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December 2015 Update (Read 268 times)

eric :)


    Hi all,

    The database upgrade is completed.  It took a bit longer than expected because the database server and the test servers have different hardware so the timing is not exact.  The new database software should reduce future need to bring down RA to do maintenance.  It's also supposed to be faster too.  I've also made significant changes to how the data is structured, which should also improve performance.

     

    Since many things have changed, there will be bugs that I didn't find during testing.  I've already fixed a few of them since RA coming back online.  If you notice anything, please let me know by creating a new thread.

     

    I've also re-added the previous/next buttons on the view workout page, which is possible only with this upgrade.

     

    eric Smile

    catwhoorg


    Labrat


      I've also re-added the previous/next buttons on the view workout page, which is possible only with this upgrade.

       

      Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou.

       

      That is all.

       

      So nice to have those back.

      5K  20:23  (Vdot 48.7)   9/9/17

      10K  44:06  (Vdot 46.3)  3/11/17

      HM 1:33:48 (Vdot 48.6) 11/11/17

      FM 4:13:43 (Vdot 35.4) 3/4/18

       

      Douglas Hegley


        Hmm. 
        That timing coincides almost exactly to when I started having problems with the performance of the Running Ahead website. On multiple browsers and multiple networks, I have consistent trouble loading any pages - takes a really long time, and often times out saying the server is not responding. Anyone else having this problem? It happens across the entire domain. Any tips or trick for improving this? I've been using the site for years and have 25 year of historical data loaded too, I'd hate to have to abandon it. Thx.

        LedLincoln


        not bad for mile 25

          Hmm. 
          That timing coincides almost exactly to when I started having problems with the performance of the Running Ahead website. On multiple browsers and multiple networks, I have consistent trouble loading any pages - takes a really long time, and often times out saying the server is not responding. Anyone else having this problem? It happens across the entire domain. Any tips or trick for improving this? I've been using the site for years and have 25 year of historical data loaded too, I'd hate to have to abandon it. Thx.

           

          Aside from a couple of five-minute random outages, the site is really snappy for me at a variety of locations and browsers.

          Douglas Hegley


            Is it possible that the way the "Summary" page is loaded has changed in some way? That's where I'm still getting a very long lag time in loading - after clearing all browser cache and emptying all cookies (Chrome browser), it seems the rest of the domain is loading normally. But my "Summary" can take 20 seconds to come up, and that was never true before.

            eric :)


              Hi Doug,

              You have about 14,000 workout entries.  Displaying them in multiple graphs will take some time.  The new database software should be faster than the old version in general, although it will be slower to generate your summary page.  As a rule, graphing data more than a year ago is not a good idea for the summary page.  Deleting them from the summary page will make your log load faster.

               

              ericSmile

              Douglas Hegley


                That's too bad. That's the nicest feature, especially now that I'm old and over the hill, basking in past glories! I guess I'll have to export the data for visualizations. Or deal with slow loads.

                That page used to load fast, too bad it doesn't cache from last session.

                - Douglas

                eric :)


                  That's too bad. That's the nicest feature, especially now that I'm old and over the hill, basking in past glories! I guess I'll have to export the data for visualizations. Or deal with slow loads.

                  That page used to load fast, too bad it doesn't cache from last session.

                  - Douglas

                   

                  You can view your graphs at any time since you've saved them already.  The summary page is mean for data that change relatively frequently.

                   

                  RA has grown to a size where caching is no longer a viable option.  There are many users active at the same time, which means the database has to bring in new records constantly.  The new data will replace the old data in the cache, resulting in lower cache hit.  The obvious answer is to increase the cache size, but the resulting negative performance impact is counter intuitive.  The reason is having a large cache means much higher maintenance overhead.  The DB has to constantly clean the cache because it's so huge, which is less time serving query lookups.

                   

                  By not caching results, the freed up memory can be used to store more data tables, which would increase the overall performance at the expense of slower loads for large amounts of data.

                   

                  That's the nuts and bolts of database management.

                   

                  There are other ways of improving performance.  It involves additional database servers, load balancers, and a whole lot of configuring.  It's not worth the effort at the current load, and I don't have the time or money to tackle that right now.  Although, there is that upcoming Power Ball...

                  Douglas Hegley


                    Thanks for the detailed response. I don't mean to be a complainer - have used the site for years and still think it's the best one out there. Appreciate all that RunningAhead does for the running community. Thank you.


                    #artbydmcbride

                       

                      .......  Although, there is that upcoming Power Ball...

                       

                      Don't count too much on that...I plan to buy the winning ticket later today! 

                       

                      Runners run

                        Hi Doug,

                        You have about 14,000 workout entries.

                         

                        Holy cow.

                         

                        Out of curiosity I checked my own totals. I have almost 10,000 fewer workouts than you, Doug. And my log goes back 13 years!

                        Runners run

                        xhristopher


                          Holy cow indeed!

                           

                          Curious about this, I just discovered the "summary" button on the "workouts page." It took me long enough to find it.

                           

                          In comparison to Doug, I've logged 2766 workout entries in the past 2354 days. At my current rate it will take 9560 more days to get to 14,000 entries. I hope I can stay healthy through year 2042 when I'm scheduled to get to 14,000.

                            Curious about this, I just discovered the "summary" button on the "workouts page." It took me long enough to find it.

                             

                            Huh. Interesting. Never clicked on that before either. The # that jumped out for me was 1. I've logged a grand total of 1 "weights" entry in just over 6 years. I'm pretty sure it was for shoveling snow. It was a big storm.

                            A list of my PRs in a misguided attempt to impress people that do not care.