking. Occasionally I'll get a situation where it takes 90 seconds to load each page, but it's more likely to just not load at all. I did the repair and optimization -- the first time I hit Administer it said "No tables", which scared me, but I tried again and they showed up. Thanks for the advice.
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