Squirrelmail Users Port 80 - Read Please

[dlevens]

I wanted to check with other SquirrelMail users who use the www.yourdomainhere.com/sqmail on port 80.

 

Every now and then I get major slowdowns trying to login. About 1 in every 3 times I login I have to wait 15 to 20 seconds before I login. The main page at sqmail seems to load fast but as soon as I click login, I wait and wait sometimes for 20 seconds. Then there are times that as soon as I click login I login in about 2 seconds.

 

It does not appear to be server load as I submitted a helpdesk ticket and at the time the server load was less than 5%. And of course the person on the helpdesk logged in to my acocunt in 2 seconds when he tried so they said there was no issues.

 

But for me this happens way to often (like I said approximately 1 in every 3 times) and I cannot recreate the problem. It happens at different times of the day and I use more than 3 different computers to check my squirrelmail (work, home, laptop) and have experienced this issue on all 3. So I ruled out my internet connection and the local computer.

 

I don't know enough about the backend of squirrelmail but maybe someone can think of some things for helpdesk to look into? maybe php issues? or some backend process that happens when you click login?

 

Dennis

[stevevan]

I also use sqmail to check my domain accounts several times each day. I haven't noticed any particular slowdowns on my server (#23).

[dlevens]

most of my slowdowns are loggin in. I am on server 74

 

Dennis

[Bunni]

I only use SqMail when I'm away from my own pooter but even on my daughter's dialup connection way out in the boonies of Iowa, log-in and connection was lightning fast.

 

Maybe you're holding your mouth wrong....

[dlevens]

I think it is a config issue on server 74. I decided to install my own copy of squirrelmail on the same server 74 and it is extremely fast. I think they will be upgrading sqmail soon on the servers so hopefully that will fix it up.

 

Dennis

[TCH-Dick]

There is a difference in an install of SQmail that is for one account/domain name and an installation that is shared across an entire server. Since the one we provide is shared there is a LOt of security checks involved which is why it appears slower than your standalone install. It not a misconfiguration.

[dlevens]

There would most likely be a difference in speed, but I am talking about it hanging for a good 20 seconds before logging in. This does not seem to happen for most of the people here but so far I have not found anyone else on server 74. I would say about 1 out of 3 or maybe 1 out of 4 tries I would hang for about 15 to 20 seconds before it would login. Then the other 2 or 3 times it would log in fast. So I know even with the extra security checks that it is capable of a fairly quick login. Why it hangs 25 to 30% of the time loging and sometimes on a refresh is a mystery. So far I have been on my stand alone install for about 5 days and it logs in quickly every time. This leads me to believe there is something wrong with the serverwide install of sqmail on server 74. If possible maybe you can use server 74 for a week or so and see if you experience the same thing.

 

Dennis

[TCH-Dick]

OK, one more try since I know there is no configuration issue on server 74, it is set up exactly like every other server we have.

 

If you go to taco bell at 3AM and your the only person there, you get in line and get right out. Because you are the ONLY person being waited on, nobody has to help anyone but you.

 

If you go back to that same taco bell at noon the next day during lunch hour, first you wait in line until its your turn, then when you finally get to the counter you wait for them to take your order. once your order is placed you wait again for them to make it, then you spen 5 minutes looking for a place to sit down.

 

If a server is "busy" it takes longer to get your order, if you have a server dedicated to just serving you, of course its going to be faster.

 

There is nothing wrong with server 74, If I posted the exact same thing about server 23 or server 56 other ppl would say "yeah its slow sometimes for me to"

 

It is slow sometimes because it is a shared server, if the server is busy it might take a few seconds to process, just like if you go to taco bell when its busy it takes a few minutes.

[dlevens]

Mike,

 

In my post I specifically addressed that concern. Everytime when it was slow for me I was told the server load was less than 10%. There is no need to get defensive. I am only trying to ask other people if they have experienced this issue. I am not the idiot user who complains about random slowness. I am specifically talking about cases where it litterally hangs while I count up to 20 seconds. It seems to be related to the login process. I also have odd hours for most people and had the issue happen at 3am a few times, and after checking the server stats it showed one user connected. Your example would work for most cases of people complaining about general slow downs and trust me, I have worked in IT for 7 years now so I know about the "hey its slow, what gives?" BS you see from end users.

 

Also I spent a lot of time testing this using different computers and different internet connections to try and eliminate "the problem lies between the keyboard and chair" type of thing.

 

Also since running the stand alone install of squirrelmail on the same server, which load on the server would also affect me, I have not had any hangs at all processing the login. I am also running close to 20 plugins so the install is not a light install.

 

I do apologize for the blanket statement that something MUST be wrong with your install, but to just assume nothing is wrong at all on your end seems equally unjustified.

 

I am not able to determine why it hangs for so long logging in, so I attempted to find other users on the same server who might have had the same experience.

 

Server 74 seems to be fairly new and not many users seem to be connected to it when I check the status, so either there are not many users using the sqmail on port 80 for this server or I am just crazy and the issue lies somewhere on my side.

 

In either case, my stand alone install is working great right now, so I will give this concern up.

 

Although if you were really curious I could create you a mailbox on my account for sh**s and giggles. Maybe you could login a few times now and then just to see if it happens once.

 

By the way I never mentioned the process hangs on

 

http://www.levens.com/sqmail/src/redirect.php

 

And just for your info, while writing this I attempted a login and was able to flip back between browsers like 10 times while I was attempting to write down the exact url above by reading the status bar of internet explorer. This time it took 28 seconds to login.

 

So again I need to clarify that at this point I am only searching for possible reasons and take back the assumption I made that there is an issue with the install on your end.

 

I can PM you an account and login for testing. Right now things are fast as I finish this email. I wonder if it is only the first login after not being logged in for long period of time, because once it logs in, I have always been able to log out and log back in fast.

 

Well enough babbling for now. I hope we are good Mike, cause I love this place and love the support you guys provide and I do not want to burn my bridges.

 

Dennis

[TCH-Dick]

I wasnt getting defensive, but you are compaing apples to oranges. a standalone install that serves one account is of course going to be faster than one that serves an entire server. You simply cant compare the two.