Carbon Database Errors?

[siceman105]

All my sites that use databases on Carbon have stopped working.

Warning: mysql_connect(): Too many connections in /home/amexiac/servers/gainexperience.com/index.php on line 172
Unable to select database

[Vin DSL]

Yep, same here. The MySQL servers are working just fine, but the symlinks are down, or something. I'm getting socket errors. I just contacted tech support. That's what you have to do in situations like this. As far as they are concerned, everything looks fine. They're watching TV and eating Cheetos. Everything is 'green' on their end.

BTW, I'm on Neutron, so you aren't alone in this...

[Vin DSL]

All fixed! Veena to the rescue! Do these guys rock or what? It's 3:30 AM in the friggin' morning here, and they had it fixed in less than 15 minutes. Rock on, JagPC!

[siceman105]

hmmmmm, yeah I guess. For me its 11 in the morning, and it was down for over two hours.

But still, glad its fixed now.

[Vin DSL]

Yeah, I told them Carbon was down too.

I know you don't share the same enthusiasm at this point as I do, after sitting there for over 2 hours waiting for your site to magically reappear, but the point is, waiting is a losing game around here. Tech support is like a Harley. Sometimes you gotta kick 'em to start. Don't wait around for someone else to contact them, 'cause you might be sitting there for 2 days.

I don't know how long you've been doing this, but I've had webhosts that didn't even have tech support. They said they did, but after a while you figure out it's just a bunch of horsesh!t they're feeding you.

So, next time, and there WILL be a next time, give them a shout. I think you will be pleasantly surprised...

[siceman105]

Hi,
I did raise a ticket, almost immediately. The message came back that they had fixed it, it wasnt until I pointed out that reading from the database was fine, but any app or site that wrote to it wasnt working that they started working on it.

Been doing this a while, and I agree this support is better than nothing, but it seems to me that carbon spends more time down than up these days!

[Vin DSL]

I know the feeling - really! I was aboard the Photon when it went down for the last time. A lot of ppl bailed ship over that, but I stuck it out, and now it's smooth sailing.

Wasn't that a beautiful use of metaphors?

[Joshua Clinard]

I get the database errors on Argon.

[mike7727]

I was having mysql problems with radium a month ago caused by /tmp being full. I believe the message I got was similar to the one at the start of this thread.

[Vin DSL]

Hrm... well, all I can tell you, from personal experience, is that MySQL is the 'Achilles tendon' of the Internet right now. It is highly unreliable, mainly because apps like PHP-Nuke, which I run, hammer the crap out of it. Multiple that 1000X on a typical shared server, and I think you can see the problem. One fart and the whole thing comes crashing down like a house of cards. Actually, maybe 1000 farts, but that can take place in the matter of minutes on a busy server. Whatever! I think you get my drift...

So, what's a web host to do? They can refuse to offer MySQL, like my last host, and lose half their client base. Or, they can tough it out and try to make the best of a bad situation. That's what I see happening here.

Known MySQL problems:

• http://www.mysql.com/doc/en/Open_bugs.html

MySQL... it should be as simple as brushing your teeth, but the devil is in the details. Personally, I think 'they' are asking 'it' to do things it was never designed to do. It's a matter of scale. It's as simple as this, in many cases:

Someone decides to look at your site, but it takes 10 seconds to load, so screw you. They close the window and move on. MySQL is trying to satisfy the request, but nobody is there to receive it. Normally, it would take care of this matter, but hey, it has another 1000 requests waiting in the wings, and it forgets about closing the query. 2 days later, or whatever, MySQL is sitting on 100's or 1000's of unclosed queries and it says. "Phuck you, I'm tired of this sh!t... I'm taking a break." This is where the trouble starts. Sometimes it doesn't come back from 'break' until someone like Tech Support kicks them in the ass and tells them to get back to work or they're fired.

So, what's a person to do? There is really nothing better out there, with the exception of Oracle. I suppose you could spend 100 bones a month and get an unmanaged dedicated server. That way it's only you hammering the server instead of 1000 other sites, but all you are doing is forestalling the inevitable. Once again, it's a matter of scale. Instead of crashing every 2 days, MySQL only crashes every 2 weeks. Is this worth the price of admission? Only you can answer that.

So, hang in there and realize you are dealing with an imperfect, even flawed situation, if you will. Don't get discouraged. Just be aware of what's going on behind the scenes, and deal with the reality of it.

The nice thing about JagPC is they have someone in a Tech Support capacity online 24/7/365. Sure, maybe this is being farmed out ad hoc to starving students in New Deli, but who gives a flying you-know-what? I put in a 'ticket' and 15 minutes later, MySQL is back off break and running again. That's the important thing, IMHO...

Is this making any sense?