Users Struggling to Upload Photos...

[Chuck S]

I will respond once I have a look at your site

[grahamsmythe]

We sure do appreciate it.

[Chuck S]

You would need to see if your host has any suggestions because the one thing I do notice is your scripting is running extremely slow the whole upload process of processing the file etc is taking about 10 times longer than it should. Your max execution time in PHP is 0 set by the script but your global variable is 90 seconds which looks fine. I would suspect and this is just a guess because I am not your host and am not privy to that info or logs but it looks to me that your server is shutting down trying to complete the process. Meaning the reason why one upload works is because it is within whatever time limit to allow a script to run and when it goes over then things shut down.

That is basically the only thing that makes sense here. I have tried flash upload and regular upload. Different file sizes etc. I can process a file one at a time 500k to over 2mb so its not a file size issue. It is centered around how long things are taking to process on your server for whatever reason it is taking that long.

[grahamsmythe]

Westhost are saying that it sounds like we need to make changes to the php.ini file to allow the max execution time to go over 90 seconds.
Also there might be an max upload limit of 2MB which can cause this to break as well.

Will keep you posted.

[Chuck S]

Yeah no problem I definately know its your server that is shutting you down. Whether its your PHP setup or Apache something is making things shut down. You might want to ask them why things are so slow.

I have been with Westhost for many years and have never seen such a slow site but you also might be on a cheaper plan than me. I have the business plan not personal plan.

[grahamsmythe]

Our maximum execution time is set to 90. What do you think it should be?

BTW - we're on a business plan too.

Looks like a server issue then?

At least it 'should' be relatively easy to fix then?

[Chuck S]

Its definately related to your server for sure. Your upload process is very slow and I would suspect that you are going past the 90 seconds.

Your host would have access to more precise information about what is going on with the server so there should know what the issue is and why you are so slow.

[grahamsmythe]

I increased the max execution time to 180 seconds, but it returned an error much quicker than 180 seconds.

[Chuck S]

My max execution time is 180 and my max upload filesize is 8mb

Now has your host gone through the process and looked at there logging to figure out why the server is going down?

The issue has been identified the cause has not. We know your server is shutting down when uploading multiple files.

If your webhost can not tell you why there server is shutting down I doubt there is anything I could guess at to help. My suggestion would be to have them move you to another server. I highly doubt the same issue is going to be present on all the servers or I would be affected by it.

[Chuck S]

Graham just checking to see if your host has added anything here or if they are going to move you to a different host? It has been almost 24 hours since we where discussing this issue.

[grahamsmythe]

Hi Chuck. Nothing to report at the moment. They've opened a ticket for it, and have tried a couple of things (not sure what though), and they then ask me to try to upload again to see if things have improved (they haven't).

As I said in a previous post, we're on a pro subscription, so probably something similar to you.

Will keep you up to speed with what's going on.

Cheers

Graham

[Chuck S]

Yeah something tells me moving to a different server might be the way to resolve this. It definately is centered around a php or apache timeout I would think.

[grahamsmythe]

I'll be a right pain if we do have to move to a different server though.

Everything will have to be configured again right?

[Chuck S]

Well the server path structure is usually the same across most hosts like mine is /var/www/html/

If your host moves you to a different server they should be able to do it real fast and with the same path structure etc

[grahamsmythe]

Are you on one of Westhost's old servers or the CPanel ones?

[Chuck S]

I am on what is called a virtual dedicated server meaning I have full control over how things are setup and can do what I want. Its a little different than the cheaper mass produced hosting your probally on. It is not cpanel nor is it plesk.

I mean there business hosting account is like 12 bucks if you look at there site. I pay twice that a month so it might be what your calling the old hosting. I have full control though over what PHP and MYSQL versions I install etc etc.

The point I was making is your host if they can not fix your issue should be able to move to you a different server cluster to see if that resolves your issue. There is no downtime or configuration changes normally with that. They did that with me once when I had hardware go out on my server. They do it all the time most times in the background for most clients when something goes wrong.

I never do the real cheap hosting as thats where you run into trouble usually as they are more restrictive over the setup. When your running a server with say 50 clients like my server versus say one there new business hosting may be now which may have 1000 or so customers on it things then things are very different. I really have no idea how many customers are on a specific server but most cheap plans do shove the max amount of accounts onto one server that maximizes profit.

[Chuck S]

I see users are uploading did your host ever find anything out. It has been over 48 hours now and I have not heard out if your host found anything out or if this issue has been resolved.

[grahamsmythe]

I've heard back from Level Two support at Westhost, and they've said the following.

Just wanted your thoughts Chuck...

Graham

I've added the modsecurity exception, but large files may still time out. You will want to review the following to get a local custom php.ini file in the necessary directory. This will allow you to increase upload, post_max sizes as well as the timeout limits for your tool.
WestHost Knowledge Base :: How do I set up custom PHP settings?
WestHost Knowledge Base :: Common php.ini Changes

ModSecurity is an open source, free web application firewall Apache module. ModSecuirty is deployed to establish an external security layer that increases security, detects, and prevents attacks before they reach web applications. It provides protection from a range of attacks against web applications and allows for HTTP traffic monitoring and real-time analysis.

In some instances, legitimate connections, script, or tools/applications can be blocked by ModSecurity rules attempted to defend the server. It is better to avoid adding exceptions to these rules that defend the server because most mod_security problems can be resolved by changing how an application or plugin performs, modifying a script, or reducing the size of files uploaded to your account.

We can send a request for ModSecurity exceptions up to our next level of support, but it is a request and must be approved before being implemented on any account. ModSecurity exceptions when added are specific to a directory or file, and are not added to the entire account. Similarly, since exceptions are added by the rule, we cannot simply except a user's entire account from all ModSecurity rules. In essence, a specific rule running from a specific directory or file must be triggered before we will be able to consider applying any exceptions to an account.

Please let me know if I can assist you further. Have a wonderful day!

[Chuck S]

If they resolved the server issue that is good

Like I said I would suggest this is something to do with the hosting plan you have or group of clusters your on. Is this an issue because the host recently upgraded the server etc.

The only resolution if you continue to have an issue is to have your host truly fix there hosting or move you to a cluster that is not setup the same way.

Mod security can keep files from being uploaded sure. Flash Uploader as well can have issues with mod security these are all documented over the net for that piece of software.

[grahamsmythe]

I'm still not convinced what they've done has resolved anything.

I'd be grateful if you'd have a try to see what you think.

Cheers

Graham