Apache Timeout setting

The timeout setting is the number of seconds before data "sends" or "receives" (to or from the client) time out. Having this set to a high number forces site visitors to "wait in line" which adds extra load to the server.

  1. First backup the file with the following command:

    cp /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.bkup.kb-246.1
  2. The following command opens httpd.conf and searches for the term Timeout:

    vi +/Timeout /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf You should see the following lines:

    # Timeout: The number of seconds before receives and sends time out.
    Timeout 120
  3. Edit the section that reads:

    Timeout 120 to a more reasonable value like the following:

    Timeout 20
  4. Save this file by pressing the escape key followed by :wq! which will save the file and exit vi.
  5. Restart Apache to apply the changes:

    /etc/init.d/httpd restart

Max Client Settings

On (dv) Dedicated-Virtual v2.0 Servers:

  1. First backup the file with the following command:

    cp /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.bkup.kb-246.2
  2. The following command opens httpd.conf and searches for MaxClients:

    vi +/MaxClients /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf You should see the following section marked prefork MPM.
  3. Edit the section that reads:

    <IfModule prefork.c>
    StartServers 2
    MinSpareServers 1
    MaxSpareServers 5
    MaxClients 10
    MaxRequestsPerChild 1000
    </IfModule>

    to something more like this:
    • For Base servers:

      <IfModule prefork.c>
      StartServers 1
      MinSpareServers 1
      MaxSpareServers 3
      MaxClients 50
      MaxRequestsPerChild 1000
      </IfModule>
    • For Rage servers:

      <IfModule prefork.c>
      StartServers 2
      MinSpareServers 2
      MaxSpareServers 5
      MaxClients 100
      MaxRequestsPerChild 1000
      </IfModule>
    • For Extreme servers:

      <IfModule prefork.c>
      StartServers 2
      MinSpareServers 2
      MaxSpareServers 5
      MaxClients 200
      MaxRequestsPerChild 1000
      </IfModule>
  4. Save this file and restart Apache to apply the changes:

    /etc/init.d/httpd restart

On (dv) Dedicated-Virtual v3.x Servers:

  1. First backup the file with the following command:


    cp /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.bkup.kb-246.2
  2. The following command opens httpd.conf and searches for MaxClients:


    vi +/MaxClients /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf You should see the following section marked prefork MPM.
  3. Edit the section that reads:

    <IfModule prefork.c>
    StartServers 1
    MinSpareServers 1
    MaxSpareServers 20
    ServerLimit 20
    MaxClients 150
    MaxRequestsPerChild 4000
    </IfModule>
    to something more like this:
    • For Base servers:

      <IfModule prefork.c>
      StartServers 1
      MinSpareServers 1
      MaxSpareServers 3
      ServerLimit 50
      MaxClients 50
      MaxRequestsPerChild 4000
      </IfModule>
    • For Rage servers:

      <IfModule prefork.c>
      StartServers 2
      MinSpareServers 2
      MaxSpareServers 5
      ServerLimit 100
      MaxClients 100
      MaxRequestsPerChild 4000
      </IfModule>
    • For Extreme servers:

      <IfModule prefork.c>
      StartServers 2
      MinSpareServers 2
      MaxSpareServers 5
      ServerLimit 200
      MaxClients 200
      MaxRequestsPerChild 4000
      </IfModule>
    • For Nitro servers:

      <IfModule prefork.c>
      StartServers 20
      MinSpareServers 20
      MaxSpareServers 50
      ServerLimit 500
      MaxClients 500
      MaxRequestsPerChild 4000
      </IfModule>
  4. Save this file and restart Apache to apply the changes:

    /etc/init.d/httpd restart

NOTE:


If you are running into frequent Apache crashes you can check the error_log for MaxClients-related problems.

To check your error logs to see if you have MaxClient issues you can run the following command as root:

grep -i maxclient /var/log/httpd/error_log* If this command returns any results after making the above changes you may need to fine-tune the MaxClients variables further
.