Huge performance degradation in comparsion to phpBB 3.0

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lukasamd
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Huge performance degradation in comparsion to phpBB 3.0

Post by lukasamd »

Hello, I have old, but still alive board on phpBB 3.0.x. Recently, I made test conversion to 3.1 and then to 3.2 to avoid issues with new PHP version (I plan to change 5.6 to 7.0/7.1).

Everything is ok except performance.
Small examples, I know, it isn't performance test, but should show difference:

On 3.0 forum index medium generation time is about 0.045s (PHP 5.6, opcache)
On 3.2 forum index medium generation time is about 0.220s (PHP 7.1, opcache)

On 3.0 topic view medium generation time is about 0.040s
On 3.2 topic view medium generation time is about 0.170s

It's huge difference. It's the same board on the same hosting platform (shared, but stable).
I checked cache, checking IP on blocklist, performance settings... eberything is fine, but performance is poor.

It's real performance overhead caused by using symfony components and new structure, or something else?
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AmigoJack
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Re: Huge performance degradation in comparsion to phpBB 3.0

Post by AmigoJack »

Yes, it is. Back then everybody argued that PHP7 has a performance boost in contrast to PHP5 that in fact the board would run faster. But the performance also dropped from 2.0 to 3.0, if you mind.

You might want to also read Re: High CPU load after update to 3.2 and Re: [RFC|Merged] Extensions.
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lukasamd
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Re: Huge performance degradation in comparsion to phpBB 3.0

Post by lukasamd »

Ok, thanks for clarification, now it's clear... And I must consider this issue - make 3.0.x compatible with PHP 7 (there is available patch on internet for that) or maybe migrate to other, lighter software such MyBB (it was slower, but in past). I understand performance decrease after big changes in phpBB core but... it's important for small boards.
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Re: Huge performance degradation in comparsion to phpBB 3.0

Post by Mick »

Also, don't forget there are dozens (I'm guessing) of user requested enhancements since 3.0, each one can take that little bit of extra cpu power. A bigger engine requires more fuel.
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lukasamd
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Re: Huge performance degradation in comparsion to phpBB 3.0

Post by lukasamd »

Yes, it's clear and fully understandable. I only don't understand huge difference with disabled few features, think that footprint is caused by vendors code, not native phpBB.
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Re: Huge performance degradation in comparsion to phpBB 3.0

Post by Lumpy Burgertushie »

and this "huge" degradation according to your tests is less than half of a second.


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Re: Huge performance degradation in comparsion to phpBB 3.0

Post by canonknipser »

Lumpy Burgertushie wrote: Wed Dec 12, 2018 4:32 pm less than half of a second.
don't compare absolute values, compare relative: it takes 4 to 5 times longer to generate the page. This is a significant difference.
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Re: Huge performance degradation in comparsion to phpBB 3.0

Post by 3Di »

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Re: Huge performance degradation in comparsion to phpBB 3.0

Post by thecoalman »

AmigoJack wrote: Wed Dec 12, 2018 9:28 am But the performance also dropped from 2.0 to 3.0, if you mind.
huh? 3.0 is ridiculously faster than 2.0.... Took a little digging to find it but here is some benchmarks.
https://area51.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopi ... 10#p171200

I'll have to have a word to see if can get someone to try Apache-bench on various server setups. However, this might be eye opener, with me having had a dig around on archive.org on a now dead phpBB I used to run, and had incarnations running phpBB 1.2.x, 1.4.x, 2.0.x and now testing 3.x (converted from 2.0.x obviously) on exactly the same hardware configuration (Dual Pentium III-S 1.26 GHz, 1.5GiB RAM & 2x 60GB HDDs in RAID1):

phpBB1.4.x (vanilla) = index.php in ~0.070 seconds
phpBB2.0.0-ish (without template cache) => index.php in ~0.500 seconds
phpBB2.0.5-ish (with template cache) => index.php in ~0.250 seconds
phpBB3.0 CVS (vanilla) => index in ~0.080 seconds
phpBB3.0 CVS (with eAccelerator) => index.php in ~0.016 seconds :mrgreen: 8)

Getting back to the OP I'm not so sure how you run opcache on shared host, rough guess is phpBB is using about 15 to 20MB of RAM for opcache. You might want to try seeing what some opcache stat tools tell you, I have been using this one:

https://github.com/rlerdorf/opcache-status

There are some configurations that can be made to opcache, opcache.validate_timestamps=0. that will prevent opcache from checking the file on disk for changes. It's important to note that you need to clear opcache when you upload new php files. Conveniently, purging the cache in the ACP for phpBB invalidates all files in Opcache so they will be reloaded from disk.
On 3.2 topic view medium generation time is about 0.170s
Is that from the browser or phpBB's footer? Not sure what kind of times I'm getting from the actual script but that's what I'm getting from the browser.
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Re: Huge performance degradation in comparsion to phpBB 3.0

Post by AmigoJack »

Oh, the index. The page I'm requesting most, in contrast to viewtopic and viewforum. Measuring the generation of those would make the picture more accurate. However, I'm surprised all the permission checking in 3.0 should be faster than in 2.0, plus all additional code loaded per page...
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Re: Huge performance degradation in comparsion to phpBB 3.0

Post by thecoalman »

AmigoJack wrote: Thu Dec 13, 2018 8:03 am Oh, the index. The page I'm requesting most, in contrast to viewtopic and viewforum. Measuring the generation of those would make the picture more accurate. However, I'm surprised all the permission checking in 3.0 should be faster than in 2.0, plus all additional code loaded per page...
I actually ran 2.X forum software, think I started with 2.0.7 or something like that. If I recall correctly everything was faster across the board.
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JoshyPHP
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Re: Huge performance degradation in comparsion to phpBB 3.0

Post by JoshyPHP »

jjndig wrote: Tue Dec 18, 2018 11:44 am we should be optimising things (in general, not just phpBB, and I have nothing against the software btw, I really like phpBB) and not just expecting people to have the resources/will to "get better specs"
Ok, then who does "we" refer to in that sentence? Who do you expect to spend their resources on optimising things? Optimisation isn't a fresh coat of paint that can be slapped on a finished software. Only a big rewrite requiring hundreds/thousands of person-hours would make phpBB significantly more efficient and more performant.

Wishing for faster software is like wishing for cleaner air. It's difficult to implement after the fact and it has a cost which has to be paid by someone.
I wrote the library that handles markup in phpBB 3.2+.
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Re: Huge performance degradation in comparsion to phpBB 3.0

Post by jjndig »

just ignore everything I said. I mostly was rambling irrelevantly.

it's not like I have any coding experience etc either
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JoshyPHP
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Re: Huge performance degradation in comparsion to phpBB 3.0

Post by JoshyPHP »

Fair enough. It's difficult to admit being wrong so I appreciate your response.
I wrote the library that handles markup in phpBB 3.2+.
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Re: Huge performance degradation in comparsion to phpBB 3.0

Post by jjndig »

JoshyPHP wrote: Tue Dec 18, 2018 3:15 pm Fair enough. It's difficult to admit being wrong so I appreciate your response.
Yeah, I reread my post and it didn't make much sense :P

It does take a lot of time and effort to fully optimise things nowadays, I guess. Especially when there are so many different things to take into account now such as operating systems, etc. and also things like dependencies used in the software. Involves a lot of testing because one quick fix on one area can break completely another configuration (keep in mind I don't know much but want to try to contribute to the discussion)... :P
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