Website not responding sporadically

[Spiffy]

Not sure if it's because I'm accessing from the UK, however frequently I will get the message "orchidboard.com took too long to respond" in my web browser (chrome). Seems to be worse on weekends, otherwise not spotting any pattern to it.

[camille1585]

I used to get that on a regular basis, but that was back at the beginning of the year, and I've had no issues in the past 2-3 months. Other users also had the problem when I brought it up, but like you say, it's rather sporadic with no noticeable pattern.

[Roberta]

I still get "503" pretty often, a refresh usually fixes it in a minute or two.

[SouthPark]

I still do see the occasional '503' message. But much less of it lately. There was that time when it was happening much more, but no so much recently.

During covid times, probably not surprising to have the server (the computer running the orchidboard forum software and database) handling more people than usual heheheh. The overloads could be linked to that kind of thing.

[Spiffy]

Hi All....actually I think something strange must be happening with how the website gets picked up by my local internet provider.
As an experiment, over the weekend when the website was still saying not responding, I tried using my mobile with the wifi turned off and using 4g. Seemed to work just fine.
I think this may also be why it seems to work better during the week, as then I'm working remotely on the work laptop which uses some sort of VPN.
I'm not techie enough to know how to fix it, but at least a bit closer to what might be causing the issue!

[Ray]

Originally Posted by Spiffy

As an experiment, over the weekend when the website was still saying not responding, I tried using my mobile with the wifi turned off and using 4g. Seemed to work just fine.
I think this may also be why it seems to work better during the week, as then I'm working remotely on the work laptop which uses some sort of VPN.

Yes, it’s likely the VPN.

Instead of routing the data stream directly to your computer, which allows your IP address to be read, virtual private networks route the data stream through at least one additional server, changing the apparent IP. Adding more server-to-server “hops” adds time delay to the data request, leading to time-outs on your browser.

Now to poke at you for humor’s sake: I’ve heard many Brits comment on how Americans don’t know how to speak English, yet your thread title misstates the issue. “Website not responding sporadically” suggests it is working fine, doesn’t it? (Sorry, I’m just in “that kind” of mood...)

[Spiffy]

Originally Posted by Ray

Yes, it’s likely the VPN.

Now to poke at you for humor’s sake: I’ve heard many Brits comment on how Americans don’t know how to speak English, yet your thread title misstates the issue. “Website not responding sporadically” suggests it is working fine, doesn’t it? (Sorry, I’m just in “that kind” of mood...)

Haha. Well that was what google chrome and MS Edge were telling me, so you'll have to take that up with your fellow compatriots Bill and Sergey for the correct lingo.

[katsucats]

Actually, I'm wondering if things like this are due to the server not being full-time instances, that they are only activated when someone visits. I've noticed often when I visit Andy's site or the AOS site, it times out the first time, then loads fine if I refresh 30 seconds later. I would assume AOS is big enough that people are visiting all the time, but who knows...

[Ray]

It is the browser that is “timing out” not the website.

Once you have entered the URL or clicked on a link (same thing, basically) and the request is sent, and it has to take “so many” hops transferring the data, each taking “so much” time. Then, if the server is slow in supplying the data - too many users for the memory allocated - it adds even more time before it hops its way to you. If the time exceeds what the browser is set to consider “too long” (and not adjustable in most browsers), it times out.

Run “tracert orchidboard.com” (trace route) from a command prompt (or app, I suppose), and you’ll see where the slow points are.

I had the same issue with my own website, so upgraded to a server with more “horsepower” to eliminate that potential weak link.

[katsucats]

I know that http has a timeout period, but if there is one slow server, then it would be slow on repeated attempts. I don't recall any problem with orchidboard, but with andysorchids or aos.org, often it's the first attempt and the first attempt only that times out.