XenForo Performance Metrics? I'd like a before and after idea of gains from new server

Joe Link

Joe Link

Well-known member
I just placed an order for a new server, which we'll be migrating to within the next week. I don't know much about measuring XenForo, SQL, or server performance. I'm looking for information on the best way to go about this. Server performance really interests me, and I'd like to learn as much as I can, I just don't know where to start.

In case anyone has any comments on this, here's our current config:

Dual Xeon E5506 Quad Core
8GB DDR3 SDRAM
2 x SATA 250 GB Hardware RAID 1
250 GB SATA backup
Linux CentOS 5
LiteSpeed 2 CPU Core License
MySQL
No Cache

New config, planning on running Percona and XCache.

Single Intel Xeon E3-1270 V2 3.5GHZ Quad Core – Hyperthreaded
32GB DDR3 SDRAM
2 x SATA Software Raid 1 Drives (1TB 7200RPM SATA)
4 x SSD Hardware Raid 10 Drives (120GB Kingston Hyper-X SSD MLC)
1 x SATA Backup Drive (1TB 7200RPM SATA)
CentOS 6 64-Bit
LiteSpeed 2 CPU CORE License
 
Well without knowing anything about your site (traffic, cpu loads, database size, etc), I can say your new specs are a big improvement.

If you're going to be running PHP 5.5 or higher, I would recommend using Zend opcache instead of xcache to cache php scripts, and run memcached as XF's backend cache (instructions to enable it in XF here).

I'm not sure if your site is https, but if it is, your new processor, the Xeon 1270, supports the aes-ni instruction set which will really speed up SSL/TLS connections. OpenSSL will automatically identify if your CPU supports it and enable it. Your older 5506 didn't have these instructions.

Good looking machine.

(in the future, consider using a separate machine for the db if you need to keep growing)
 
Thanks for the reply @thedude.

We get around 1.5 million pageviews from 350,000 users per month. I don't think our existing server was stressed too much CPU wise, but I'm told the RAM and slower disks were both somewhat limiting. I'm not sure which version of PHP would be best, do you have any recommendations? Any reason I'd run something lower than the latest stable? The 2-core LiteSpeed license includes LSCache, so I was planning on running that with @Slavik's LSCache XenForo plug-in. Would I use opcache or memcache in addition to that? I'm also planning on running Percona.

That's a nice surprise, hearing about the SSL benefits of that proc. Switching to https was next on my to-do list, after migrating to this new server. I know making the switch is well documented on here, is SSL fairly easy to implement?
 
Sounds like an expensive upgrade.
I would have hired @MattW to see what I could have tweaked before moving to a more expensive server.
Maybe @RoldanLT could help you.

It's probably more than cost effective for you to get some professional input.
:)
 
Use all the latest software if you can, like:
PHP 5.6.2 with ZendOpcache of course and Memcached 1.4.21.
 
Joe Link said:
We get around 1.5 million pageviews from 350,000 users per month.
Click to expand...
Simliar stats. I have a server around the middle between your old/current and new, and it isn't stressed. I think you went overkill with your new server, but plenty of room for growth I guess. Don't worry about performance, your new server will be sitting around twiddling it's thumbs and bored most of the time. You'll have no performance issues with it, unless you have some sort of config issue.
 
Digital Doctor said:
Sounds like an expensive upgrade.
I would have hired @MattW to see what I could have tweaked before moving to a more expensive server.
Maybe @RoldanLT could help you.

It's probably more than cost effective for you to get some professional input.
:)
Click to expand...

RoldanLT said:
Use all the latest software if you can, like:
PHP 5.6.2 with ZendOpcache of course and Memcached 1.4.21.
Click to expand...

@Digital Doctor That was my original plan, but for whatever reason the cost to upgrade the RAM to just 16GB and add even a small RAID1 SSD array was considerably more than the new server. I'm realizing the reason they were so comparable is that I've been overpaying for older hardware for quite some time now. When we first made the move to this server, the E5506 had been out for just under a year.

@Roland12 Thanks. Exactly what I was wondering, if there was any reason not to use the latest. Another benefit to the upgrade (I think?) is the move from CentOS 5 to CentOS 6, which I couldn't have done with the old server (not part of the LW managed service). I don't actually know if there are any benefits in my case, but my guess would be yes rather than no.

Mouth said:
Simliar stats. I have a server around the middle between your old/current and new, and it isn't stressed. I think you went overkill with your new server, but plenty of room for growth I guess. Don't worry about performance, your new server will be sitting around twiddling it's thumbs and bored most of the time. You'll have no performance issues with it, unless you have some sort of config issue.
Click to expand...

Heh yeah, I do think this is overkill, but the cost of the upgrade was less than 15% more per month.
 
The server is already being configured, but this is exactly what I'd like to know going forward. Where can I learn more about this sort of thing?
 
Digital Doctor said:
Sounds like an expensive upgrade.
I would have hired @MattW to see what I could have tweaked before moving to a more expensive server.
Maybe @RoldanLT could help you.

It's probably more than cost effective for you to get some professional input.
:)
Click to expand...


Not sure what you can do with that old server to optimize it. It's old junk.

@Joe Link That new server should do quite well. The E3's perform incredibly well, and with the SSD array, I think you're going to be pretty happy.
 
Joe Link said:
The server is already being configured, but this is exactly what I'd like to know going forward. Where can I learn more about this sort of thing?
Click to expand...
Install this: https://xenforo.com/community/resources/xenforo-litespeed-cache.2704/
Ask your host for assistance with the configuration. Its the usergroups that count. Support is in the resource discussion or in litespeed support ticket. I'm sure that @lsmichael will help you out with any questions.
After its ready watch your server load take a nose dive.
 
Back to my original question, what do you guys use to measure performance for the end user, such as page load times, and what other metrics are there?

Another question, if I upgrade from PHP 5.4 to 5.6, is it possible it could break something? If so, how do I test and/or prepare for that?

If I'm using LSCache and the XenForo add-on, should I also use OpCache and Memcache? Or do they all do the same thing?
 
Joe Link said:
Another question, if I upgrade from PHP 5.4 to 5.6, is it possible it could break something? If so, how do I test and/or prepare for that?
Click to expand...
There shouldn't be any problem.
But it's better to try first, check all your addons if they support PHP 5.6, because XenForo Core already support PHP 5.6 even up to PHP 7.0 Dev :)
Joe Link said:
If I'm using LSCache and the XenForo add-on, should I also use OpCache and Memcache? Or do they all do the same thing?
Click to expand...
I think LSCache is only for Guest, so yes you still need OpCache and Memcache for Login Members.
 
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