500 Errors - Radiant on Apache/FastCGI overloading and dying

Hi folks,

I have a Radiant install running Apache/FastCGI on linux. FastCGI
keeps crashing when it tries to load too many pages at once. Here’s
how I reproduce it:

  1. Clear cache
  2. View site - open about 10 pages, one right after the other.
  3. FastCGI will crash with “Premature end of script headers”
  4. Several (not all) of the pages will return a 500 error. Fcgi
    generally recovers and the pages that failed will be loaded correctly
    if you refresh the browser.

The production.log shows nothing out of the ordinary. Here’s the
production log after clearing the cache:

Processing SiteController#show_page (for --.–.--.— at 2007-10-03
10:14:51) [GET]
Parameters: {“action”=>“show_page”, “url”=>[“campus-life”],
“controller”=>“site”}
Completed in 1.41990 (0 reqs/sec) | DB: 0.08094 (5%) | 200 OK [http://
studentlife.biola.edu/campus-life/]

Here’s an excerpt from the apache error.log:

[Wed Oct 03 10:06:27 2007] [error] [client 75.–.—.---] Premature
end of script headers: dispatch.fcgi, referer: http://
studentlife.biola.edu/
[Wed Oct 03 10:06:28 2007] [error] [client 75.–.—.---] Premature
end of script headers: dispatch.fcgi, referer: http://
studentlife.biola.edu/
[Wed Oct 03 10:06:28 2007] [notice] mod_fcgid: server /home/----/
studentlife/releases/20070716223737/public/dispatch.fcgi(9683) started
[Wed Oct 03 10:06:28 2007] [notice] mod_fcgid: process 9646 going
graceful shutdown, sending SIGTERM
[Wed Oct 03 10:06:28 2007] [notice] mod_fcgid: process 9645 going
graceful shutdown, sending SIGTERM
[Wed Oct 03 10:06:34 2007] [notice] mod_fcgid: process /home/----/
studentlife/releases/20070716223737/public/dispatch.fcgi(9646) exit
(communication error), get stop signal 15
[Wed Oct 03 10:06:34 2007] [notice] mod_fcgid: process /home/----/
studentlife/releases/20070716223737/public/dispatch.fcgi(9645) exit
(communication error), get stop signal 15

Now that the pages are cached, they load normally. Clear the cache or
edit one of the pages, and occasionally fcgi will crash again.

Anyone have any insight into why this might be happening?

Thanks,
Ryan

Did
Premature end of script headers: dispatch.fcgi - Google Search?

/AITOR

There might be a per-process memory limit on the FCGI processes.
Honestly, though, I can’t say for sure. I haven’t used FCGI in a long
time.

Sean

AITOR - yeah, I’ve read every result in that google search. Most of
those posts have to do with running Rails/Radiant on a shared host
like Dreamhost. The rest of them say to use Mongrel.

I’m trying to get the IT department to set up mod_proxy so that I can
use Mongrel instead of mod_fcgi. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

On Oct 3, 2007, at 12:56 PM, Aitor Garay-Romero wrote:

I have a Radiant install running Apache/FastCGI on linux. FastCGI
The production.log shows nothing out of the ordinary. Here’s the

started

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Ryan H.
Art of Mission, Inc.
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