sbumpas
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WAMP optimization
My organization recently commissioned a web development firm to redo our website. We already have a hosting provider in place, but they are adamant about using Windows. Thus, we're now running a WAMP stack where we used to have IIS and a number of static pages. I know nothing of Apache, MySQL, PHP, or Drupal but have 20 years experience with Windows servers and desktops. The new site, currently at dev.stcharleslibrary.org, is hit or miss in terms of responsiveness. Some pages load quickly for some users in some browsers, but not for others. There does not seem to be a pattern.
As a Windows admin, here are the things that stand out to me:
httpd service spikes a single core/CPU whenever there's a page request to 100%. Multiple requests burden the CPU equally. This is a Nehalem based machine - not brand new, but I suspect easily capable of serving these pages.
System cache is not being used effectively. Windows always has 1.3GB of free memory - but I can see cached content going up and down as page requests come in. As if cache is purposely being aged out to make room for new page requests. As there's about 50 pages on the new site, that basically means nothing stays cached and has to go to disk (if my hypothesis is accurate).
Can you recommend some settings or logs to check? The dev company is trying to wash their hands of this because they have no experience with Windows, so it's on to me to either shore it up or come out of pocket for a hosted environment.
Thanks!
As a Windows admin, here are the things that stand out to me:
httpd service spikes a single core/CPU whenever there's a page request to 100%. Multiple requests burden the CPU equally. This is a Nehalem based machine - not brand new, but I suspect easily capable of serving these pages.
System cache is not being used effectively. Windows always has 1.3GB of free memory - but I can see cached content going up and down as page requests come in. As if cache is purposely being aged out to make room for new page requests. As there's about 50 pages on the new site, that basically means nothing stays cached and has to go to disk (if my hypothesis is accurate).
Can you recommend some settings or logs to check? The dev company is trying to wash their hands of this because they have no experience with Windows, so it's on to me to either shore it up or come out of pocket for a hosted environment.
Thanks!
ASKER
Can you recommend some literature on securing WAMP? the hosting provider we currently use will not allow a linux install. It's looking more and more like we'd be wise to move to a managed solution.
I have no idea what we're using for caching - how could I check? I did find the apache log files and there's some pretty interesting stuff in there; this is my favorite:
[Fri Feb 28 22:05:10 2014] [client 124.202.143.250] (20024)The given path is misformatted or contained invalid characters: Cannot map GET /w00tw00t.at.blackhats.rom
Looks like an unsuccessful attack, but i'm not qualified to say for sure.
I have no idea what we're using for caching - how could I check? I did find the apache log files and there's some pretty interesting stuff in there; this is my favorite:
[Fri Feb 28 22:05:10 2014] [client 124.202.143.250] (20024)The given path is misformatted or contained invalid characters: Cannot map GET /w00tw00t.at.blackhats.rom
Looks like an unsuccessful attack, but i'm not qualified to say for sure.
If your Windows server is being used for anything else but web site and database, then that is likely to be your problem. Here's the server recommendations page for Drupal: https://drupal.org/requirements/webserver
ASKER
It is dedicated solely to this WAMP install, no other apps except AV running.
AV is going to scan every file request and slow things down. And I don't believe it will protect you from the normal web site break-in attempts like SQL injection.
ASKER
As a test, I did disable it but the site still performed rather poorly.
When I run a traceroute to stcharleslibrary.org, it shows 17 hops before there is no response. In contrast, my own site is 9 hops total. It look like you are at the far end of a long path which doesn't help.
In Firebug, the 'Net' panel shows dev.stcharleslibrary.org loading in 5 to 6 seconds. The 'Hours' page takes 15 seconds.
In Firebug, the 'Net' panel shows dev.stcharleslibrary.org loading in 5 to 6 seconds. The 'Hours' page takes 15 seconds.
ASKER
if you run firebug again, do those numbers change? That's the problem I keep seeing - Hours probably loads fast now, but 'Net' does not.
The numbers always change some, +/- 20% is not unusual. Network traffic can cause that. The 'Hours' page starts slow and then loads a map from Google which contributes to the slowness.
ASKER
Thanks - given that this server is being hammered from the outside (brute force attack on a regular basis plus strange log entries as listed above), do you have any specific recommendations for my situation based on the information I've given?
On the other hand... if it is a first request for a page, nothing will be in cache and it will take longer. http://dev.stcharleslibrary.org/articles-databases loads 101 items which is a lot to me.
ASKER
That's my thinking, is that the delay is uncached items. However, the cache seems to be very small as nothing stays in there for long. Is there a way to adjust that?
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ASKER
Thanks - this site is not in production yet, so moving it isn't a big deal. I think we'll go with a managed solution as this site is mission critical and I obviously don't have the necessary skill set to deal with it.
That's probably a good decision. Thanks for the points.
If you are only running php pages it doesn't make sense to use Windows.
WAMP is in no way setup to be run for a public facing server, so I hope you have secured it.
What are you using for caching?
Check your httpd.conf and my.ini files to see where your log files are stored and check them out - may give an indication.