Fixed Add-on list susceptible to exceeding max_user_connections due to add-on icon approach

[RSI]

Since upgrading from XF1.5 to XF2.0 I’ve noticed the new ACP is a big resource hog. It may not be a problem with installations on servers with single accounts, but it does seem to be a problem when installed on shared servers with multiple accounts which share all of the resources. On mine the ACP is very slow and it often crashes when trying to do too much at once. It looks like part of the problem is with the page loads when it tries to display all of the add-on icons along with the statistics graph on the ACP home page. If there was a way to remove those from the home page and the add-ons page as well then it would probably help. It’s also tends to expand the number of connections to my database and it maxes out which makes it crash.

Hopefully someone will come up with an add-on for customizing the ACP so you can customize the widgets on the home page and turn some of the stuff off, etc. I don’t see any reason why the ACP needs all of the unnecessary eye candy by default. It’s looks cool, but all it seems to do is really slow down the ACP and create a problem for people like me on shared servers.

XF2 really needs an ACP customization add-on.
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[Mr Lucky]

I haven't noticed that problem, but if all of that is happening then surely the best thing is to report it as problem with xenforo so the developers can fix the issue.

 

[RSI]

I haven't noticed that problem, but if all of that is happening then surely the best thing is to report it as problem with xenforo so the developers can fix the issue.

I already brought it up and I doubt they will ever do anything. I think everyone knows XF2 requires more resources overall than XF1.5 did, it's a given, but if you are on a shared server where the hosting company limits a few things and the number of connections to your database then what I'm seeing when using the ACP is going to happen. I often have to refresh the ACP add-ons page for example to get all of the icons to display and it throws errors in the log when I do it.

One of the developers has an add-on for XF1.5 that many of us used and we need something similar, but with more elaborate features.
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[Mr Lucky]

I already brought it up and I doubt they will ever do anything.

That's surprising if the host you are using complies with whatever is necessary to run xenforo.

Can you link to the thread where you brought it up?

 

[Ozzy47]

Can you link to the thread where you brought it up?

That would be here, https://xenforo.com/community/threads/error-message-when-changing-avatars.145402/#post-1239397

 

[Brent W]

Shared servers are pretty much only useful for static websites. For $5-$10 a month I can setup you up on a Linode VPS that will blow any shared server out of the water and provide all the resources you need to run XF 2.

I honestly hope that XF devs do not try to work around shared server limitations.

 

[RSI]

Shared servers are pretty much only useful for static websites. For $5-$10 a month I can setup you up on a Linode VPS that will blow any shared server out of the water and provide all the resources you need to run XF 2.

I honestly hope that XF devs do not try to work around shared server limitations.

Actually I've been with the same host and server (well they moved me 3 times) for almost 10 years and have really never had any trouble. XF1.5's ACP was fine. I just always knew what to do to streamline everything to keep the CPU and other usage down to practically nothing. I only pay $6.99 USD per month then $20 per month for CloudFare and that's it. Unlimited storage and bandwidth.
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[Brent W]

Actually I've been with the same host and server (well they moved me 3 times) for almost 10 years and have really never had any trouble. XF1.5's ACP was fine. I just always knew what to do to streamline everything to keep the CPU and other usage down to practically nothing.
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I understand that but XF 1 started development sometime in 2010. I just don't want to see regression for shared environments, personally.

 

[RSI]

I just don't want to see regression for shared environments, personally.

I agree, because many of us are on them.
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[Brent W]

I agree, because many of us are on them.
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I mean in XF 2 code to support slow and restricted hosting enviroments.

 

[Ozzy47]

I mean in XF 2 code to support slow and restricted hosting enviroments.

Exactly. There is a point in which hardware needs to be upgraded to keep up with the latest software. Should someone not wish to upgrade their hardware to work with newer versions of software then they need to stay in older versions of the software.

 

[RSI]

I see I'm still completely wasting my time her like I have been doing for the past couple of years. That's why I very seldom ever get in here and make suggestions or give any feedback because it always falls on deaf ears. Happens every time.

I have almost 100GB of data on my site. It's huge and it's all non-profit so I have to keep the cost down so it's cheap. I get just enough donations and memberships a year to cover my cost so it pays for itself. If I had to go to another hosting plan then I would just have to stop doing it all together because it would be completely cost prohibitive for me. Plus the hosting company moved me to a new server recently with updated hardware and that's not where the problem even is. It's the restrictions they have in place because it's a shared server.

At the same time what does all of that have to do with with making the point that someone could develop an add-on to customize the ACP? I'm sure someone will do it sooner or later anyway and my reason for posting here was to hopefully make it happen sooner than later. I'm probably not the only person who has or will have the problem.

Anyway, I'm done posting here now so maybe someone will read this thread and get some ideas from it. If not then oh well...
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[S Thomas]

Not going to provide a whole addon, but if you wanna get your hands dirty a little bit, I could assist you in disabling the features in the ACP you don't need (read: you'd need to do the change with every update again, because it's not an addon).

 

[Mr Lucky]

That would be here, https://xenforo.com/community/threads/error-message-when-changing-avatars.145402/#post-1239397

No, that seems to be about Avatars and Cloudfare.

 

[Ozzy47]

No, that seems to be about Avatars and Cloudfare.

Sure it is there, https://xenforo.com/community/threads/error-message-when-changing-avatars.145402/#post-1239418

 

[RSI]

Wasn't planing on posting here again and I had stopped watching this thread all together, but I just posted the below in the other topic and this is the correct thread for it I think.

I did install a robot add-on last night that blocks all of the bots except for the ones I want like googlebot, bingbot and yahoo slurp, but the rest are now being blocked. I had a similar add-on installed on my old XF1.5 installation.

So now I've got it down to where the only time I get those max_user_connection errors is when trying to get the add-on icons to display. When the ACP home page or add-on page comes up the first time several of the add-on icons won’t display and it's random. I only start getting the errors when I refresh the page now and the ones that still won’t display throw the error in the log. Again, its random because it’s never the same add-on, but what it shows is something in the ACP is trying to use more connections to get those darn icons to display. I'm guessing no one ever bothered to see what it would do if you have a lot of add-ons installed so they just missed it. The request state is always the same, just with a different add-on icon each time.

Request state

array(4) {

["url"] => string(47) "/admin.php?add-ons/random_add-on/icon"

["referrer"] => string(44) "https://mydomain.net/admin.php?add-ons/"

["_GET"] => array(1) {

["add-ons/random_add-on /icon"] => string(0) ""

}

["_POST"] => array(0) {

}

}

Hopefully someone will come up with a mod to turn those darn icons off. The ACP needs like a lite display mode or something. My db has 75 connections available which should be more than enough so it is a problem on Xenforo’s end.

Also below is my servers information

Apache Version - 2.4.29
PHP Version - 7.2.1
MySQL Version - 10.2.11-MariaDB-log
Architecture - x86_64
Operating System - Linux
Perl Version - 5.10.1
Kernel Version - 2.6.32-896.16.1.lve1.4.49.el6.x86_64

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[RSI]

Well, since my posts were just rudely deleted in another topic which WAS in fact related and connected to that topic as well I searched and found this old thread of mine so I will post here instead.

I finally got the developer to start working on the ACPE add-on for XF2 and he was already able to solve the problem. I can remove the add-on icons now and have also removed the Installed add-ons widget from coming up on the ACP's home page as well. Doing both of those things solved the problem 100%. Even if you are on a VPS and not a shared server turning that stuff off yields a significant ACP performance boost.

Anyway, I no longer get locked out while in the ACP when the add-ons page freezes because it no longer happens and the page load speeds are like night and day so it wasn’t just my imagination.

 

[Chris D]

Well, since my posts were just rudely deleted in another topic which WAS in fact related and connected to that topic as well I searched and found this old thread of mine so I will post here instead.

A bug related to permission rebuilds is nothing at all to do with what appears to be an issue very specific to your own server and its limitations. So, it wasn’t at all related or connected and seeing as you already had another thread about the issue, this is a much more appropriate place to post.

 

[RSI]

That topic in general was related to the speed of the rebuilds. Granted there was more to it than that, but it was still related and has an effect nevertheless. Honestly though, it's not just an issue related to my own server. Turn the stuff off then benchmark ACP page loads compared to having them on, there is a difference.

Anyway, I probably have a bad attitude from my experiences here so don't take anything the wrong way if it comes across the wrong way, I just don't care anymore.
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[Chris D]

There was nothing general about it. It was specifically about rebuilding permissions, hence why the discussion should continue here (or the original thread you created).

There are many customers now using XF2 and out of all of them, only one has reported performance issues with the add-on list specifically related to the icons, i.e. you.

This could mean that there is a specific issue with your server or its limits, or it could mean that at the very least it is a rare issue that isn't manifesting itself quite so fiercely with any other customer.

That said, we're not ruling out any changes here. It's on our radar.