Topic: should I start over again?

[snuggles]

Hi,
I hope this is the right place to ask a few questions and some advice

I was running my site on shared hosting with only minor problems, and I set up a test server locally. (before I found this place )

everything was fine at both sites, and my test server worked great, however after totally re-coding my site I decided to move to my local server. again, everything went great for about a week, then boum!

our members suddenly have a hard time accessing the forums, the scripts time out and in general, performance has just dropped to the point that I have to not just restart the server, but reboot the machine as well.

I know it's not a bandwidth issue, as I can still access everything else on the web, play games, download upload files etc.

we are a small site that goes from 500ish to 800ish users.

I've setup using:
winxp SP2
azus PIII 1ghz 1 GB ram
5MB line
apache 2.0.5
PHP 5.1.2
MySQL - 5.0.20-nt
phpMyAdmin - 2.8.0.3

and I'm using dynamic dns to keep it connected.

I've tried to find and successfully install a php accelerator, but no go (couldn't find a read me file for windows), I've got several pages cached, but still it hangs

I guess I'm hoping for a few suggestions on what to do next... it's been two days now and I have over 500 anxious members out there wanting to get in

I notice that you have some packages here, and I've read a bit in your forums about a few mods / addons, but mostly for apache 2.2.2...

I had a hell of a time installing what I have now, but I'm wondering if it's worth starting from scratch...

I just really don't look forward to having to re-import my DB... again

so there

hi, any suggestions?

cheers,
snuggles

[James Blond]

I think that some Windows update kills your server. As You said, it worked for a week and then no go.
If that is the Windows update backup all SQL DB and all data in htdocs and reset Windows as it was before the Windowsupdates.
Also it could be a virus or trojan? Checked that yet?

[snuggles]

Thanks,
I have automatic updates turned off, and haven't updated since service pack two and tweaking the system. Also My virus definitions are up to date, and I auto scan every day at 7:00.

I have gone through your forums here, and tried a few tweaks:
-Apache WebServer Optimization For Windows
-Speed php up, APC cache and php 5.1.4 ( I still have to check this one and see if it's working)

after doing that, and tweaking my php.ini more, the site seems a bit better, but still not as good as it should be, and it still hangs.

the computer that the server is running on seems to have no memory problems, and is running fast for everything else, including the internet, the problems seem to be specifically with the server.

I'll look into the APC cache thing again, but it's already running slow today.

thanks

EDIT: one thing I've noticed... more image heavy pages (even smilies on the forums) have more trouble loading...

[James Blond]

On server PHP APC slowed some PHP Apps down. Maybe you disable it in PHP.ini restart Apache and see.

[snuggles]

thanks, yeah, I killed it... it was only caching it's self lol

I'm starting to think of just starting over again, either with the package you have here, or the one at http://www.devside.net/

I've tinkered with it so much by now with little or no improvements that I think It may be better to start off fresh

thanks for the advice... I'll be back with more when I get stuck again lol

I was hoping that there was a way to cache images and javascripts that rarely change, so they could be delivered faster... but my site has gone from fast to unreliable in a few short days...

I'd rather do it right from the start

cheers

[ArtM]

Hmm ...... sounds frustratingly familiar !!

http://www.apachelounge.com/viewtopic.php?t=499

I too am close to a total re-setup process.

Just thinking - is there a tool under Windows that will take an event - like a HTTP request and show which microseconds/percentage of total service time is spent on which components of the event - like Apache vs TCP/IP vs PHP etc. ? So one could see where the request time is spent. And compare it to a previous run/analysis.

[James Blond]

Yeah, I didn't got that in mind. If QoS is installed on the network Apache will slow down. Somewhere in the docs from Apache.org is written that you have to disable that. But that is only one factor that can slow apache down.

[snuggles]

nope... QOS is set free...

it's really hit and miss for me.

if I start over, would you reccomend the package here, or the one at devside.net?

my thinking is if I use the package here you will all be more familier with it.

--> andother n00bish question...

Is it possible to install a different version of Apache on the same machine so I can see if that's the problem?

cheers

EDIT: I just updated to apache222222222 and I think it's working better now... I have to read up on tweaks and caching, but fingers crossed!!!

[James Blond]

You can download a running package from http://www.blackdot.be/?inc=apachemobile.htm it runs fine.