Edit:
This thread is a combination of a few different threads that contained some discussion on the server upgrade. They're all merged here.
-- Cleve
=====================
The bandwidth isn't a problem. Believe it or not, we couldn't really be on a better connection, even if we were paying literally thousands a month to be on it. On that front, we're incredibly fortunate, because for the time being, we/I don't pay a dime for that. I have a friend and a friend-of-a-friend to thank for that arrangement.
Our problems are query related. Which speaks to the database. Every time you load a page here, you alone are querying the database between 15 and 30 times on average. Just you, on every single page. So imagine for a moment, 300 viewers (registered or not) browsing a new page every 20 seconds. That's (very roughly) 20,250 database queries a minute. 1.2 million queries an hour. By blocking unregistered people, I'm not stopping their queries, only reducing them. So if you see an improvement in performance following that change I made today, it's because we might have (arbitrary numbers follow) gone from 1.2 million queries an hour, to 800k an hour. But you can appreciate how, as we continue to grow, these issues will compound. More queries means more processing.
When I log directly into the server, I run a command called 'top', which tells me what the server load is, and how the system resources are being spent. To those here familar with such things, we average around 1.5, and spike as high as 4. Anytime there are around 250-300 people here, we're averaging around 3. Our CPU averages around 85% capacity used, but get up over 200 people on the site (registered and non-registered combined, so that's common) and it's fully strained. We have a gig of ram, and that's basically always being used to its maximum capacity these days. BP runs on FreeBSD, using PHP and mySQL. But the machine itself can only handle so much.
The box itself has dual 1GHz procs, and 1 gig of ram. 3 years or so ago, this was fine for the purpose the machine was built for. I think it ran about $3k at the time for the company that purchased it. Today, we need a box with 4gb ram just to get by with our current traffic and features. 8gb ram if we're going to continue to grow, and add features like the stats engine.
Anyway, I have to run, but that's the general concept. We have access to more bandwidth than 90% of the local ISPs around the country, but the machine is an issue.
Please no one be offended if I don't respond to this any further. I just can't be around much right now. Not by choice. If you have any questions or comments, PM them to me and I will respond when I can. I just don't know when that will next be. If you have anything pressing, I recommend contacting any of the mods or admins.
Apologies for the slow site, we've grown faster than anyone expected. Blocking unregistered people is going to help in the short term, but in the long it's just going to hasten our need for a new box as we're going to see a sharp spike now in new registrations and posters. It's a constant juggling act.
This thread is a combination of a few different threads that contained some discussion on the server upgrade. They're all merged here.
-- Cleve
=====================
The bandwidth isn't a problem. Believe it or not, we couldn't really be on a better connection, even if we were paying literally thousands a month to be on it. On that front, we're incredibly fortunate, because for the time being, we/I don't pay a dime for that. I have a friend and a friend-of-a-friend to thank for that arrangement.
Our problems are query related. Which speaks to the database. Every time you load a page here, you alone are querying the database between 15 and 30 times on average. Just you, on every single page. So imagine for a moment, 300 viewers (registered or not) browsing a new page every 20 seconds. That's (very roughly) 20,250 database queries a minute. 1.2 million queries an hour. By blocking unregistered people, I'm not stopping their queries, only reducing them. So if you see an improvement in performance following that change I made today, it's because we might have (arbitrary numbers follow) gone from 1.2 million queries an hour, to 800k an hour. But you can appreciate how, as we continue to grow, these issues will compound. More queries means more processing.
When I log directly into the server, I run a command called 'top', which tells me what the server load is, and how the system resources are being spent. To those here familar with such things, we average around 1.5, and spike as high as 4. Anytime there are around 250-300 people here, we're averaging around 3. Our CPU averages around 85% capacity used, but get up over 200 people on the site (registered and non-registered combined, so that's common) and it's fully strained. We have a gig of ram, and that's basically always being used to its maximum capacity these days. BP runs on FreeBSD, using PHP and mySQL. But the machine itself can only handle so much.
The box itself has dual 1GHz procs, and 1 gig of ram. 3 years or so ago, this was fine for the purpose the machine was built for. I think it ran about $3k at the time for the company that purchased it. Today, we need a box with 4gb ram just to get by with our current traffic and features. 8gb ram if we're going to continue to grow, and add features like the stats engine.
Anyway, I have to run, but that's the general concept. We have access to more bandwidth than 90% of the local ISPs around the country, but the machine is an issue.
Please no one be offended if I don't respond to this any further. I just can't be around much right now. Not by choice. If you have any questions or comments, PM them to me and I will respond when I can. I just don't know when that will next be. If you have anything pressing, I recommend contacting any of the mods or admins.
Apologies for the slow site, we've grown faster than anyone expected. Blocking unregistered people is going to help in the short term, but in the long it's just going to hasten our need for a new box as we're going to see a sharp spike now in new registrations and posters. It's a constant juggling act.
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