UBB.threads PHP Forum Software Community Forums UBB.threads Version 7/8 Support ubbthreads.php is overloading the server according to my host

My account has been suspended for "the pure load that ubbthreads.php was putting on the server". I never had any problems with 6.72 and my traffic level has not increased - any idea why this would be? The host says it is the one file being requested many times per second that is causing the problem.

I am using the search engine friendly urls - could that be a factor?

Also, I have gone from 8 pageviews per visitor with 6.72 to 40 with 7.1 - seems a bit odd to me.

The host says it is the one file being requested many times per second that is causing the problem.
I have gone from 8 pageviews per visitor with 6.72 to 40 with 7.1


I'd say these were clues.



I am using the search engine friendly urls - could that be a factor?


You tell us. You have your server logs. we do not. Are search engines hitting your site a lot more now, or no? What does an examination of your logs tell you?

I think your answers to my last two questions will also answer your questions. Only you (or your host) have these answers.

I was using search engine friendly urls with 6.72 as well - with no problems - so I would say that search engines are not hitting my site more now. The logs also do not show any noticiable increase. The 40 pageviews per visitor does not include search engine spiders. It seems to me that there may be something else at work here.

I was checking my "recent visitors" log once a week or so ago and I accidentally clicked on a url in it (I am using a Firefox plugin that lets me do that) - immediatedly windows started opening like crazy and I had to shut down my computer to stop it. At the same time, the server hosting my site crashed so I am thinking the two events are related.

Could there be something that causes the server to load a page several times - which may explain the sudden increase to 40 pageviews per visit? The 40 pageviews is an average so if there was a single event that caused a page to reload thousands of times (and crash the server)it may average out to 40 pageviews per visitor.

The host had said that it was the file ubbthreads.php that was being hit many times per second - reloaded perhaps just like when I clicked on that link in the recent visitors log?

No one has had a similar experience?

what was the url that you clicked on? What happens here if you try the same url on this site?

Your host tells you that ubbthreads.php is hit several times a second. By whom? what is the refer to these requests? Itself?

Your site is not in your profile, I can't go looking without that.

Keep in mind that UBB.Threads6 had numerous php scripts that requests where routed through; whereas UBB.Threads7 has one php script that things are routed through; so ofcoarse the ONE file will get hit more than the 5 that there where; but it should not be generating anymore load.

I have just put the site in my profile. I am searching the raw logs to see if I can find an event that precipitated all of this.

I previously used 6.72 Classic - not threads. This is my first experience with threads.

UBB.Threads is a PHP/MySQL forum, whereas UBB.Classic was a Perl/Flat File forum, UBB.Threads in every way will be faster and less server-intensive than UBB.Classic ever was, because of how things are retrieved and built.

It'd be odd that they're complaining about UBB.Threads and never did with UBB.Classic...

Also, UBB.Classic had 2 main files that queries where routed through (it's good to keep in mind that, again, all files in UBB.Threads are routed through one file):
ultimatebb.cgi - The CGI builder that outputs the content as it's called from the raw files.
ultimatebb.php - The PHP accelerator which read data from the cache.

Doug, just a side question, I noticed people in your shoutbox having a cookie related problem, and that your forums are in a frameset. Why are they in a frameset?

They were not really having a cooke-related problem. I was just thinking out loud there. The real problem I believe is that people were clicking on the wrong link

The site is in a frameset because that is the way I started it 10 years ago for seo reasons back with UBB - probably version 1 as a cgi file would never rank in search engines. It works - I have been #1 pretty much full time for "real estate forums" since then so I have never changed it.

Going through my log files I can't find a singular event that would have resulted in the kind of problems my host is complaining about. I also can't see any evidence in the logs - I see where the suspension begins but don't see anything unusual prior to that. So what could be causing all of the http requests that do not show up in the log files I wonder?

There are lots of host that will fill you with
bull so you upgrade to there more expensive package.

And more and more dont like the impact of sql
being hammered?

Just somthing to bare in mind.

Eventually, every site will grow too large for a standard shared host... Perhaps look to moving to a vps with a reputable provider like www.webintellects.com

Yes, the upgrade idea has been mentioned by my host. I would probably move first though

The server is experiencing problems though and I am being blamed - I did watch it crash right before my eyes. I was watching the server crash at the same time all of those windows were opening on my own computer. I have no idea what link caused it though as I was focused on stopping my own computer which was sounding like a jet taking off at that point.

Gutted for you, its a difficult transition
you may have infront of you.

Hopefully with friends, and help
you will get there.

Mark, you sound like a fortune cookie, talking in riddles

If I have one more incident my hand will be forced and I will need to make a move to a vps. I just paid the host for a year up front in January so I am hoping to make this work a while longer. That is why I am checking here to make sure that that others are not having a similar problem and the solution is known - I hate walking away when there is still money on the table.

As an aside, in the past month I have been taken to the cleaners by two other hosts (for other sites) that I also paid a year up front. Just month to month for me from now on!

'eh with a VPS you get heavy discounts for paying up front, with shared hosts, it's just a gimic to have you pay for the server so they can take the profits elsewhere ...

Nah nah nah, we're not ready to go buy a vps yet.

If there IS a problem, and there could well be one, then all buying a vps does is take everyone else out of the equation. Very nice and neighborly, yes it is, but it doesn't fix YOUR problem.

Ok, so your host says he is seeing a dozen requests for ubbthreads.php running all at once and you got a ton of popups. All, I assume, are ubbthreads.php?

If you can make that happen again, Doug, grab the entire URL from the popup. We need to know what function got opened 40 times. Even better is knowing what link you clicked to give you 40 popups. That link is the important one.

Next, let's find out if he's seeing 40 requests started all at once, or 40 that happen to all be running at the same time. By this I mean started at different times but are happen to be running at the same slice in time. Maybe some of them are running long or not timing out. What is the state of the database? Are there a bunch of ubbthreads instances waiting on the database to return a result? Does he have logging of long running queries on?

There is a lot of info to find and a little work on your part to get it, as well as your host. It could be worth it to you to find the problem and not spend the money for a vps.

After some intensive queries to the host regarding what I was seeing in my log files and what they were reporting as being my site causing a high load on the server - it may be that I was just the easiest and biggest target to take down to lessen the load on the server quickly. With that in mind I have initiated the move to a VPS.

That doesn't address the window opening wildly after clicking on the log file link but I will have to assume that was different issue than this latest suspension. I will monitor that after the move but I need to make the move because I can't have the host shutting me down every time they get busy.

Thanks for your help - I am sure I will need more soon

I am rather interested in the 40 popup issue lol... If you get some time, could you type up some information on what you did when it happened, any time, what was in the popups, anything you can think of?... I'd love to try and replicate it...

I will play around after the move and see if I can make it happen again - I don't want to do it before because I now associate that with a server crash:)

Perhaps the two events were unrelated and coincidental - it could happen. Maybe a Firefox plugin gone wild or something like that.

The opening windows were empty but it could be that they were attempting to load some content. There were so many opening so fast with the new ones covering the old ones - and my computer started to shake - so at that point I just concentrating on shutting down before I fired my computer.

Doug,

How big, or large, is your forum?

It's in his profile now, Daryl. He has a nicely sized community there.

Doug, I'm also concerned about 40 popups. I haven't seen it and we've no reports of it. We still take it seriously.

It was a control panel link that did that? I missed that part. Was looking in all the wrong places. Ooops.

Doug, if you can replicate the issue, please do "show source" on any popups (if you can) to ensure if they are blank.

I have seem some firefox extensions that can do more harm that good, but not really since FFox2 came out (most are rather well established and updated)

My Firefox would have been version 1.5 as I was using Fedora 6 and not Windows. I did install a Firefox update for Linux just yesterday so if there was a problem it may have been fixed by that. Anyway - an update....

I moved to a vps and have not had any problems to date. It looks like I probably was not overloading the server - I was just the biggest and easiest target to cool down their oversold server.

I may get up my courage soon to click on some more log file links and see if I can replicate the opening windows issue and will let you know if I manage to do so.