Server load problems

[AngelMarc]

Tell us about it, Antus. The site running on a PC in your closet? Is it more network load or...?

[antus]

Its a VPS slice on a shared server. Mainly for the high internet bandwidth. I am actually considering putting it in a PC in my closet, that makes the performance and storage cheap and easy, but the trade off is that I no longer have gigabit (or above) upstream. I've got a great deal with my host who I've been with for nearly 15 years, he knows we are easy to support and not a problem customer so we are on low cost grandfathered deal, but change it and costs likely go up more by more than 10 times. At this point, I am starting to think that most of the traffic left is real, the site is a victim of its own success and there is no low cost solution left.

[AngelMarc]

i-am-a-victim-of-my-own-success-conquest.png

Sounds about right.
Think of the popularity of HPTuners and how popular free alternatives are.
That alone sounds like a lot of traffic.

[immortality]

How many bots and AI scrapers are loading up the server?

[antus]

Load is typically between 300 and 1500 concurrent users, without AI bot protection from cloudflare it was hitting 3500 before it ran in to load issues. But it depends what they're doing. Its the database that runs out of CPU and when the load goes too high the forums blocks users to keep the machine running and accessible (to me on the backend) and the DB gets a chance to catch up then it re-opens with the host at lower load.

For many years its was below 150 users. But it was mainly Australian only content. Now we have conversations about newer GM PCMs the visitors come from everywhere.

[Denny]

Hi guys. Canada here. I am fairly new. This site is great. I think part of its success comes from its content, and the generosity of the moderators/members with there time. Hopefully it settles down now that AI is blocked.

[antus]

I have something in the works. Hopefully we have a solution by the end of the week or over the weekend. Until then it's likely we'll overload 6pm-11pm US time or there abouts.

[DavidBraley]

One of the things I love about this place is how small and friendly it is.

It's not uncommon for a smaller automotive related forum that specializes in a niche topic to ask for financial help from it's users once a year. I know it's VERY common for the larger forums.

If it comes to this place needing a yearly donation drive to help keep the lights on, you can count me in. There are a few smaller automotive related forums I donate to every year.

[pman92]

I would be more than happy to donate as well. Maybe a paypal donation link anyone can send whatever they want to whenever they want.

[Gareth]

I agree, I don't think one person should carry the financial burden of something that benefits sooooo many.

I have said many times before that I'd be happy to contribute.