server load (modules.php)

registered · Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 5:31 pm

I am experiencing an issue on my site where my hosting company (hostony.com) has reported to me that I am causing high CPU load.

They report that the offending page is modules.php as in:
<username> 1074 7.4 1.1 66732 24080 ? R 05:10 0:16 /usr/bin/php modules.php

I think I am running RavenNuke76 v2.02.02 and I assume that this is the main modules.php page but it is hard to tell from this log (no path is shown)

Can anyone give me some advice on who to troubleshoot what the issue is and has anyone else sen server load issues from this page?

Cheers,

Ding

Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 8:51 pm

Modules.php is sort of the "traffic cop" that directs traffic among the other PHPnuke modules so it's not surprising that if there is a problem then that would be implicated. But we'd need to know more. How many users do you have online at once? Can they give you any statistics to back up their claim? There are plenty of other PHPnuke sites that run successfully and many of them run on low end or "brain dead" hosting providers without many problems. There is not much you can do short term about the efficiency of PHPnuke.

If you don't have a lot invested with this host you might want to find another and you could start by looking at Raven's host forums here at this site. But I'd get some more details from my host first.

Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 10:15 pm

I do have a bit invested with them, I prepaid for 3 years to get a lower rate and have multiple subdomains set up.

Generally they are pretty good and I have not had technical issues in the past, but this could be a big issue if I can not fix it. The same thing happened 2 weeks ago and they reactivated my acct... now it happened again last night I guess.

I will have to log on from home to view my web stats to see # of users etc, but it should be quite low. I do get hit by search engines some tims so maybe that could be it.

here is the info they sent me (their proof)

I changed my acct name to "myacctname" to keep things private and changed other people's names to "otheracctname#"

Doing a top gave:

Code:

top - 05:13:32 up 11 days, 5:38, 3 users, load average: 72.97, 31.82,


14.67


Tasks: 327 total, 70 running, 252 sleeping, 3 stopped, 2 zombie


Cpu(s): 22.3% us, 18.2% sy, 0.3% ni, 48.9% id, 10.1% wa, 0.0% hi, 0.0% 


si


Mem: 2074736k total, 1904076k used, 170660k free, 25668k buffers


Swap: 1052248k total, 494960k used, 557288k free, 495252k cached





PID USER PR NI VIRT RES SHR S %CPU %MEM TIME+ COMMAND


8025 otheracctname1 16 0 53364 11m 3696 S 26 0.6 0:00.38 php


898 myacctname 25 0 54692 12m 3380 R 19 0.6 0:14.59 php


3323 myacctname 25 0 66688 22m 3412 R 19 1.1 0:07.49 php


3482 myacctname 25 0 66308 22m 3380 R 19 1.1 0:07.74 php


3819 myacctname 25 0 65308 22m 3380 R 19 1.1 0:06.89 php


4438 myacctname 25 0 64892 22m 3380 R 19 1.1 0:06.51 php


4450 myacctname 25 0 65136 22m 3380 R 19 1.1 0:05.99 php


6028 myacctname 25 0 65052 22m 3380 R 19 1.1 0:04.20 php


6538 myacctname 25 0 65048 22m 3380 R 19 1.1 0:02.54 php


6848 myacctname 25 0 64728 22m 3380 R 19 1.1 0:02.29 php


6997 myacctname 25 0 65188 22m 3380 R 19 1.1 0:02.44 php


7180 myacctname 25 0 51012 9064 3380 R 19 0.4 0:01.41 php


6971 myacctname 25 0 65740 22m 3380 R 17 1.1 0:02.40 php


1874 myacctname 25 0 66084 22m 3380 R 15 1.1 0:11.72 php


4946 myacctname 25 0 65388 22m 3380 R 15 1.1 0:05.27 php


5762 myacctname 25 0 66160 22m 3380 R 15 1.1 0:02.68 php


8188 otheracctname2 18 0 0 0 0 Z 11 0.0 0:00.06 php5.bin <defunct>


2586 myacctname 25 0 65584 22m 3380 R 9 1.1 0:09.70 php


645 myacctname 25 0 66616 23m 3380 R 8 1.2 0:15.20 php


8114 otheracctname3 17 0 48716 6244 3408 D 8 0.3 0:00.06 php


446 mysql 15 0 113m 42m 4052 S 4 2.1 39:18.84 mysqld


6470 otheracctname4 18 0 2752 1248 824 R 4 0.1 0:00.27 imapd


7169 nobody 16 0 23888 16m 1172 S 4 0.8 0:00.12 httpd


8181 root 15 0 2764 1036 692 R 4 0.0 0:00.04 top


3332 myacctname 25 0 66364 22m 3380 R 2 1.1 0:07.51 php


3820 nobody 16 0 24036 17m 1172 S 2 0.8 0:00.30 httpd


3821 nobody 15 0 23896 17m 1164 S 2 0.8 0:00.39 httpd


7048 nobody 15 0 23892 16m 1152 S 2 0.8 0:00.10 httpd


7459 nobody 15 0 23896 16m 1160 S 2 0.8 0:00.05 httpd


7474 nobody 15 0 23892 16m 1164 R 2 0.8 0:00.06 httpd


7548 nobody 16 0 23888 16m 1152 S 2 0.8 0:00.04 httpd


7577 nobody 15 0 23940 17m 1208 S 2 0.8 0:00.10 httpd


8201 root 19 0 3064 1244 336 R 2 0.1 0:00.01 pidof


1 root 15 0 1772 504 472 S 0 0.0 0:38.33 init


2 root RT 0 0 0 0 S 0 0.0 0:59.36 migration/0

Doing another top gave:

Code:

top - 05:13:37 up 11 days, 5:38, 3 users, load average: 73.78, 32.67, 


15.03


Tasks: 334 total, 80 running, 245 sleeping, 3 stopped, 6 zombie


Cpu(s): 82.0% us, 18.0% sy, 0.0% ni, 0.0% id, 0.0% wa, 0.0% hi, 0.0% si


Mem: 2074736k total, 1951044k used, 123692k free, 26096k buffers


Swap: 1052248k total, 494960k used, 557288k free, 514584k cached





PID USER PR NI VIRT RES SHR S %CPU %MEM TIME+ COMMAND


446 mysql 15 0 112m 42m 4052 S 34 2.1 39:19.87 mysqld


7472 otheracctname5 25 0 62756 17m 3592 R 10 0.9 0:01.40 php


698 myacctname 25 0 56400 13m 3380 R 10 0.7 0:15.91 php


1600 myacctname 25 0 67064 23m 3380 R 10 1.1 0:12.33 php


2300 myacctname 25 0 66752 23m 3412 R 10 1.1 0:11.73 php


2606 myacctname 25 0 65228 22m 3412 R 10 1.1 0:09.90 php


2641 myacctname 25 0 65176 22m 3380 R 10 1.1 0:08.03 php


3332 myacctname 25 0 66384 22m 3380 R 10 1.1 0:07.81 php


3664 myacctname 25 0 65416 22m 3412 R 10 1.1 0:07.61 php


4397 myacctname 25 0 52156 9468 3380 R 10 0.5 0:07.09 php


4406 myacctname 25 0 55072 12m 3380 R 10 0.6 0:07.19 php


5122 myacctname 25 0 65632 22m 3380 R 10 1.1 0:05.81 php


5471 myacctname 25 0 64532 22m 3380 R 10 1.1 0:03.83 php


5792 myacctname 25 0 65112 21m 3380 R 10 1.1 0:03.54 php


7215 myacctname 25 0 50948 9200 3380 R 10 0.4 0:02.14 php


8277 otheracctname6 18 0 47052 5080 3164 R 10 0.2 0:00.30 php


617 myacctname 25 0 66232 23m 3380 R 10 1.1 0:14.19 php


692 myacctname 25 0 67288 23m 3412 R 10 1.2 0:15.31 php


8285 otheracctname7 17 0 0 0 0 Z 8 0.0 0:00.24 php <defunct>


8255 otheracctname8 19 0 18772 9052 3644 R 8 0.4 0:00.23 php


8293 otheracctname9 20 0 55580 13m 3320 R 8 0.6 0:00.23 php


8296 otheracctname10 16 0 0 0 0 Z 8 0.0 0:00.23 php <defunct>


1172 myacctname 25 0 66444 23m 3380 R 7 1.1 0:14.30 php


1874 myacctname 25 0 66104 22m 3380 R 7 1.1 0:11.93 php


2736 myacctname 25 0 52196 9588 3376 R 7 0.5 0:09.44 php


6971 myacctname 25 0 65760 22m 3380 R 7 1.1 0:02.61 php


7033 myacctname 25 0 65648 22m 3380 R 7 1.1 0:01.40 php


8253 otheracctname11 17 0 51084 8728 3948 R 7 0.4 0:00.21 php


31914 myacctname 25 0 66596 23m 3380 R 7 1.2 0:20.34 php


645 myacctname 25 0 66504 23m 3380 R 7 1.2 0:15.40 php


761 myacctname 25 0 67312 23m 3412 R 7 1.2 0:16.21 php


898 myacctname 25 0 54704 12m 3380 R 7 0.6 0:14.79 php


1444 myacctname 25 0 65696 23m 3380 R 7 1.2 0:14.91 php


1937 myacctname 25 0 65272 23m 3380 R 7 1.1 0:12.74 php


2416 myacctname 25 0 66900 22m 3380 R 7 1.1 0:10.93 php


3342 myacctname 25 0 54932 13m 3380 R 7 0.6 0:07.39 php


3482 myacctname 25 0 66320 22m 3380 R 7 1.1 0:07.94 php

grepping for my acct name gave:

Code:

Warning: bad syntax, perhaps a bogus '-'? See


/usr/share/doc/procps-3.2.3/FAQ


root 9423 0.0 0.0 5880 504 pts/2 R+ 05:14 0:00 \_ grep myacctname


myacctname 31914 9.0 1.1 66708 24668 ? R 05:10 0:21 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 617 6.9 1.1 66472 24008 ? R 05:10 0:16 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 645 7.4 1.1 66692 24116 ? R 05:10 0:17 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 673 8.5 1.1 67640 24464 ? R 05:10 0:19 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 692 7.3 1.1 67456 24144 ? R 05:10 0:16 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 698 7.7 0.6 56472 13808 ? R 05:10 0:17 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 761 7.8 1.1 67524 24292 ? R 05:10 0:17 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 898 7.2 0.6 54772 13056 ? R 05:10 0:16 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 1074 7.4 1.1 66732 24080 ? R 05:10 0:16 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 1172 7.2 1.1 66676 24008 ? R 05:10 0:16 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 1444 7.6 1.1 65896 24064 ? R 05:10 0:16 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 1600 6.5 1.1 67236 23732 ? R 05:10 0:13 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 1874 6.5 1.1 66276 23696 ? R 05:10 0:13 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 1937 6.9 1.1 65440 23792 ? R 05:10 0:14 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 2300 6.8 1.1 66924 23732 ? R 05:10 0:13 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 2416 6.7 1.1 67080 23624 ? R 05:10 0:12 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 2586 6.1 1.1 65772 23484 ? R 05:11 0:11 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 2606 6.2 1.1 65420 23552 ? R 05:11 0:11 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 2641 5.3 1.1 65356 23304 ? R 05:11 0:09 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 2736 6.0 0.4 52148 9668 ? R 05:11 0:10 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 3323 5.4 1.1 66848 23320 ? R 05:11 0:09 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 3332 5.2 1.1 66484 23228 ? R 05:11 0:08 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 3342 5.3 0.6 55012 13440 ? R 05:11 0:08 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 3482 5.8 1.1 66500 23316 ? R 05:11 0:09 /usr/bin/php


modules.php


myacctname 3600 5.4 1.1 66584 23208 ? R 05:11 0:08 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 3664 5.7 1.1 65576 23316 ? R 05:11 0:09 /usr/bin/php


modules.php


myacctname 3819 5.4 1.1 65460 23204 ? R 05:11 0:08 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 4397 5.8 0.4 52256 9560 ? R 05:11 0:08 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 4406 5.9 0.6 55152 12740 ? R 05:11 0:08 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 4438 5.6 1.1 65032 23164 ? R 05:11 0:08 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 4450 5.1 1.1 65236 23096 ? R 05:11 0:07 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 4946 5.1 1.1 65504 23060 ? R 05:11 0:06 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 4953 5.3 1.1 65352 23084 ? R 05:11 0:07 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 5122 5.5 1.1 65720 23080 ? R 05:11 0:07 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 5471 4.6 1.1 64692 22988 ? R 05:12 0:05 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 5663 4.1 1.1 65480 22932 ? R 05:12 0:04 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 5762 3.7 1.1 66280 22888 ? R 05:12 0:04 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 6028 5.7 1.1 65188 23016 ? R 05:12 0:06 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 6152 5.1 1.1 65732 22944 ? R 05:12 0:05 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 6394 5.5 0.6 55120 13248 ? R 05:12 0:05 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 6538 4.6 1.1 65176 22888 ? R 05:12 0:04 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 6848 4.6 1.1 64868 22868 ? R 05:12 0:03 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 6888 3.9 1.0 64496 22808 ? R 05:12 0:03 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 6971 5.7 1.1 65908 22904 ? R 05:12 0:04 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 6997 5.6 1.1 65324 22900 ? R 05:12 0:04 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 7033 4.3 1.0 65820 22808 ? R 05:12 0:03 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 7180 4.6 0.4 51168 9256 ? R 05:12 0:03 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 7215 5.3 0.4 51028 9280 ? R 05:12 0:03 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 7913 6.2 0.6 54612 13028 ? R 05:13 0:02 /usr/bin/php 


modules.php


myacctname 8256 4.5 1.0 65944 22564 ? R 05:13 0:01 /usr/bin/php


modules.php

Thoughts?

Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 9:47 am

I don't know, it's hard for me to make too much out of the statistics. I know I've done my best on my site to ban search engines and their IP addresses. Some folks WANT the search engines but I look at them as a nuisance. If I can determine an IP range for them I use Sentinel to ban it and you can also ban certain user agents, like Googlebot. But the resource issue would only come into play if you had a lot of concurrent search engines rummaging thru your site so I'd take a look at that.

The built in whois online functions of Nuke kind of ... be diplomatic ... aren't that great ... but if you look in the sessions table you will see who is hammering at your site at any one time and what their IP addresses are. If you have a lot of entries in that table at a time when resources are being used heavily you could take the IP's from there and look at your access logs for the same time and see what they are doing (sort of). The access logs should show the user agents and you can go from there to either ban the IP's or user agents ... assuming that is the problem.

Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 10:23 am

Hmmm, I cant see a single reason why nuke alone would use so much resources but it is not without merit, Its very possible. Now the next thing we need to discuss is the modules themselves, do you have a lot of extra modules and if not a lot but a few, what are those modules?
Do you have anything that will allow for automatic mail without checks?
This is ussually the main reason that a site will skyrocket with resources is the mail, from my experience. Also do you have anything that will allow it to work without a check of some sort?

Basically, here are the 2 most common reasons for massive CPU spike: SQL queries made in masses, and e-mail made in masses. I personally run checks in both cases on my site, hard coded checks.

This might be a good place to start.