Performance FAQ - Revision history

Germanvaleroelizondo: Added link to spanish translation of page

2015-06-15T16:12:32Z

Added link to spanish translation of page

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	[[de:Geschwindigkeit FAQ]]		[[de:Geschwindigkeit FAQ]]

			[[es:Desempeño FAQ]]

Ghillenb at 06:58, 11 June 2012

2012-06-11T06:58:32Z

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	[[Category:FAQ]]		[[Category:FAQ]]

			[[de:Geschwindigkeit FAQ]]

Tsala: /* See also */ forum discussion link

2012-02-22T16:27:28Z

Tsala: fixing links

2012-01-09T21:18:38Z

fixing links

Derekcx: Add (maybe relevant) link to a thread

2011-12-13T20:38:51Z

Add (maybe relevant) link to a thread

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:38, 13 December 2011
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	* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=103040 Tool to estimate server's maximum concurrent users]		* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=103040 Tool to estimate server's maximum concurrent users]
	* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=144718 Handling Moodle database load - a solution!]		* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=144718 Handling Moodle database load - a solution!]
			* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=191277 December 2011 Thread on Concurrent Users v2.03]

	[[Category:FAQ]]		[[Category:FAQ]]

Tsala: copying recent changes from 21 wiki

2011-12-08T09:50:53Z

copying recent changes from 21 wiki

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:50, 8 December 2011
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	{{Performance}}		{{Performance}}
	==How do you define "concurrent users"?==		==How do you define "concurrent users"?==
	As has been repeatedly stressed in the [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?f=94 Hardware and performance] forum, the load on the server at a particular time depends on the number of concurrent users~~, not~~ on the total number of ~~users neither~~ on the number of users logged-in. The term "concurrent users" is used to mean those users for whom the server is actively doing something. It may by processing a webpage written in PHP, querying the database or simply transferring a file. (see also Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concurrency_(computer_science) Concurrency])		As has been repeatedly stressed in the [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?f=94 Hardware and performance] forum, the load on the server at a particular time depends on the number of concurrent users. Not on the total number of user accounts and not on the number of users logged-in. The term "concurrent users" is used to mean those users for whom the server is actively doing something . It may by processing a webpage written in PHP, querying the database or simply transferring a file. (see also Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concurrency_(computer_science) Concurrency]). Strictly speaking we mean the number of active web server processes (each of which consume memory) and also the number of database connections.

	=== Why is "concurrent users" not a useful metric? ===		=== Why is "concurrent users" not a useful metric? ===
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	Peak requests per second (either from web logs, mdl_log lines, or similar) is probably a better way to roughly estimate demand on the server - but it is still very difficult to work this out for a new server with unknown usage patterns.		Peak requests per second (either from web logs, mdl_log lines, or similar) is probably a better way to roughly estimate demand on the server - but it is still very difficult to work this out for a new server with unknown usage patterns.

			==What hardware should I buy for 'n' concurrent users?==
			Firstly see above to make sure you express 'n' somewhere near correctly. Unfortunately, the answer is "it depends". It will depend primarily on your chosen operating system, your software configuration (especially web server and database tuning) and what the users will be doing. The worst possible scenario is a large class all starting a timed quiz at exactly the same time. Luckily, users sat reading stuff are not generating any server load at all (until they click for the next activity/page). Very roughly, worst case, your Moodle site may only handle as few as 10-20 concurrent users per GB of memory. Moodle is a large application and can easily use more that 50MB (sometimes a lot more) of RAM per process. If you are planning a very large site, you are strongly encouraged to run a pilot first and take some measurements or resources used.

			Prospective Moodle users tend to vastly over-estimate the required concurrency. It's potentially a very expensive mistake if you get this wrong.

			==What is the easiest way to increase performance?==
			Buy more memory!

	==How do I benchmark a Moodle-site?==		==How do I benchmark a Moodle-site?==
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	See [[Performance#Scalability]]		See [[Performance#Scalability]]

	~~[[Moodle_Clusters]]~~

	==How do I replicate Moodle?==		==How do I replicate Moodle?==
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	==What is the best webserver?==		==What is the best webserver?==

			It depends who you ask. [[Apache]] is almost universal on Unix and Linux. [[IIS]] is native to Windows Server but Apache can be used as well. As always, the latest version available is likely to provide the best performance. There are other "niche" web servers. If you are interested in one of those you are likely to know about it already.

	==Should I go for 64 bit or is 32 bit OK?==		==Should I go for 64 bit or is 32 bit OK?==

			Most servers these days will be 64 bit anyway. On desktops - if you have a choice - 32 bit is probably better supported.

	==What hosting provider do you recommend?==		==What hosting provider do you recommend?==
	http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=99405		[[Moodle Partners]] are approved by Moodle HQ, have extensive Moodle expertise and can provide comprehensive support. However, they are unlikely to be the cheapest solution (although it's worth asking) if your budget is tight. Cheap 'shared hosting' may not provide sufficient resources to run Moodle properly. There are many other options and it really depends on your needs. For one discussion see http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=99405

	== See also ==		== See also ==

Quen: added lots of opinion dressed up as fact about performance metrics

2011-12-02T14:04:42Z

added lots of opinion dressed up as fact about performance metrics

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:04, 2 December 2011
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	* It also depends on system performance. If your system can serve a typical page in 0.1 seconds then if you have 10 people making a request within a second this is an average of 1 concurrent user. If your system takes 1 second to serve a page then the same usage pattern results in an average of 10 concurrent users.		* It also depends on system performance. If your system can serve a typical page in 0.1 seconds then if you have 10 people making a request within a second this is an average of 1 concurrent user. If your system takes 1 second to serve a page then the same usage pattern results in an average of 10 concurrent users.

	In addition, the number of concurrent users is not a very accurate measure of demand because a "concurrent user" may be downloading a large file, which takes time to transfer based on the speed of their network connection. While this does place a demand on the server, ~~the demand of sitting there for 30 seconds transferring~~ a large PDF ~~file~~ to ~~somebody~~ with a slow network ~~connection is much less than the demand of handling, say~~, ~~30 one-second~~ PHP requests ~~over~~ the ~~same timeframe~~.		In addition, the number of concurrent users is not a very accurate measure of demand because a "concurrent user" may be downloading a large file, which takes time to transfer based on the speed of their network connection. While this does place a demand on the server, a server may well be able to cope easily with sending out 10 large PDF files to 10 concurrent users with slow network connections, whereas it might struggle if 10 users were continuously making separate PHP requests to a complex page such as quiz.

			=== What would be a better metric? ===

			Peak requests per second (either from web logs, mdl_log lines, or similar) is probably a better way to roughly estimate demand on the server - but it is still very difficult to work this out for a new server with unknown usage patterns.

	==How do I benchmark a Moodle-site?==		==How do I benchmark a Moodle-site?==

Quen: /* How do you define "concurrent users"? */

2011-12-02T14:01:19Z

How do you define "concurrent users"?

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Performance}}
 ==How do you define "concurrent users"?==
-As has been repeatedly stressed in the [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?f=94 Hardware and performance] forum, the load on the server at a particular time depends on the number of concurrent users, not on the total number of users neither on the number of users logged-in. The term "concurrent users" is used to mean those users for whom the server is actively doing something . It may by processing a webpage written in PHP, querying the database or simply transferring a file. (see also Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concurrency_(computer_science) Concurrency])
+As has been repeatedly stressed in the [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?f=94 Hardware and performance] forum, the load on the server at a particular time depends on the number of concurrent users, not on the total number of users neither on the number of users logged-in. The term "concurrent users" is used to mean those users for whom the server is actively doing something. It may by processing a webpage written in PHP, querying the database or simply transferring a file. (see also Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concurrency_(computer_science) Concurrency])
 ==How do I benchmark a Moodle-site?==

Jonwitts: /* Should I go for 64 bit or is 32 bit OK? */

2011-10-19T17:21:49Z

Should I go for 64 bit or is 32 bit OK?

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:21, 19 October 2011
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	==Should I go for 64 bit or is 32 bit OK?==		==Should I go for 64 bit or is 32 bit OK?==

	===What hosting provider do you recommend?===		==What hosting provider do you recommend?==
	http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=99405		http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=99405

Tsala: performance template, formatting

2011-10-19T15:02:50Z

performance template, formatting

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:02, 19 October 2011
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	===How do you define "concurrent users"?===		{{Performance}}
			==How do you define "concurrent users"?==
	As has been repeatedly stressed in the [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?f=94 Hardware and performance] forum, the load on the server at a particular time depends on the number of concurrent users, not on the total number of users neither on the number of users logged-in. The term "concurrent users" is used to mean those users for whom the server is actively doing something . It may by processing a webpage written in PHP, querying the database or simply transferring a file. (see also Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concurrency_(computer_science) Concurrency])		As has been repeatedly stressed in the [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?f=94 Hardware and performance] forum, the load on the server at a particular time depends on the number of concurrent users, not on the total number of users neither on the number of users logged-in. The term "concurrent users" is used to mean those users for whom the server is actively doing something . It may by processing a webpage written in PHP, querying the database or simply transferring a file. (see also Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concurrency_(computer_science) Concurrency])

	===How do I benchmark a Moodle-site?===		==How do I benchmark a Moodle-site?==
	You can of course benchmark parts of the system separately: the hardware as seen by the operating system (eg. CPU, disk access), web server performance, database server performance, execution on PHP operations, etc. For further details see [[Performance#Obtain_a_baseline_benchmark]].		You can of course benchmark parts of the system separately: the hardware as seen by the operating system (eg. CPU, disk access), web server performance, database server performance, execution on PHP operations, etc. For further details see [[Performance#Obtain_a_baseline_benchmark]].

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	Warning: Note that running this script on a production server may have unwanted side-effects. You are strongly adviced to run it on a test-site.		Warning: Note that running this script on a production server may have unwanted side-effects. You are strongly adviced to run it on a test-site.

	===What are PHP-accelerators?===		==What are PHP-accelerators?==
	See Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHP_accelerator PHP accelerator].		See Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHP_accelerator PHP accelerator].

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	You find some user suggestions here [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=168965 Update on PHP-accelerators].		You find some user suggestions here [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=168965 Update on PHP-accelerators].

	===How do I cluster Moodle?===		==How do I cluster Moodle?==

	See [[Performance#Scalability]]		See [[Performance#Scalability]]
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	[[Moodle_Clusters]]		[[Moodle_Clusters]]

	===How do I replicate Moodle?===		==How do I replicate Moodle?==

	[[Mirroring_Moodle]]		[[Mirroring_Moodle]]
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	[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=173408&parent=760514 How to Replicate MOODLE ??!!]		[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=173408&parent=760514 How to Replicate MOODLE ??!!]

	===My site is very slow, what should I do?===		==My site is very slow, what should I do?==

	First find out "how slow". (The theme-trick here).		First find out "how slow". (The theme-trick here).
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	[[Performance#Obtain a baseline benchmark]] and compare it with the published figures.		[[Performance#Obtain a baseline benchmark]] and compare it with the published figures.

	===What are the requirements for N users?===		==What are the requirements for N users?==

	[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=111847 A moodle setup for 10K simultaneous users]		[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=111847 A moodle setup for 10K simultaneous users]

	===How many users will my installation support?===		==How many users will my installation support?==

	This is another way of asking the same question as above. Please move up.		This is another way of asking the same question as above. Please move up.

	==~~=Which operating system~~ is the best?===		==What is the best webserver?==

	~~[[Beginning_Administration_1_FAQ#Installation_on_a_Windows_or_a_Linux_server]]~~		==Should I go for 64 bit or is 32 bit OK?==

	~~===What is the best webserver?===~~

	===Should I go for 64 bit or is 32 bit OK?===

	===What hosting provider do you recommend?===		===What hosting provider do you recommend?===
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	== See also ==		== See also ==
	~~Moodle Docs~~
	* [[Performance]]
	* [[:Category:Performance]]

	~~Forum~~ discussions		Using Moodle forum discussions
	* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/search.php?notwords=Re:&id=5&subject=performance All performance related discussions]		* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/search.php?notwords=Re:&id=5&subject=performance All performance related discussions]
	* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/search.php?notwords=Re:&id=5&forumid=33&&subject=performance Performance related discussions in the General Developer forum]		* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/search.php?notwords=Re:&id=5&forumid=33&&subject=performance Performance related discussions in the General Developer forum]
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	* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=103040 Tool to estimate server's maximum concurrent users]		* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=103040 Tool to estimate server's maximum concurrent users]
	* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=144718 Handling Moodle database load - a solution!]		* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=144718 Handling Moodle database load - a solution!]



	[[Category:FAQ]]		[[Category:FAQ]]
	~~[[Category: Administrator]]~~
	~~[[Category:Performance]]~~

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:27, 22 February 2012
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	* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=144718 Handling Moodle database load - a solution!]		* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=144718 Handling Moodle database load - a solution!]
	* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=191277 December 2011 Thread on Concurrent Users v2.03]		* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=191277 December 2011 Thread on Concurrent Users v2.03]
			* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=192162 How do you monitor your Moodle server?]

	[[Category:FAQ]]		[[Category:FAQ]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:18, 9 January 2012
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	==How do I benchmark a Moodle-site?==		==How do I benchmark a Moodle-site?==
	You can of course benchmark parts of the system separately: the hardware as seen by the operating system (eg. CPU, disk access), web server performance, database server performance, execution on PHP operations, etc. For further details see [[~~Performance~~#Obtain_a_baseline_benchmark]].		You can of course benchmark parts of the system separately: the hardware as seen by the operating system (eg. CPU, disk access), web server performance, database server performance, execution on PHP operations, etc. For further details see [[Performance_recommendations#Obtain_a_baseline_benchmark]].


	But there is no easy formula to deduce the maximum number of concurrent users from those results. There is a PHP-script, the [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=57028 Performance perspectives - a little script], circulating amoung the Moodle-community which calculates a ballpark figure. The current version is attached to [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=57028&parent=772267\|the posting on 25. March 2011].		But there is no easy formula to deduce the maximum number of concurrent users from those results. There is a PHP-script, the [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=57028 Performance perspectives - a little script], circulating amoung the Moodle-community which calculates a ballpark figure. The current version is attached to [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=57028&parent=772267\|the posting on 25. March 2011].
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	See Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHP_accelerator PHP accelerator].		See Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHP_accelerator PHP accelerator].

	Available software are documented under [[~~Performance~~#PHP_performance]].		Available software are documented under [[Performance_recommendations#PHP_performance]].

	You find some user suggestions here [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=168965 Update on PHP-accelerators].		You find some user suggestions here [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=168965 Update on PHP-accelerators].
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	==How do I cluster Moodle?==		==How do I cluster Moodle?==

	See [[~~Performance~~#Scalability]]		See [[Performance_recommendations#Scalability]]

	==How do I replicate Moodle?==		==How do I replicate Moodle?==
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	* What is the software stack you use? (Unix or Windows, Apache or IIS, MySQL, PostgreSQL or SQL-Server, ...?)		* What is the software stack you use? (Unix or Windows, Apache or IIS, MySQL, PostgreSQL or SQL-Server, ...?)
	* how many concurrent users can you support		* how many concurrent users can you support
	* what modules/activities you use? Check [[~~Performance~~#Performance of different Moodle modules]]		* what modules/activities you use? Check [[Performance_recommendations#Performance of different Moodle modules]]

	[[~~Performance~~#Obtain a baseline benchmark]] and compare it with the published figures.		[[Performance_recommendations#Obtain a baseline benchmark]] and compare it with the published figures.

	==What are the requirements for N users?==		==What are the requirements for N users?==