1
goblin
Slow Loading of XOOPs (General Question)
  • 2003/12/7 20:06

  • goblin

  • Just popping in

  • Posts: 2

  • Since: 2003/12/7


Hello,

I am relatively new to the world of content management systems and xoops. But I have installed XOOPS on a number of different shared hosting provider systems. And no matter what, it always loads very slowly. The rate varies from 6 seconds to 15 seconds.... sometimes longer.

Cutting back on the modules, doesn't seem to speed things. When I go to some XOOPs sites however, they load in a snap (2-4 seconds). This is also true of PostNuke installs. But with postnuke, the number of modules does seem to slow the loading.

My question is basically this: why to do these PHP-based CMS systems take so long to load and log in? My guess is that it has something to do with where the DB/mySql is stored. Am I right? Do other people experience this?

I've installed some Access-based ASP front ends and they always load in a snap. I can't believe that Access and ASP are inherently better.... in fact, I have heard the opposite. So why are they kicking butt on load times?

My next question is this: should I get dedicated server? Would that make a difference? Is there a host out there who offers faster SQL queries/loads? TIA


I am novice, but I earnestly feel that the Open Source movement has the power liberate particularly when combined with decent hosting... but what gives. Thanks.

2
Herko
Re: Slow Loading of XOOPs (General Question)
  • 2003/12/7 20:21

  • Herko

  • XOOPS is my life!

  • Posts: 4238

  • Since: 2002/2/4 1


One way to speed up a XOOPS site is to use the cache features. Caching allows for certain contents to be stored as HTML on the server, which reduces the number of calls made to the database(server). You suspect the database, and this could be the case. However, the connection between the webserver and the databaseserver in a shared hosting environment is the hosting provider's business. If they have an inadequate DB server, or a too slow connection between the DB and webserver, the site will load slow. By using XOOPS's cache features (per block in the blocks admin or per module in the general settings page of the system admin), you can reduce the number of calls made to the DB server.
Another thing that mightbe causing this is use of external content, such as newsfeeds, or even, as we use here on XOOPS.org, statistics blocks (the Sourceforge block) and images (paypal's donate button). If a connection to a DB server can be a problem (which should be in-house with the webserver), then you can imagine the delay external connections with other webservers (who in their turn get the info from a DB) can be.

These are all factors to take into account when judging the speed of a website. IMO you don't need a dedicated server if you run a meium website (about 200-500 visitors daily), depening of course on the content. XOOPS.org runs on a dedicated server, with the database on the same server, but with it's 6500 visitors (about 250.000 hits/day) uses about 0.5% of the server CPU. So, XOOPS can take a lot, if you use the cache features right

Hope this helps!

Herko

3
tjnemez
Re: Slow Loading of XOOPs (General Question)
  • 2003/12/7 20:21

  • tjnemez

  • Home away from home

  • Posts: 1594

  • Since: 2003/9/21


based on variation of loading time (6-15 secs)would it not indicate a hosting issue - shared? sometimes my site loads on click and other times it varies. mysite is not large, my content has not changed to effect slower load. so, i has to be my server.

i have considered virtual or dedicated hosting just because this annoys me.

edit: based on herko's response, pretend i did not post this.

4
Big_Bro
Re: Slow Loading of XOOPs (General Question)
  • 2003/12/7 21:47

  • Big_Bro

  • Just popping in

  • Posts: 52

  • Since: 2003/2/26


I had this problem for awhile too, your situation is likely different but for me it turned out to be (I believe) that I was running an older version of the tiny content module with no content in it and it was spawning neverending processes everytime it was accessed, eventually winding up the processor to almost 100% and the server grinded down to a near halt. I have a dedicated server so it took longer to overwhelm, but eventually even that didn't matter.

Check your CPU usage when you see long load times like that, if it is running near 100% you likely have a similar problem. I terminaled in and killed all my http processes and restarted them, thereby killing all the rogue processes in the background and my site instantly went from a 15 second load time to a consistent 2 second load time.

Set up a static 50kb or so webpage somewhere on the server with a url you can call directly so you can gauge how fast that page loads vs. php pages that have to access the database. That can maybe tell you if something related to your DB is the problem, or just the host in general.

5
skalpa
Re: Slow Loading of XOOPs (General Question)
  • 2003/12/7 22:44

  • skalpa

  • Quite a regular

  • Posts: 300

  • Since: 2003/4/16


Quote:
My question is basically this: why to do these PHP-based CMS systems take so long to load and log in?


Most of the time these delays are related to the connection between your server and its DB server. Some share host companies really load their db servers with too many sites.
As Herko said, caching data may help, but generally the delay happens when php is trying to get the connection, not during the page processing by itself, so not always.
Best solution is to find a better host.

Quote:
I've installed some Access-based ASP front ends and they always load in a snap. I can't believe that Access and ASP are inherently better.... in fact, I have heard the opposite


Hehehe.
1) I've worked a lot using the asp/ms platform, and it is a good one.
2) Access is faster. But an access DB is a file stored somewhere on your server, and you're the only one to aceess it, so we're not talking about the same thing.
This system will never support more than 20 simultaneous connections (even if the MS documentation says 255 )

Quote:
My next question is this: should I get dedicated server

I think finding a hosting company with good shared plans would be enough, but I'm sorry I can't personally help you here, maybe someone will.

6
Per4orm
Re: Slow Loading of XOOPs (General Question)
  • 2003/12/7 23:03

  • Per4orm

  • Documentation Writer

  • Posts: 145

  • Since: 2003/11/14


A company with good shared plans should be enough - always ask them what their server and traffic contention ration is, ie: how many users are on the same connection you are. A high contention ration will slow you down, much in the same way that shared broadband will do.

I can only recommend hosts that I know, and of the ones I've encountered I would go with One and One (oneandone.co.uk) This will depend on your preference of locality though - this is a UK based company with a data centre in central europe, so it won't suit everybody. But the plans are more than generous, with dedicated managed servers starting at £29.99 UKP per month (approximately $40 USD)

If you do a search on the forums for "xoops host" there are plenty of posts and recommendations from other users.

Regards,
Gareth

7
corker
Re: Slow Loading of XOOPs (General Question)
  • 2003/12/7 23:44

  • corker

  • Just popping in

  • Posts: 8

  • Since: 2003/12/1


Well, I don't use any of the cache features, and host my site on a server w/ 40 megs of RAM and a 133 mhz processor, without any slowdowns (but rather low traffic). XOOPS seems pretty efficient compared to the Nukes, so perhaps you have it misconfigured (try persistent connections to the database)

8
goblin
Re: Slow Loading of XOOPs (General Question)
  • 2003/12/9 5:38

  • goblin

  • Just popping in

  • Posts: 2

  • Since: 2003/12/7


Man! Thanks for all the support. Great suggestions. I did finally enable caching and it makes a BIG difference. But I don't understand the various time options - why not just cache indefinitely? Does caching ignore new content?

I do believe my host is taxing there db or there is contention on the storage chain. This is because there is a long pause. Then BAM! it all comes up. I log in. Another huge pause - then BAM! comes up. I choose XOOPS because it seemed to offer faster load times, and more visual accessibility and easier to implement permissions system. the permissions system is awesome from an ease-of-use standpoint.

Finally, i did have an old version of tiny content and the stats block. Shutting those down, seem to make a difference, especially the stats block. I am not sure why. Now the site load is reasonable. Not as fast as the ASP apps, but good nuff.

Again, thanks. I'll keep you posted with any more anamolies and do my own logging as my site grows!

9
Herko
Re: Slow Loading of XOOPs (General Question)
  • 2003/12/9 7:22

  • Herko

  • XOOPS is my life!

  • Posts: 4238

  • Since: 2002/2/4 1


Quote:

goblin wrote:
Man! Thanks for all the support. Great suggestions. I did finally enable caching and it makes a BIG difference. But I don't understand the various time options - why not just cache indefinitely? Does caching ignore new content?


Caching means that the content will be stored on the server as static files for the set duration. This means, that for that period, no check to the database is made to see if the content has changed or not. So, in a way, yes, caching ignores new content. That's why you have to find the right balance between cached lifetime and content update frequency. The news module content may be set to a few hours cache lifetime, but the forum module content shouldn't be more then 1 minute (at least, I'd hate to see my posts appear after more then 1 second!)

Herko

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