Optimization – Child Processes On Server Vs. Filtering

Hello @HDTeam,

Thank you for reaching out to us with your concerns regarding the page loading speed issues you’ve been experiencing. We understand how important it is to maintain a swift and responsive website, and we appreciate the efforts you’ve already made to optimize your site’s performance.

Based on the information you’ve provided, it appears that the server is indeed reaching its max_children limit, which is a common issue when dealing with PHP-FPM (FastCGI Process Manager). This can occur when there is a high demand on your server’s resources, often due to a surge in traffic or resource-intensive operations, such as the product filtering feature on your website.

To address this, we recommend the following steps:

1. Review the PHP-FPM configuration, specifically the max_children setting, to ensure it is optimized for your server’s resources and the traffic your website receives. It may be necessary to increase this limit(maybe 500 or 1000), but this should be done cautiously to avoid overloading the server. For more information, please take a look at this: https://serverfault.com/questions/479443/php5-fpm-server-reached-pm-max-children.

2. Analyze the product filtering functionality to determine if it can be optimized further. This could involve caching the results of common filter queries or optimizing the underlying database queries to reduce the load on the server.

3. Consider implementing a more aggressive caching strategy for your website’s content, especially for pages that do not change frequently. This can reduce the number of requests that reach the server, thereby decreasing the likelihood of hitting the max_children limit.

4. Monitor your server’s resource usage regularly to identify any patterns or spikes in traffic that could be contributing to the problem. This can help you make informed decisions about resource allocation and scaling.

5. If the issue persists, it may be worth exploring other hosting solutions that can offer more resources or better scalability options to accommodate your website’s needs.

6. Since you’re using the WPML plugin, please also take a look at this article: https://wpml.org/tutorials/2022/03/boosting-the-performance-of-your-multilingual-wordpress-site/

We understand that these technical aspects can be challenging, and we are here to assist you further. If you require more in-depth support or would like us to take a closer look at your configuration, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our technical support team.

We are committed to helping you resolve these issues and ensuring that your website operates smoothly. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work together to find a solution.

Best Regards,
8Theme’s Team

Hello @HDTeam,

We would like to inform you that the observed issue may be related to the cache generation process. Periodically, the cache is recreated, which can result in additional load on the server.

Regarding the filters, the outcomes of the filtering process are also stored in the cache, which is periodically overwritten.

Best Regards,
8Theme’s Team

Hello @HDTeam,

We would like to inform you that there may have been changes in the cache settings or the addition of new plugins, which could have affected the overall system performance. Additionally, alterations in the CDN settings might have had an impact.

It is also possible that there is a conflict between the caching plugins, specifically Redis Object Cache and WP Rocket.

Regarding the issues that occurred 2-3 years ago, it is important to note that cache plugins are subject to updates, and changes within these updates could have contributed to the current situation.

Furthermore, we have reconfigured the following options in Customizer->Speed Optimization to reduce system load, particularly the “Wishlist For Product Variations” feature. The updated settings are as follows:

– Wishlist For Product Variations: Off
– Disable Old Browser Support: On
– Disable Gutenberg Styles: On
– Remove Query Strings From Static Resources: On

Best Regards,
8Theme’s Team

Hello @HDTeam,

We appreciate your prompt response.

Сaches are periodically generated, which causes the issue you are encountering. As part of the troubleshooting process, you have the option to disable all caches, which should eliminate the periodic load spikes. However, caches are essential for optimal performance.
We recommend reaching out to Rocket plugin support to inquire why the cache generation is leading to system overloads and if they can help. From our end, we have conducted a thorough review and, regrettably, we do not see any way in which we can assist further.

Best Regards,
8Theme’s Team