Jump to content

Server timeouts


Recommended Posts

Haven't been able to access the main page or forum intermittently over the last few days, today has been the worse with being able to load threads for about 10 minutes then it goes tits up.

 

Always when you want to read something, be smoking 40 a day soon!

 

 

Pages seem to try to load for about a minute, then 404. Is anyone else in this boat with me (I've got the captains hat if so...)?

Edited by Samm
Link to post
Share on other sites

I have been having this problem every now and again for a few weeks. I think its to do with lots of conections on the forum(IE lots of people logged on) When you have trouble, check how many conections there are.

 

 

 

 

Can i man the chaser guns?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Not really a TCP/IP buff, how do you do that?

 

I know there were issues a while ago (probably around the time tabbed browsing boomed <_<) where people were being too prolific with their open pages.

 

Definitely tried to limit open threads now. I know I've cut down, have you?

 

 

First come first served, get on that position!

Edited by Samm
Link to post
Share on other sites

The way i read the forum is to click on the "view new posts" and go through that page by page. I will open each pages threads that i want to read, then read them all, reply, lol, or whatever, close them all down then go to the next page of new posts. I rarely have more than 10 open at a time, and normally only 2 or 3.

 

 

To check how many people are online go to the forum home and look at the very bottom of the page.

Link to post
Share on other sites

The number of open tabs makes zero difference (unless they are serving up ads dynamically) if you were going to browse those ten threads anyway when you open them is pretty irrelevant especially in the scheme of things with many people requesting many different threads over a sustained period of time. Also depending on usage patterns using non-tabbed browsing might result in more requests (e.g. going back and forward between topics and the topic list). If everyone had ten tabs open and is refreshing them all at a high rate then it might be an issue although modern web servers should be able to serve many more connections than Arnies gets without really breaking a sweat. Now it might be the case that it is maxing out the connections and the answer to that would be to improve the infrastructure not rely on users opening less tabs which is completely unlikely to work! :)

Edited by Chimpy
Link to post
Share on other sites
The number of open tabs makes zero difference (unless they are serving up ads dynamically) if you were going to browse those ten threads anyway when you open them is pretty irrelevant especially in the scheme of things with many people requesting many different threads over a sustained period of time. Also depending on usage patterns using non-tabbed browsing might result in more requests (e.g. going back and forward between topics and the topic list). If everyone had ten tabs open and is refreshing them all at a high rate then it might be an issue although modern web servers should be able to serve many more connections than Arnies gets without really breaking a sweat. Now it might be the case that it is maxing out the connections and the answer to that would be to improve the infrastructure not rely on users opening less tabs which is completely unlikely to work! :)

 

fair enough!

 

i dont know thing like this cos i am a spaz with computers:)

Link to post
Share on other sites

As has already been said, I fear that this might be the price of success. :)

 

The main issue with improving the infrastructure, of course, is that as this is a non-profit site, we rely on sponsership banners (and the past donations of those with an Arnaholic tag) to cover the server costs.

 

We don't really want to go down the route of subscription (I can appreciate, though, why other airsoft communities have been tempted to do this for the same reason), and we're not really in the business of slamming massive adverts across the forum to get an extra bit of revenue (there's nothing more irritating than massive banners left right and centre). Some motoring forums I frequent have taken to google sponsorship in each post, which frankly drives me up the wall. :)

 

I'll have a chat with Arnie and see if there's anything more we can do to improve the performance (I'm just the caretaker in his absences due to real life demands), but for now it might be a case of grinning and bearing delays and timeouts during peak traffic times. :)

 

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Its not just a case of "sling a few quid" at the problem, to get a better piece of techno would firstly have a large initial outlay, and then likley a constant streem of cashflow inwards to keep it at that level.

 

 

I for one am allright suffering it at its current level, as the problem is not so bad. If it gets worse i may change my tune :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'd have thought Arnies was run on rented hardware in a data-centre somewhere so there shouldn't be an initial outlay and a relatively steady stream of donations might mean a better deal could be had. As I say it works for other forums I'm on. At the end of the day it needs Marlowe or Arnie to say yay or nay as it's just a suggestion.

Edited by Chimpy
Link to post
Share on other sites
I'd have thought Arnies was run on rented hardware in a data-centre somewhere...

Uhuh.

 

I wonder if some people are under the impression Arnie has a bunch of 19" rack units in his spare room and lots of wires?

 

IIRC, Arnies is actually hosted on an American server at the moment.

Upgrading the system would, in theory, just be a case of finding a superior service and then moving the files to the new host.

In theory...

I dunno if you recall but a couple of years ago Arnies was on and off for weeks because of host problems which Arnie was trying to sort out from 2000 miles away.

Apparently, although the basic layout of the forums are a standard thing, there's heaps of add-on bits, some of which Arnie coded himself) which all need to be installed to make the site work properly.

 

TBH, Arnie could be forgiven for deciding to leave the site where it is simply because he can't face all the hassles of setting it up again on a new server.

 

Also, I don't mean to tell Chimpy how to suck eggs. I'm sure he's forgotten more than I know about this sort of stuff. :)

 

I am just passing on the info as I know it.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Could just be a case of allowing the current hardware more bandwidth/connections (depending on how the hosting works) anyway which means nothing would need to be touched.

 

We're thinking too deeply about this anyway. If Arnies is beginning to creak under the weight the only thing we as users can contribute is a bit of cash. With all the gallery hosting and the like we get quite a bit for nothing so it seems like a no brainer.

Edited by Chimpy
Link to post
Share on other sites

I originally started this post to see if it was me being the only one having trouble (could have been my end for all I know...) and to bring attention to it incase there was a problem at all.

 

The site at the moment is far better than it used to be, I think it's far too easy to forget that. Three cheers for Arnie! :beer:

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

So does this mean that everyone else on this thread is having a similar issue?

 

Had about 10 timeouts over the course of the day yesterday, each lasting 10-15 minutes of no page access. No forum front page, no News page.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh yeah, very similar, there are times when it's out for long periods at a time... neither of us are suprised by it anymore, but it's a free (for the user, not for those running it) site and you have to get used to it. I'd say on average that I get time outs on Arnies 10 times a day and about 5 - 20 minutes each time.

 

But like I say, it's a 'free' site, one gets used to it.

Edited by Mat
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and the use of session cookies.