Images struggling to load / slow download speed

 
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artidens
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Joined: 09 Sep 2006
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 3:25 pm    Post subject: Images struggling to load / slow download speed Reply with quote

We are in a process of migrating from Apache 1.3.xx to Abyss X2 2.5. The server is hosting about a hundred virtual domains/websites and has traffic of approximately 20-25 gigabytes/month on a 100Mbit connection.

Everything else has gone well, except for a problem with loading images. When visiting a site some images really struggle to load and sometimes even seem to time out. If I switch back to Apache the problem is gone. I have been trying to play with timeout, keep-alive and max simultaneous requests settings without any luck. Any suggestions on what might be causing this? We would really want to run Abyss with its ease of configuration and simplicity of operation.

The current Abyss server settings are:

Timeout: 30 Second(s)
Keep-Alive: 20
Maximum Simultaneous Requests: 150

All bandwidth limits are turned off.

Thank you in advance.


Last edited by artidens on Sun Feb 03, 2008 7:51 pm; edited 1 time in total
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AbyssUnderground
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 6:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You have a link we could test to see if the problem exists for us?
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artidens
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 6:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I want to add that file download speed with Abyss seems to be considerably slower and more unstable than with Apache. I was using the SendBufferSize directive in Apache, but haven't found such setting in Abyss..
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artidens
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 7:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can try to visit http://www.pari.fi

The whole site is built from rather big images, so it is most likely for you to notice the problem there. I can put up a mirror of that site to another server with Apache later tonight if you want to do some comparison.
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AbyssUnderground
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 7:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

artidens wrote:
You can try to visit http://www.pari.fi

The whole site is built from rather big images, so it is most likely for you to notice the problem there. I can put up a mirror of that site to another server with Apache later tonight if you want to do some comparison.


I've just gone onto the site now and everything is loading instantly, even the images. The PDF's load at around 350KB/s (my broadband maxes out at 450KB/s).
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artidens
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 7:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, well I'm not surprised but thanks for testing it. I think higher latency times might help in this case, since you are connecting from the UK, right?

Anyways, if I do a test download I get max 1.2MB/s off Abyss (with heavy fluctuation), while Apache always gives me a stable speed of 6MB/s, which is the maximum speed of my connection. And if, during the download, I try to open any site that Abyss is hosting, it will not load up completely unless I hit refresh several times.


Last edited by artidens on Sat Feb 02, 2008 7:55 pm; edited 1 time in total
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AbyssUnderground
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 7:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

artidens wrote:
Yeah, well I'm not surprised but thanks for testing it. I think higher latency times might help in this case, since you are connecting from the UK, right?

Anyways, if I do a test download I get max 1.2MB/s off Abyss (with heavy fluctuation), while Apache always gives me stable speed of 6MB/s, which is the maximum speed of my connection. And if, during the download, I try to open any site that Abyss is hosting, it will not load up completely unless I hit refresh several times.


Yes I'm in the UK. I am not surprised it won't open while downloading. Whats probably happened is your browser has opened two connections. One for the download and one for the browsing. The browser by default will only allow two connections per website and it sounds like that second one is hanging.

Do you have a link to a large file? I will use my own dedicated server to test the download speed which is also on a 100Mbps connection.
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artidens
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That two open connection thing with the browser would make sense if it happened with Apache too..

Below are links to a large file (146MB) on both Apache and Abyss, which are installed on the same server but binded to different ip's.

Apache:
http://www.dens.net/test.file

Abyss:
http://www.arti.fi/test.file
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AbyssUnderground
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Top is Abyss
Bottom is Apache



Both showing the same speeds. Tried individually, and both the same again.

Check the Global Bandwidth settings. You may have inadvertantly set that to a lower value which will override the hosts bandwidth settings.
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pkSML
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I tried going to your image-based site like Andy did, and I also received no trouble at all. The images downloaded instantly and flawlessly. A pleasing browser experience.

While downloading the large Abyss-hosted file, I get about 440 KB/sec. My connection maxes out at about 650 KB/sec.

I also surfed the www.arti.fi site while downloading, and browsing was speedy. I see no problems whatsoever.

***************
Downloading the 146 MB file from the Apache-based site yielded only an average of 395 - 420 KB/sec. Just a touch slower.

BTW, if you do plan to use Abyss to host sites, you could add a few to http://abyss-websites.com - [Add Site]
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artidens
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Global and hosts bandwidth settings are both unset. With IE7 I'm able to get 2MB/s off Abyss and 6MB/s off Apache. Firefox seems to be a bit slower. Now the bottleneck could be the connection between the UK and Finland..
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rrinc
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 3:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Abyss definitely can't be quite the bottleneck you're suggesting. I've downloaded a file through my LAN at 45Mbps before.
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pkSML
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Artidens, you might have some discussion with AJWesley, another member on these forums. He's also trying to implement the best solution for 100+ hosts with Abyss. See his profile. There's a link on there to PM him.
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artidens
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

rrinc wrote:
Abyss definitely can't be quite the bottleneck you're suggesting. I've downloaded a file through my LAN at 45Mbps before.


But how come I can only download at 2MB/sec when the server is running Abyss? When I switch to Apache, the speed is 2-3 times faster (see the screenshots). I even tried a 8/1Mbits ADSL connecion, which maxes out at 800KB/sec and the result was 800KB/sec with Apache and 580KB/sec with Abyss.
I have a 65Mbits vdsl2 connection with 1-2ms latency to the server. I used to have the exact same problem with FileZilla FTP Server until they added an option to adjust its send buffer size. Perhaps Abyss is forcing a small buffer size?

Apache:


Abyss:
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aprelium
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 6:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

artidens,

IE download box is not always accurate. But a 2-3 times speed difference is still a huge one and we're interested in knowing more about your test.

Could you please let us know the actual time (in seconds) each download lasts?

From which computer are you doing the tests that lead you to the 6MB download speed? Is it the same computer hosting the server or another one on the same LAN?
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artidens
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 5:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The download speed is indeed 2-3 times faster with Apache. I will do a re-test as soon as possible and count the seconds that each download lasts. I will let you know.

I'm doing the tests from a Windows XP Pro workstation behind a 65Mbit/s VDSL2 connection. It's almost as fast as a LAN, but has a latency time of 1-2ms. I have also done similar tests through an 8Mbit/s ADSL connection, which have resulted in about 25% slower download speed with Abyss compared to Apache.
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AJWesley
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Joined: 13 Jan 2008
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Location: Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada

PostPosted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

artidens wrote:
The download speed is indeed 2-3 times faster with Apache... I'm doing the tests from a Windows XP Pro workstation behind a 65Mbit/s VDSL2 connection. It's almost as fast as a LAN, but has a latency time of 1-2ms. I have also done similar tests through an 8Mbit/s ADSL connection, which have resulted in about 25% slower download speed with Abyss compared to Apache.


<!-- Generated in 0.061... seconds by CMS Made Simple using 51 SQL queries --> ABYSS
<!-- Generated in 1.268... seconds by CMS Made Simple using 51 SQL queries --> APACHE 1.3.x
<!-- Generated in 0.729... seconds by CMS Made Simple using 51 SQL queries --> APACHE 2.2.x

Also... my download speed local and www is much faster with Abyss than Apache. Nevertheless, your server setup is probably less a problem than your network configuration. Don't be fooled by "full-speed" claims with VDSL2. High frequency systems like VDSL, cross talk in the cables, interference (impulse noise) - distant and local, are common. How is your home network configured? - i.e., cable and length, microfilters, modem, router, hub, switch... two, three or more computers, architecture and topology. If you are running these "tests" from your local (windows) network, expect your results to be poor. Remember, Apache is forgiving - not necessarily better or superior. Compare your local test results with a good benchmark on SpeedGuide.net. I would be interested in your results since I am running 30+ "high-traffic" sites on a linear hierarchy.
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artidens
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 5:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

No, I'm not getting fooled. My vdsl2 connection (a private 2wire high quality 300m copper line to our server farm) has been up and running for over six months now and I always get steady 6MB/sec through it when I transfer files via ftp. Apache is just a little bit slower, but I never get more than 2MB/sec off Abyss, which is strange.

In fact, the download speed is not really that much of an issue here, but struggling to load pages with multiple images is more worrying. It just does not happen with Apache for some reason.
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AJWesley
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Joined: 13 Jan 2008
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Location: Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada

PostPosted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

artidens wrote:
...but I never get more than 2MB/sec off Abyss, which is strange... In fact, the download speed is not really that much of an issue here, but struggling to load pages with multiple images is more worrying. It just does not happen with Apache for some reason.


Sweet setup
I misunderstood =(
Are you using a CMS package, modules, tags or custom scripts - php and mysql? Just a thought... which I'll follow-up regarding your reply.
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artidens
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We run several sites on the server of which some use php (fastcgi), mysql, cms etc. The tests I did were on a virtual host with php scripting disabled, just plain html.
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AbyssUnderground
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

artidens wrote:
We run several sites on the server of which some use php (fastcgi), mysql, cms etc. The tests I did were on a virtual host with php scripting disabled, just plain html.


I don't have any issues on ANY pc I browse your sites from. The images don't hang and they all load very quickly. Also like I said I get speeds both the same for both Apache and Abyss.

I do think, however, that Aprelium should do some debugging on this problem. It is entirely possible Abyss is at fault as I've tried sending files via HTTP from Abyss over my local network before and its been slower than full speed, where as FTP would be full speed, as would SMB.
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artidens
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 8:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes I totally understand and I think it's a speed and/or latency issue. Abyss doesn't seem to handle very high speed with moderate latency very well (classic Long Fat Pipe issue perhaps?). Btw, the server is not currently running Abyss in case you just tested it.
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AJWesley
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 1:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

artidens wrote:
We run several sites on the server of which some use php (fastcgi), mysql, cms etc. The tests I did were on a virtual host with php scripting disabled, just plain html.


Now that is a pain in the ...? I don't know what to add regarding your reply. Sorry!

AbyssUnderground wrote:
I do think, however, that Aprelium should do some debugging on this problem. It is entirely possible Abyss is at fault as I've tried sending files via HTTP from Abyss over my local network before and its been slower than full speed, where as FTP would be full speed, as would SMB.


I have experienced a similar problem - not a bother - while browsing or downloading on my local network using Abyss - a problem that seems common to many Windows specific servers. (I can fix this with a text editor using Apache, but Apache is not optimized for Windows.) Perhaps, and as you wrote, Aprelium should address this?
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artidens
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 1:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

AJWesley wrote:
I have experienced a similar problem - not a bother - while browsing or downloading on my local network using Abyss - a problem that seems common to many Windows specific servers. (I can fix this with a text editor using Apache, but Apache is not optimized for Windows.) Perhaps, and as you wrote, Aprelium should address this?


I agree it is a common problem with Windows servers. I have found that modifying the value of DefaultSendWindow in the registry might help. Anyways, I am just curious what did you mean by being able to fix it with a text editor?
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AJWesley
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 12:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

artidens wrote:
I agree it is a common problem with Windows servers. I have found that modifying the value of DefaultSendWindow in the registry might help. Anyways, I am just curious what did you mean by being able to fix it with a text editor?


Tweaking XP Pro for *max* server performance is daunting. My settings work for my network configuration (services, caching, protocols, registry)...

For Registry tweaks:
Afd Parameters/Tcpip Parameters...

http://www.speedguide.net/tcpoptimizer.php - simple/works
http://cablenut.com/ - advanced/works
http://www.dslreports.com/

My post in Tutorials...
http://www.aprelium.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14834
---
Certain configurations do not support using a domain name to access any web server on the local area network from any machine on the LAN, including the server machine itself. But if the sever supports the following, give it a try (or play with the idea). But we don't talk Apache configuration here, and this is only a pointer, not a complete answer.

<VirtualHost *>
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
Allow from localhost
Allow from 127.0.0.1
Allow from 192 168.0.100
Deny from 217.219.192.0/19
Deny from 217.219.224.0/20
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artidens
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 7:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

AJWesley wrote:
AbyssUnderground wrote:
I do think, however, that Aprelium should do some debugging on this problem. It is entirely possible Abyss is at fault as I've tried sending files via HTTP from Abyss over my local network before and its been slower than full speed, where as FTP would be full speed, as would SMB.


I have experienced a similar problem - not a bother - while browsing or downloading on my local network using Abyss - a problem that seems common to many Windows specific servers. (I can fix this with a text editor using Apache, but Apache is not optimized for Windows.) Perhaps, and as you wrote, Aprelium should address this?


Yes, it would be really interesting to have some input from Aprelium on this matter. .
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aprelium
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 6:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

artidens wrote:
AJWesley wrote:
AbyssUnderground wrote:
I do think, however, that Aprelium should do some debugging on this problem. It is entirely possible Abyss is at fault as I've tried sending files via HTTP from Abyss over my local network before and its been slower than full speed, where as FTP would be full speed, as would SMB.


I have experienced a similar problem - not a bother - while browsing or downloading on my local network using Abyss - a problem that seems common to many Windows specific servers. (I can fix this with a text editor using Apache, but Apache is not optimized for Windows.) Perhaps, and as you wrote, Aprelium should address this?


Yes, it would be really interesting to have some input from Aprelium on this matter. .


Apache is not using anything special when it comes to sending data over the network. It is calling the standard sockets API just as any server software would do. The tweaks that were listed above are low level and servers usually do not modify such parameters (as it would cause a lot of problems in the long run and require high privileges). Apache for sure is not doing that.

Now you mentionned that pages with a lot of embedded images cause problems: have you increased the "maximum number of simultaneous" requests in Abyss Web Server? The default is low for any site which pages require several embedded objects.

Still the 2-3 times speed penality you got with Abyss Web Server is not explainable and we'll try to do tests locally to understand its cause.
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