Slow loading and freezing

[robf]

Before anyone asks "Where have they gone?" I've switched off a couple of (generally unused) forum features to see if they have any effect on speed.

The list of things switched off is - 

• Calendar (something we don't really use on this forum)
• Clubs (a feature for this forum that I've never used)
• The list of online users on the front page

I'll see if switching those off has any effect...

[NellyTheValiant]

Seems to for me Rob, it's much quicker.  I thought that it may have been my VPN causing the issue but doen't appear so.

[robf]

Afternoon all,

I had a chat with the Support team for my server today.

They've taken a look and decided to modify the PHP and specifically the execution time.

Yes, I have, next to no idea, what they mean too.

Anyhow, it does (at least as of ten minutes after they did it) seem to have made everything faster again so fingers crossed...

 

 

[Old fort]

Don't know what they've done, but the difference is night and day.

Many thanks 

[Packmoor_vale]

Fastest it’s ever been for me today after a very slow few days 👍

[robf]

Thanks @Old fort and @Packmoor_vale you've actually beaten me to a question...

How is the site doing for you all?

I still see moments of slowness but often that's when I'm in the backend (I have to do things like add blog posts and approve new members from a slightly different interface so it could be issues with that particular section of the site) so I'm keen to know how using the site generally has been since Support made some changes on Weds.

To save clogging up the thread with loads of replies you can let me know by reacting to this post (the react button is in the bottom RH corner). Please...

• React with a smile 😄if it's performing well
• React with a quizzical face 😕 if there are still issues 

[barny61]

Working superfast for me now, has been slow (upto 30 seconds to load a page) but it's like having a new tablet now ! 👍👍👍👍

[robf]

Hi all,

I am personally experiencing site slowness again. I won't bore with technical things but from what I can see this is a different issue from the previous ones. 

I am going to put up a ticket for the support team at the server and see if they can solve it. Please bear with me and I'll update when I get more news...

Thanks,

Rob
 

[Brian Johnson]

19 minutes ago, robf said:

Hi all,

I am personally experiencing site slowness again. I won't bore with technical things but from what I can see this is a different issue from the previous ones. 

I am going to put up a ticket for the support team at the server and see if they can solve it. Please bear with me and I'll update when I get more news...

Thanks,

Rob
 

I have no idea about IT but is their a better server to be had which I appreciate would cost more but maybe everyone on OVF can chip in towards it

[robf]

1 hour ago, Brian Johnson said:

I have no idea about IT but is their a better server to be had which I appreciate would cost more but maybe everyone on OVF can chip in towards it

I think there's two things:

1. The server itself

Asking users to chip in is unfortunately something that's been tried before and didn't really work. Without long-term commitment it's tricky for me to tie myself (as ultimately I make the payment) to a much higher fee each month.

Part of the problem with the server is (at least it's my understanding) that it needs to be set up for the peaks (which are steep). So most of the time there's only a few on here and the huge server is actually more than powerful enough. Then we have some dramatic news (a signing, a sacking, a big result) and the traffic skyrockets. It's not something that can be easily planned for in advance so, you have to go for the server that can cope with the big events and that's costly.

One possible solution is adverts. The adverts (which I've tried to keep to a minimum recently) go a long way to covering the current cost. However, if people are prepared for a few more (and I don't mean pop-up ones that obscure text but adverts on the page, not getting too much in the way of reading) then that may help me to able to shell out more with the comfort that the advert revenue will cover me. 

2. My server knowledge

The other thing is this - the server may actually be able to cope. With my lack of knowledge I don't know enough to be sure. The problems could be a script conflict or an incorrect setting as much as the server itself. Unfortunately, the tickets I send to the Server support team tend to be replied to with a "you need your developer to check this" and I don't have a developer. My knowledge is the coding side and the content side but not the backend server stuff. 

I've also been told on occasion that cloud servers and caches like Cloudflare would help but there's so many out there I have no idea what to choose and what I need to check a new server needs / what the existing server needs.

So, I'd be really keen if anyone with server know-how was about and able to take a look at all the settings. It may be as simple as a few tweaks here and there and it starts running alright again. 

So, what does all that mean?

A few questions for you all:

1. Would you potentially accept more adverts in principle if I found there was a more expensive but more reliable server?

2. Is there anyone with knowledge of what server I should look at if I should move?

3. Is there anyone with server knowledge who can look at the settings and potentially tweak things there?

 

 

 

[robf]

Actually... 

Just had a note from support. Last time they altered the settings for a certain function. The principle was that increasing the settings allowed more load on the server. That fix (as some of you may recall) resulted in a lightning-fast site for a while.

It turns out that setting may have crashed and switched itself off - hence the recent slowness.

I have asked them to switch it back on and to see if I can get notifications if it crashes again. This may (fingers crossed) resolve the issue without any need for any of the stuff in my last post. 

Support don't do things immediately so it may be later today before they do it, but should it work I think I'm a lot closer to knowing what the issue with slowness is and how to fix it.

[Playa Amodores]

Rob, TY.

[robf]

Seems to be back up to a decent speed now. 

I am getting instructions from them as to how to check this particular setting. It is prone to crashing when software is updated, so if the site slows down that will now be one of the first things I check. 

[Phil500]

Top man Rob. Possibly the only good thing about the club at the moment.

[chickensteve]

Thanks Rob I have been struggling with the site again for the last few days. Unfortunately it's so slow to load now that often I think that I can't spare the several minutes it will take to read a few posts and on recent match days it's been impossible to use. You yourself are doing a great job but summats wrong somewhere tha nowst.