Ocassional Script Execution Process Interuption

Here is a transcript with my hosting provider (below).  I run Dolphin 7.1.1 (soon to be 7.1.2) Using the host tools in the dolphin admin panel I show no flags and that all optimization is "OK". I host on a VPS with the following specs.

Operating System: Debian GNU/Linux

Perl Version: v5.14.2

PHP Version: 5.4.0

MySQL version: 5.1.61

RAM: 2560 MB

Traffic: 1000 GB

----Begin Transcript with Host----

Me:

I keep getting this error message at random times. Other times it works fine.

Error message:
mod_fcgid: error reading data from FastCGI server

If you think this is a server error, please contact the webmaster.
Error 500

It just happens at random. I can be on a sub page of my website and then I can click to go back to the home page and I get that error message referencing error reading data from FastCGI server. I refresh the error page and the homepage displays. I can go back and try to replicate the issue and it does not happen. Then when I am normal browsing it will happen again.

Host:

Hello,

I have to inform you that Error 500 means that some of the scripts on your site are causing too much load on the server.

I would suggest you to optimize your scripts and lowering the resources they consume in order to run, so that errors like this do not happen anymore.

Me:

Ok. I understand that. Is this VPS not a major upgrade from the shared hosting I came from? I expected for the load to be handled? I am lost for what my target needs are if I am overloading a VPS?

Host:

Hello,

The problem actually is not within the server package. It is with your script. This is a matter you should address at your script's vendor. Something goes wrong with the script's execution processes occasionally.

Me:

Ok thank you for your help. I will speak with the Vendor.

----End Transcript with Host----

I would not know where to start with this.  I did experience this same issue on my last server set up as well.  Now my site is way faster and still this issue.

If you want to visit the site then just put a .com at the end of my username.

I just love how hosts try to pass problems off on the scripts.

Do a google search for the error phrase. "mod_fcgid: error reading data from FastCGI server"

All search results that i can find all indicate server problems.

You may want to consider switching from FastCGI to something else. It is good for performace, but it spawns a lot of processes and eats a lot of memory. The differences between the methods are listed here. http://www.boonex.com/trac/dolphin/wiki/HostingServerSetupRecommendations

On my own VPS and Deds i have always stuck with the default of mod_php and never have any problems.

The switch changes how permissions are handled but you may still want to consider it if this error gets to be a problem.

Really helpful read. Educated me on this quite a bit better. If I understand the chart adding eAccelerator with my FastCGI would make my site insane fast but probably cripple even more with error messages like the one in my original post.  To go back and install mod_php or eAccelerator I would have to go into root access.  I currently have its access disabled in order to use quite a nice control panel. It makes Direct Admin and CPanel look awful. I can't see myself going to either of those in order to make these installs but if the errors get even worse I'll have to I guess shy of looking at optimization options for 3rd party modules and some boonex stock. My site is getting more and more traveled every month. Its only at 50 thousand plus visits (not hits) a month right now and I am seeing these issues. I travel the site often but hopefully I can count on members to give me feedback if this becomes an issue for them.

Thanks for pointing this resource out for me Deano.

Heres a thought. Which one? I use APC right now.

APC vs. Memcache

APC right now I just have enabled and running. Memcache on the other hand I think is more highly used by some of the most traffic intensive sites.  I can also put up to 64 MB of Memory to the Memcache. Im not sure if it helps in this case or not.

APC running with FastCGI was indicated as a possible problem in one of the articles i read.

Perhaps you should shut off any accelerators your running to see if that clears up the problem.

Seems like I would want some sort of cache engine running. I only use APC right now. I will just switch to memcache and see what happens. A little testing never hurt anyone (not true).

Holy crap... Something I thought of and did actually worked. On top of that other issues I was going to post about here in the forum are fixed because of this too. I disabled the APC in the dolphin admin and turned it off in the php config. I then instead enabled Memcache and created an instance for it. Then connected it to the dolphin admin in the cache settings.

I can not reproduce the error and I have been trying to overload the site processes under normal circumstances.  My other issue I had not discussed yet was that my member menu bar stopped working. None of its functions would work anymore. Anything you clicked would not expand for selections. Everything stayed collapsed and you could not change your status or presence.  Now all of that is working again.

The simple things make me happy.

For what its worth documentation wise the change I mention in my above post works very well performance wise and corrected my problem.  All magic comes with a price it seems because now I can not clear the cache. It fails to clear every time. I have to change everything back to file and then clear the cache. Then I switch it back to Memcache.  Not a real big deal but I thought I would mention it.

That is known. See docs in the memcache section. http://www.boonex.com/trac/dolphin/wiki/TutorialUnderstandingCacheEngines

Thank You Sir.