Optimize Apache + mpm_event + php-fpm

DracoBlue

In my opinion, Apache or the MySQL/MariaDB database should be pre-optimized for performance. Default settings don't always suffice, and not everyone has the knowledge to configure everything as it should be. Therefore, I believe Enhance should consistently implement optimization for various functions or create a calculator that does this based on server parameters.

twest

DracoBlue it's pretty much impossible to do that since everyone has a different business model and config. There's no panel that does it fully, they all require optimization. Even the ones that claim to optimize are very poor out of the box, and they only fit certain use case scenarios. There's too many variables per use case - sizes of servers and network restrictions, and then what the server itself is even hosting... Basically = don't hold your breathe on that.

@everyone, I stumbled across the fact that Enhance did build in a tool to optimize php-fpm on a per-website (account) basis. It's in the Websites section, just tick the 3 dots next to the customer account you want to edit php-fpm and hit "Overrides". This is kind of a pain in the arse to do per-account, but it's better than nothing 😃

JohnB

Thanks twest for the great writeup!

twest Even the ones that claim to optimize are very poor out of the box, and they only fit certain use case scenarios

A lot of panels (and hosts) completely rely on caching for performance. Smaller sites with sporadic traffic or requests that can't be cached has really bad performance. If reviewers just benchmark the homepage they think its so fast! No real traffic, plugins, crons means wp-admin will be fast in their test. Meanwhile real-world site backend cries in pain and login takes 20 seconds if the site gets remotely busy.

They still get marketed as being so fast and optimized!

twest

JohnB yeeeeep, I couldn't count the number of noob hosts I've seen blindly jump into this industry expecting to make easy money only to end up folding after they couldn't manage a profit. So many times people think they can puke up a cPanel server and call it good, only to find out after a hundred customers that their server was bogged down or crashing constantly.

I always tell noobs the best place to start is with an unmanaged VPS with a panel like ispconfig = force them to learn how to use a command line and basic sysadmin skills. Once you know how to run a server from ssh then you can gracefully transition to something that offers more automation. You really need a good base of skills to build on so servers and the forthcoming customer accounts are setup for success. Optimizing for performance is only one of the things I do to set my services apart from the Goshittys and Blueballs mega hosts of the world 😁

I want to support Enhance development for my own greedy uses (lower license costs). This forum is a great tool to help share knowledge so that others can be successful with their own servers. If we all contribute to each other's strategies/success then we can help increase Enhance adoption, ensure its longevity 💪

Aliysa_Enhance

twest we need a way to set php-fpm config on a per-website (account)

Hey twest this is possible on Enhance. If you head to Websites > '...' > Overrides you can set custom php-fpm on a per site basis

JohnB

twest You really need a good base of skills to build on so servers and the forthcoming customer accounts are setup for success. Optimizing for performance is only one of the things I do to set my services apart from the Goshittys and Blueballs mega hosts of the world 😁

I think the worst I saw was a server that couldn't handle default wordpress theme homepage without caching at 10 concurrent requests with no rampup. They were hosting on the most garbage google cloud tier you can get and no doubt oversold and unoptimized.

I've seen so many people across many pretty panel forums that have no concepts about security, backups and basic sysadmin. Of course they call you an @hole if you are honest and say they have no business even being in a terminal. "Everyone starts somewhere" ... yeah by not hosting real customers with no backups is a good start.

Sadly even large companies often have horrible security and backups. This is why I always preach to never get vendor locked and always have verified and frequent backups outside the provider but many think a cloud provider VPS snapshot is a backup. When the provider incorrectly suspends service and they lose access to snapshots or the snapshot was corrupt their customers are screwed because the niave customer didn't know they needed their own backups... Annoys me a lot.

twest

Aliysa_Enhance I know, I already posted about that in this thread. Can't edit old posts tho. Maybe that should be another feature request "let forum posts be editable forever".

josedieguez

twest a time window of let say 24hrs or something, and a legend that says "edited" is better than forever.

John-P

twest Maybe that should be another feature request "let forum posts be editable forever".

The problem with that is that editing something can often make the whole conversation that follows it make no sense.

A short editable time limit is fine, forever (for non-admin) users can just get very messy.

DracoBlue

LBJ

twest For example the ServerLimit is default 256, which would likely only be suitable for a server up-to 8cpu/32gb ram. For a larger server, it will need to be opened way up.

Assuming Apache with MPM Event as per the title of this post, a ServerLimit setting of 256 is already overkill on most boxes.

Remember that for MPM Event and MPM Worker, unlike MPM Prefork, the basic tuning calculation is...

MaxRequestWorkers = ServerLimit * ThreadsPerChild

For Apache configured for MPM Event, generally ServerLimit would be set to CPU cores or lower.

twest I'd encourage everyone wanting to optimize their config to read about all the settings I've listed above, find out what they all mean and how they work/affect each other.

Excellent advice. You'll find a very comprehensive article related to Apache MPM tuning for both Event/Worker and Prefork at...

[https://www.liquidweb.com/blog/apache-performance-tuning-mpm-directives/]

twest

LBJ do you work for liquidweb? They're a trash company and I wouldn't waste my time reading any garbage they may publish.

JohnB

twest Yup.

From that page a perfect example. Title randomly right aligned and shortcodes showing. This is the level of care and quality you get with liquid web.

Also

Set MaxKeepAliveRequests to double that of the largest count of elements on common pages.

What. Seriously what. I think they mean to say double the count of elements such as images on common page which also is bad advice. Who wrote this? This is why "professionals" who blindly trust chatGPT are idiots. All ChatGPT can do is parrot its training data in its own words. Sometimes its right sometimes its not but it always has a confident tone. Its not magic its not "AI" in the sense that it understands anything. Its a language robot.

Jordan

twest catch_workers_output = no

If you want to catch 500 errors in the browser, setting catch_workers_output to yes is important.