Error in error_log - PHP Fatal error

Hello,

I've been trying to understand why my site is so slow even though I've ramped up all the specs on the server. One thing I ran accross was this error in my error_log:

[11-Oct-2016 12:51:12 UTC] PHP Fatal error:  Call to a member function getRow() on a non-object in /home/scboston3/public_html/inc/utils.inc.php on line 452

[11-Oct-2016 12:58:49 UTC] PHP Fatal error:  Call to a member function getRow() on a non-object in /home/scboston3/public_html/inc/utils.inc.php on line 452

[11-Oct-2016 12:58:49 UTC] PHP Fatal error:  Call to a member function getRow() on a non-object in /home/scboston3/public_html/inc/utils.inc.php on line 452

[11-Oct-2016 13:01:34 UTC] PHP Fatal error:  Call to a member function getRow() on a non-object in /home/scboston3/public_html/inc/utils.inc.php on line 452

[11-Oct-2016 13:17:52 UTC] PHP Fatal error:  Call to a member function getRow() on a non-object in /home/scboston3/public_html/inc/utils.inc.php on line 452

This error may have place when mysql server goes down.

For the site speed I would recommend the following:

Server load is very dependant on the installed modules and particular user's activity. 

Most of the load is caused by periodic requests, such as shoutbox, messenger, video messenger, or similar 3rd-party modules. 

I would suggest to uninstall such modules to see if this help to reduce site load, if it's not possible try to increase interval between the requests:

1 - Administration > Modules > Shoutbox > Shoutbox Update Time (In Milliseconds) : increase to 12000

2 - Administration > Modules > Simple Messenger > Simple Messenger Update Time (In Milliseconds) : increase to 7000

3 - Administration > Modules > Flash Apps > Messenger > Settings > Update Interval : increase to 7 or uninstall this module

For any other 3rd-party modules with similar functionality (which is updating without page reload) consult with author of the module.

Also check Administration > Tools > Host Tools > Audit page to make sure that everything is applied.

For more granular server tuning I would suggest this docs:

https://www.boonex.com/trac/dolphin/wiki/TutorialHowToCalculateLoadAndHardwareRequirements

https://www.boonex.com/trac/dolphin/wiki/HostingServerSetupRecommendations

Also it may help a lot to move from Apache to Nginx webserver:

https://www.boonex.com/trac/dolphin/wiki/TutorialHowToInstallDolphinOnNginx

As Alex pointed out, you want to focus on your database server.  Make sure it has enough resources; Dolphin, as any of these social platforms, requires a robust server.  Most likely your database server gets too busy to handle the number of requests. 

I figured out what the problem was. I wasn't aware of this, but the DB server was not even in the same facility as the hosting server. So I had them put on the same server and now it flies. Thank you everyone for your help!