# EXPERIMENT IN PROGRESS!



## Costello (Oct 22, 2011)

*EXPERIMENT IN PROGRESS! READ THIS CAREFULLY*

In order to speed up the website, I have ordered a new high-end server that will come in addition to the existing 2.
The 3 servers work in cooperation and exchange data constantly.

Since I have only started configuring the server today, synchronization between the servers may not work on many levels.
For example:
1) You are using server #1. You just posted a shout in the shoutbox.
2) Everyone that's using server #1 can see your shout
3) Everyone that's using server #2 cannot see the shout because it was posted on server 1 (and synchronization is not in place)

*SAME FOR AVATARS/PHOTOS!*
1) You are using server #1. You just uploaded your photo.
2) Your photo is uploaded to server #1, but is not present on server #2.
3) Everyone that's using server #2 cannot see your photo.
Fixed

*HOMEPAGE/PORTAL *
... is being worked on to optimize the loading speeds.
I have applied a few fixes that should improve the overall loading time.
OK

---------

Problems remain with:
- shoutbox
- caching in different places
- [...]

---------
Who decides who gets to use server #1 or #2 ? it's just based on your IP address.

IF this experiment is successful and it speeds up the site as much as I expect, we will keep this configuration and we will work on optimizing synchronization between the servers. In the meantime we need feedback regarding the site speed.


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## Nujui (Oct 22, 2011)

I'm noticing a little speed difference. It still takes awhile for somethings to load though, like this thread, took a whole minute to load .


EDIT: Posting seems to be a bit slow as well on my end.


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## nintendoom (Oct 22, 2011)

does that mean when the synchronization is done, we can now see what's in the other server?


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## CarbonX13 (Oct 22, 2011)

The site loading seems to have improved since the downtime earlier today, but posting is still quite slow on some occasions.


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## Costello (Oct 22, 2011)

posting is slow by definition because it has to refresh all the caches.
caching is what makes browsing faster, because the site doesn't need to request the same info every time (since the content is the same)
but when you make a post, the cache needs to be refreshed, so that people can see the new content.
so yes, posting is and probably will remain a bit slow.


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## Nujui (Oct 22, 2011)

Costello said:


> posting is slow by definition because it has to refresh all the caches.
> caching is what makes browsing faster, because the site doesn't need to request the same info every time (since the content is the same)
> but when you make a post, the cache needs to be refreshed, so that people can see the new content.
> so yes, posting is and probably will remain a bit slow.



Ah, alright.

Looks like the changed happened I'm guessing (A bunch of code appeared on the front page for a couple of seconds), big speed difference.


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## Costello (Oct 22, 2011)

for me the site has become much faster, even though I live extremely far from the server (I live in china and the site is hosted in France).
so at least for me the experiment is successful  it used to be slow as hell to a point i couldnt even visit.
i'm hoping the same is happening for other people, though there's no way to be sure.


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## Nujui (Oct 22, 2011)

Costello said:


> for me the site has become much faster, even though I live extremely far from the server (I live in china and the site is hosted in France).
> so at least for me the experiment is successful  it used to be slow as hell to a point i couldnt even visit.
> i'm hoping the same is happening for other people, though there's no way to be sure.



Things are doing better on my end as well, so the experiment is a success for me '


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## Thesolcity (Oct 22, 2011)

Quick as ever CA.


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## Zetta_x (Oct 22, 2011)

Thanks for keeping us updated and creating a great environment for discussions


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## giantpune (Oct 22, 2011)

just a thought, but if you are experimentating, then i assume you want some sort of feedback and user reports.  it would make sense to have a page to go to that will say "you are using server #2" wouldnt it?


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## person66 (Oct 22, 2011)

Seems a bit faster here in Canada, but then again, even before the update, I never had to wait more than five or six seconds for a page to load.

Posting seems a but faster now for me too

EDIT: actually, it seems quite a bit faster now, pages are only taking one to two seconds for me


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## Costello (Oct 22, 2011)

*UPDATE: *
avatar upload should work now (synchronizing properly). this remark is valid for avatars uploaded from now on upwards.

still possibly causing problems:
- any other file upload
- gallery
- shoutbox
- caching



giantpune said:


> just a thought, but if you are experimentating, then i assume you want some sort of feedback and user reports.  it would make sense to have a page to go to that will say "you are using server #2" wouldnt it?


if you really want to know what server you're on I guess I could leave a clue somewhere on the page so that people could tell.


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## how_do_i_do_that (Oct 22, 2011)

keep all guests on server 2. that way they don't need to see avatars, sigs, etc.  That way most of the load of guests is mostly to just viewing just the content.

when you log in, your on server 1.


if it is not practical, nm then.


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## Sicklyboy (Oct 22, 2011)

Loading the front page took a little while.  Loading each topic seemed to work fine.

Edit - Posted fast as hell from quick reply!  Brought up the quick edit box super fast too.

Edit 2 - slight delay loading the full edit page, but the initial quick edit committed extremely fast as well.  I like what you did, Costello!


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## sputnix (Oct 22, 2011)

I honestly never really noticed a drop in speed though things seem relativity fast on my end


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## Thesolcity (Oct 22, 2011)

Editing is _SUUUUUPER_ slow.


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## Costello (Oct 22, 2011)

Thesolcity said:


> Editing is _SUUUUUPER_ slow.


you must have been unlucky because it's instant for me now. try again?


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## Thesolcity (Oct 22, 2011)

Now I have a debug list at the end of the page. 

EDIT: Testing, that long debug list is still there.


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## DrOctapu (Oct 22, 2011)

Zetta_x said:


> Thanks for keeping us updated and creating a great environment for discussions


This. It works great. I can like posts without waiting now!


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## Costello (Oct 22, 2011)

*EXPERIMENT IN PROGRESS! READ THIS CAREFULLY*

In order to speed up the website, I have ordered a new high-end server that will come in addition to the existing 2.
The 3 servers work in cooperation and exchange data constantly.

Since I have only started configuring the server today, synchronization between the servers may not work on many levels.
For example:
1) You are using server #1. You just posted a shout in the shoutbox.
2) Everyone that's using server #1 can see your shout
3) Everyone that's using server #2 cannot see the shout because it was posted on server 1 (and synchronization is not in place)

*SAME FOR AVATARS/PHOTOS!*
1) You are using server #1. You just uploaded your photo.
2) Your photo is uploaded to server #1, but is not present on server #2.
3) Everyone that's using server #2 cannot see your photo.
Fixed

*HOMEPAGE/PORTAL *
... is being worked on to optimize the loading speeds.
I have applied a few fixes that should improve the overall loading time.
OK

---------

Problems remain with:
- shoutbox
- caching in different places
- [...]

---------
Who decides who gets to use server #1 or #2 ? it's just based on your IP address.

IF this experiment is successful and it speeds up the site as much as I expect, we will keep this configuration and we will work on optimizing synchronization between the servers. In the meantime we need feedback regarding the site speed.


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## Hydreigon (Oct 22, 2011)

Hmm...The site seems noticeably faster, for sure.


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## Costello (Oct 22, 2011)

I've applied additional fixes to the portal.

Turns out the latest posts box was causing huge slowdowns.
I've rewritten the query and now it's instant, but the downside is -- when a post is made in a section you're not supposed to see, the post will still show up (but you wont be seeing the title or anything). It's a downside.


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## Bladexdsl (Oct 22, 2011)

must be working the site is loading a lot faster now


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## kevan (Oct 22, 2011)

I think you just fixed the threads we arent supposed to see thing...

Since there was one I saw now its gone.


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## Costello (Oct 22, 2011)

Bladexdsl said:


> must be working the site is loading a lot faster now


you have no idea how I like reading this, especially coming from you.
since you were one of the guys having the most trouble.
next in line - Youki 



kevan said:


> I think you just fixed the threads we arent supposed to see thing...
> 
> Since there was one I saw now its gone.


yes I just did.


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## jamesaa (Oct 22, 2011)

Certainly seems faster to me 

Fortunately I missed the downtime, guess i was at work, or sleeping... or sleeping at work. meh.

So I assume where it says "SERVER: PHPTEMP" is what server i'm currently on?


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## Costello (Oct 22, 2011)

thats correct.
"PHPTEMP" is the new server ordered just yesterday, which handles 2/3 of the requests now.
the other server (HTTPTEMP) serves static content (images, css, ...) and 1/3 of the page requests.


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## Bladexdsl (Oct 22, 2011)

Costello said:


> Bladexdsl said:
> 
> 
> > must be working the site is loading a lot faster now
> ...


OH didn't know i was that important


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## Costello (Oct 22, 2011)

Bladexdsl said:


> Costello said:
> 
> 
> > Bladexdsl said:
> ...


you have no idea how heart-breaking it is when a long time & active member like you gets mad at how slow the site is, and as a result doesn't visit as often as they used to
i've been really worried the last few days about the site speeds, honestly i didnt think it could be solved.
I found tons of threads about IPB v3 from people who were complaining about the speeds after the upgrade.
Well it seems I've found the solution! i'm really glad.


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## mthrnite (Oct 22, 2011)

*Nice work .TakaM!*


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## Densetsu (Oct 22, 2011)

Over the past couple of weeks I've noticed some slowdowns and increases in speed, but I was never sure if it was my imagination or if it was real. 

But now I can say I've noticed a marked decrease in the loading times.  Whatever you're doing Costy, it's working


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## Chhotu uttam (Oct 22, 2011)

Good.Its much better now :biggrin:
Great gamble,I guess 

EDIT:- Also,Nice work


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## lolzed (Oct 22, 2011)

Yup, it's loading a bit more faster this time 

EDIT: Scratch that, it really is loading a lot faster


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## FireGrey (Oct 22, 2011)

Great job Costello


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## Nathan Drake (Oct 22, 2011)

Oh man, this is so much faster now. Excellent work cleaning things up to run more quickly. I definitely appreciate it.


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## Jamstruth (Oct 22, 2011)

Site seems to be loading more quickly for me. Definitely better than before last night but even that was fine for me so I'm probably not the best person to test.


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## Ikki (Oct 22, 2011)

The speed boost is very noticeable and much appreciated


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## Langin (Oct 22, 2011)

great job Costello, the site is much faster.

Right Let's test how fast it posts.

Wow fast post!!

Edit goes very well as well.


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## Rydian (Oct 22, 2011)

So the temp's big enough to have a minor CDN now? X3

And yeah, the caching helps.


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## Skelletonike (Oct 22, 2011)

Well, the site sure seems faster today, maybe it's because I'm using my desktop for once (which has much faster internet than the handicapd wireless my laptop uses), but it's most likely because of that new server, I also assume that's the reason why the website was offline for some time earlier today?


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## Costello (Oct 22, 2011)

*EXPERIMENT IN PROGRESS! READ THIS CAREFULLY*

In order to speed up the website, I have ordered a new high-end server that will come in addition to the existing 2.
The 3 servers work in cooperation and exchange data constantly.

Since I have only started configuring the server today, synchronization between the servers may not work on many levels.
For example:
1) You are using server #1. You just posted a shout in the shoutbox.
2) Everyone that's using server #1 can see your shout
3) Everyone that's using server #2 cannot see the shout because it was posted on server 1 (and synchronization is not in place)

*SAME FOR AVATARS/PHOTOS!*
1) You are using server #1. You just uploaded your photo.
2) Your photo is uploaded to server #1, but is not present on server #2.
3) Everyone that's using server #2 cannot see your photo.
Fixed

*HOMEPAGE/PORTAL *
... is being worked on to optimize the loading speeds.
I have applied a few fixes that should improve the overall loading time.
OK

---------

Problems remain with:
- shoutbox
- caching in different places
- [...]

---------
Who decides who gets to use server #1 or #2 ? it's just based on your IP address.

IF this experiment is successful and it speeds up the site as much as I expect, we will keep this configuration and we will work on optimizing synchronization between the servers. In the meantime we need feedback regarding the site speed.


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## Terminator02 (Oct 23, 2011)

So glad this happened, I was getting seriously ticked off with GBAtemp taking 8+ seconds just for me to like a post for open the quick reply box. Now it's all incredibly fast, just like before the upgrade. It's great, good work Costello. :biggrin:


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## HaniKazmi (Oct 23, 2011)

Site's the same speed for me, but I'm not getting any gateway errors anymore, which is a big improvement.


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## mameks (Oct 23, 2011)

I was going to say that the shoutbox is still borked, but you know that 
Otherwise, nice going


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## Deleted_171835 (Oct 23, 2011)

FIIIIIIIIIX THE SHOUTBOX.

That is all.


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## Bobbyloujo (Oct 24, 2011)

It does seem a lot faster. I'mma post this post to see how fast posting a post is.

EDIT: much faster.


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