I now have a dedicated server. Yup, it's all mine! which also means the problems are all mine too.
"What kind of problems," you ask?
Well, I moved the first site over last night. It is a low traffic blog so I figured that would be the "testing" site I would use to make sure everything on the server is working the way it should be.
Setting up the domain and doing the DNS work was simple enough. I built a domain template and a user account. I fiddled around with the Plesk control panel. I built and destroyed databases. I built and destroyed domains. I was having fun just playing with all the power at my disposal!
"What kind of problems," you ask again?
Setting up the domain and DNS entries was very easy. Moving all of the files over via FTP was also easy. Creating the database and populating it from a backup of the old database was also easy. Trying to figure out why the site is slower than a snail is not so easy.
The site in question uses WordPress. According to Wordpress.org all I need to do to move to a different server is move the files and make any db changes in the config file. No problems there, so why is the site dogging?
I loaded up some basic html files into another directory and everything works fast.
I put another php/mysql program in a different directory on the server and it also worked fine except for one file that would not load. I think that may be related to WordPress and the mod_rewrite rules in the .htaccess file because something similiar happened on another site I own.
So now I'm sitting here scratching my head and wondering why the WordPress install is taking 30-45 seconds between page loads.
This may be a long weekend for me.
image from flickr user plutor used under CC license
- Welcome to the new server
- Server Move
- Everything is all right now
- Are you dedicated?
- How To: Use a cron job to backup your databases
This is why I am glad I always went with managed services ;) I made the decision that I wanted to develop and run websites, not servers. Setting up a server can turn into a good sized task.
I’m going to put a clean Wordpress install up tonight on one of the other domains on the server and see what happens. I might have just screwed somrthing up when I moved the files over.
Right now I’m getting horrible “30 queries in 30 seconds” types of messages.
Well, other than the problems (which I’m sure you’ll be able to resolve), having your own server finally must be a blast!! No responsibility to anybody but yourself, you can decide what makes it and what doesn’t…a friend of mine has been talking about getting a small server, but the main reason he wants one is so he can network together all of the computers at his place, and be able to network in my laptop as well. That is a project for the future though…either way, you gotta love having your own server now, I bet!
It’s never easy with installs and hardware, is it? I mean, when I’ve installed stuff and it works the first time, I’m generally stunned. I admit, when I put together my blog (from finding a host to WP install - half a day) and it worked right away, I was dumbfounded. I thought I’d have to tweak something somewhere.
Of course, I was using the classic WP theme. When I tried to switch to a different theme…then the trouble began!
If anything, you’re adding more skills to the ole resume!
So far my problem appears to be with WordPress 2.2. I can get everything working very smooth until I save a post (new or edit). After that it crawls to 30 seconds per page…
I’m going to install an older version of WP and see what happens.
I fixed it. It was a pesky DNS problem after all…