################################
Server Tuning & Performance Tips
################################
There are a number of options to tune the ownCloud installation and enable a
higher level of performance. This chapter gives a few hands-on tips on
configuring your database, and LAMP stack to improve performance. This chapter
is community-maintained and unsupported; test these tips carefully before
deploying them on production servers.
If you wish to add tips to this page, please put them in the relevant section.
If there isn't an appropriate section then start a new one.
.. _phpinfo:
***************************
PHP Version and Information
***************************
You will need to know your PHP version and configurations. To do this, create a
plain-text file named **phpinfo.php** and place it in your Web root, for
example ``/var/www/html/phpinfo.php``. (Your Web root may be in a different
location; your Linux distribution documentation will tell you where.) This file
contains just this line::
<?php phpinfo(); ?>
Open this file in a Web browser by pointing your browser to
``localhost/phpinfo.php``:
.. figure:: ../images/phpinfo.png
Your PHP version is at the top, and the rest of the page contains abundant
system information such as active modules, active `.ini` files, and much more.
When you are finished reviewing your information you must delete
``phpinfo.php``, or move it outside of your Web directory, because it is a
security risk to expose such sensitive data.
**********************
ownCloud Server Tuning
**********************
Serving static files via web server
===================================
See :doc:`../configuration_files/serving_static_files_configuration` for a
description and the benefits.
Using cron to perform background jobs
=====================================
See :doc:`background_jobs_configuration` for a description and the
benefits.
Enable JavaScript and CSS Asset Management
==========================================
See :doc:`js_css_asset_management_configuration` for a description and the
benefits.
.. _caching:
*******
Caching
*******
.. note:: Memory cache configuration for the ownCloud server is no longer
automatic, requiring configuration in config.php with the keys
memcache.local and/or memcache.distributed;
see :doc:`config_sample_php_parameters`.
Before the memcache.local can be used you need to install
APC, APCu or XCache.
Caching improves performance by storing data, code, and other objects in
memory.
The APC or OPCache bytecode cache are commonly used in PHP environments. This
example installs APC on CentOS/Red Hat/Fedora systems running PHP 5.4:
.. code-block:: console
$ sudo yum install php-pecl-apc
On Ubuntu systems running PHP 5.4 this command installs APC:
.. code-block:: console
$ sudo apt-get install php-apc
PHP 5.5 replaces APC with OPCache. OPCache is bundled with PHP 5.5 so it should
not be necessary to install it separately. OPCache improves PHP performance by
storing precompiled script bytecode in shared memory, thereby removing the need
for PHP to load and parse scripts on each request. This extension is bundled
with PHP 5.5.0 and later, and is available in PECL for PHP versions 5.2, 5.3,
and 5.4.
APC is both an opcode cache and data store. OPCache is only an opcode cache, so
for caching user data you should also install APCu.
You can test the state of APC(u) by putting the testing file from the documentation
in your server root. It is usually called 'apc.php' and can be found in
/usr/share/doc/php5-apcu/apc.php or /usr/share/doc/packages/php5-apcu/apc.php or
a similar location, depending on your distribution.
The Redis key-value cache and store is an excellent fast and robust cache. For
configuration examples see :doc:`config_sample_php_parameters`.
Distributed PHP environments should use Memcached. Memcached servers must be
specified in the ``memcached_servers`` array in ownCloud's config file
``config.php``. For examples see :doc:`config_sample_php_parameters`.
.. note:: When a memory cache has been configured, but is unavailable due to a
a missing extension or server downtime, ownCloud will be
inaccessible, as a memory cache is considered to be a vital
component.
This does not however affect **occ**, which will instead just print
a warning to the logs.
**************
Webserver Tips
**************
PHP safe mode
=============
PHP safe mode has to be turned off. It is deprecated and has been removed in
newer PHP versions. Verify its status in `phpinfo_`, and look for ``safe_mode
on/off``. If it is on, then add this line to ``php.ini`` to turn it off::
safe_mode = Off
Enable the SPDY protocol
========================
Your webserver can be configured to use the SPDY protocol which could improve
the overall performance of ownCloud. Please have a look at the documentation of
your webservers module for more information:
* `mod-spdy for Apache <https://code.google.com/p/mod-spdy/>`_
* `ngx_http_spdy_module for nginx
<http://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_spdy_module.html>`_
.. note:: If you want to enable SPDY for Apache please note the `Known Issues
<https://code.google.com/p/mod-spdy/wiki/KnownIssues>`_
of this module to avoid problems after enabling it.
*************
Apache Tuning
*************
Maximum number of Apache processes
==================================
An Apache process uses around 12MB of RAM. Apache should be configured so that
the maximum number of HTTPD processes times 12MB is lower than the amount of
RAM. Otherwise the system begins to swap and the performance goes down.
KeepAlive should be configured with sensible defaults
=====================================================
.. code-block:: apache
KeepAlive On
KeepAliveTimeout 2
MaxKeepAliveRequests 10
mod_gzip
========
``mod_gzip`` should be used because it speeds up the transfer of data and
helps to free server memory, and HTTP connections are closed faster.
.. Commented out because oC does not support mod_deflate
.. mod_deflate
.. -----------
.. mod_deflate should be used because it speeds up the transfer of data and helps
.. to free server memory and http connections are closed faster
MPM
===
Apache prefork has to be used. Don’t use threaded ``mpm`` with ``mod_php``
because PHP is currently not thread safe.
Hostname Lookups
================
.. code-block:: bash
# cat /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
...
HostnameLookups off
Log files
=========
Log files should be switched off for maximum performance.
Comment out the ``CustomLog`` directive. Keep ``ErrorLog`` to be able to track
down errors.
.. todo: loglevel?
MaxKeepAliveRequests 4096
=========================
.. code-block:: apache
<IfModule prefork.c>
StartServers 100
MinSpareServers 100
MaxSpareServers 2000
ServerLimit 6000
MaxClients 6000
MaxRequestsPerChild 4000
</IfModule>
<Directory "/var/www/html">
Options Indexes SymLinksIfOwnerMatch AllowOverride All
</Directory>
******************************************
Nginx: caching ownCloud gallery thumbnails
******************************************
One of the optimisations for ownCloud when using Nginx as the webserver is to
combine FastCGI caching with "Cache Purge", a `3rdparty Nginx module
<http://wiki.nginx.org/3rdPartyModules>`_ that adds the ability to purge
content from `FastCGI`, `proxy`, `SCGI` and `uWSGI` caches. This mechanism
speeds up thumbnail presentation as it shifts requests to Nginx and minimizes
php invocations which otherwise would take place for every thumbnail presented every
time.
The following procedure is based on an Ubuntu 14.04 system. You may need to
adapt it according your OS type and release.
.. note::
Unlike Apache, Nginx does not dynamically load modules. All modules needed,
must be compiled into Nginx. This is one of the reasons for Nginx´s
performance. It is expected to have an already running Nginx installation
with a working configuration set up like described in the ownCloud
documentation.
Nginx module check
==================
As a first step, it is necessary to check if your Nginx installation has the
``nginx cache purge`` module compiled in::
nginx -V 2>&1 | grep ngx_cache_purge -o
If your output contains ``ngx_cache_purge``, you can continue with the
configuration, otherwise you need to manually compile Nginx with the module needed.
Compile Nginx with the ``nginx-cache-purge`` module
===================================================
1. **Preparation:**
.. code-block:: bash
cd /opt
wget http://nginx.org/keys/nginx_signing.key
sudo apt-key add nginx_signing.key
sudo vi /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx.list
Add the following lines (if different, replace ``{trusty}`` by your distribution
name)::
deb http://nginx.org/packages/mainline/ubuntu/ trusty nginx
deb -src http://nginx.org/packages/mainline/ubuntu/ trusty nginx
Then run ``sudo apt-get update``
.. note:: If you're not overly cautious and wish to install the latest and
greatest Nginx packages and features, you may have to install Nginx from its
mainline repository. From the Nginx homepage: "In general, you should
deploy Nginx from its mainline branch at all times." If you would like to
use standard Nginx from the latest mainline branch but without compiling in
any additional modules, just run ``sudo apt-get install nginx``.
2. **Download the Nginx source from the ppa repository**
.. code-block:: bash
cd /opt
sudo apt-get build-dep nginx
sudo apt-get source nginx
3. **Download module(s) to be compiled in and configure compiler arguments**
.. code-block:: bash
ls -la
Please replace ``{release}`` with the release downloaded::
cd /opt/nginx-{release}/debian
If folder "modules" is not present, do:
.. code-block:: bash
sudo mkdir modules
cd modules
sudo git clone https://github.com/FRiCKLE/ngx_cache_purge.git
sudo vi /opt/nginx-{release}/debian/rules
If not present, add the following line at the top under::
#export DH_VERBOSE=1:
MODULESDIR = $(CURDIR)/debian/modules
And at the end of every ``configure`` command add::
--add-module=$(MODULESDIR)/ngx_cache_purge
Don't forget to escape preceeding lines with a backslash ``\``.
The parameters may now look like::
$(WITH_SPDY) \
--with-cc-opt="$(CFLAGS)" \
--with-ld-opt="$(LDFLAGS)" \
--with-ipv6 \
--add-module=$(MODULESDIR)/ngx_cache_purge
4. **Compile and install Nginx**
.. code-block:: bash
cd /opt/nginx-{release}
sudo dpkg-buildpackage -uc -b
ls -la /opt
sudo dpkg --install /opt/nginx_{release}~{distribution}_amd64.deb
5. **Check if the compilation and installation of the ngx_cache_purge module
was successful**
.. code-block:: bash
nginx -V 2>&1 | grep ngx_cache_purge -o
It should now show: ``ngx_cache_purge``
Show Nginx version including all features compiled and installed::
nginx -V 2>&1 | sed s/" --"/"\n\t--"/g
6. **Mark Nginx to be blocked from further updates via apt-get**
.. code-block:: bash
sudo dpkg --get-selections | grep nginx
For every nginx component listed run ``sudo apt-mark hold <component>``
7. **Regular checks for nginx updates**
Do a regular visit on the `Nginx news page <http://nginx.org>`_ and proceed
in case of updates with items 2 to 5.
Configure Nginx with the ``nginx-cache-purge`` module
=====================================================
1. **Preparation**
Create a directory where Nginx will save the cached thumbnails. Use any
path that fits to your environment. Replace ``{path}`` in this example with
your file path:
.. code-block:: bash
sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/tmp/cache
2. **Configuration**
.. code-block:: bash
sudo vi /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/{your-ownCloud-nginx-config-file}
Add at the *beginning*, but *outside* the ``server{}`` block::
fastcgi_cache_path {path} levels=1:2 keys_zone=OWNCLOUD:100m inactive=60m;
Add *inside* the ``server{}`` block, as an example of a configuration::
set $skip_cache 1;
# POST requests and urls with a query string should always go to PHP
if ($request_uri ~* "thumbnail.php")
{ set $skip_cache 0;
}
fastcgi_cache_key "$scheme$request_method$host$request_uri";
fastcgi_cache_use_stale error timeout invalid_header http_500;
fastcgi_ignore_headers Cache-Control Expires Set-Cookie;
location ~ \.php(?:$/) {
fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.+)$;
include fastcgi_params;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info;
fastcgi_param HTTPS on;
fastcgi_pass php-handler;
fastcgi_cache_bypass $skip_cache;
fastcgi_no_cache $skip_cache;
fastcgi_cache OWNCLOUD;
fastcgi_cache_valid 60m;
}
.. note: Note regarding the ``fastcgi_pass`` parameter:
Use whatever fits your configuration. In the example above, an ``upstream``
was defined in an Nginx global configuration file.
This then can look like::
upstream php-handler {
server 127.0.0.1:9000;
# or
#server unix:/var/run/php5-fpm.sock;
}
3. **Test the configuration**
.. code-block:: bash
sudo service nginx restart
* Open your browser and clear your cache.
* Logon to your ownCloud instance, open the gallery app, move thru your
folders and watch while the thumbnails are generated for the first time.
* You may also watch with eg. ``htop`` your system load while the
thumbnails are processed.
* Go to another app or logout and relogon.
* Open the gallery app again and browse to the folders you accessed before.
Your thumbnails should appear more or less immediately.
* ``htop`` will not show up additional load while processing, compared to
the high load before.
**********************
Database Best Practice
**********************
Currently ownCloud supports the following relational database management
systems:
- MySQL
- MariaDB
- PostgreSQL
- SQLite
- Oracle
SQLite is not supported in the Enterprise edition, and is not recommended
except for systems with very light workloads, and for testing ownCloud.
We are using the `doctrine database abstraction layer`_ and schema evolution
with a `MDB2 Schema`_ based table description in XML.
.. _doctrine database abstraction layer:
http://www.doctrine-project.org/projects/dbal.html
.. _MDB2 Schema:
https://raw2.github.com/pear/MDB2_Schema/master/docs/
xml_schema_documentation.html
Using MariaDB/MySQL instead of SQLite
=====================================
MySQL or MariaDB are preferred because of the `performance limitations of
SQLite with highly concurrent applications
<http://www.sqlite.org/whentouse.html>`_, like ownCloud.
On large instances you could consider `running MySQLTuner
<https://github.com/major/MySQLTuner-perl/>`_ to optimize the database.
See the section :doc:`../configuration_database/linux_database_configuration`
for how to configure ownCloud for MySQL or MariaDB. If your installation is
already
running on
SQLite then it is possible to convert to MySQL or MariaDB using the steps
provided in :doc:`../configuration_database/db_conversion`.
Improve slow performance with MySQL on Windows
==============================================
On Windows hosts running MySQL on the same system changing the parameter
``dbhost`` in your ``config/config.php``
from ``localhost`` to ``127.0.0.1`` could improve the page loading time.
See also `this forum thread
<http://forum.owncloud.org/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7559>`_.
Other performance improvements
==============================
Mysql: compare https://tools.percona.com/wizard to your current settings
MariaDB: https://mariadb.com/kb/en/optimization-and-tuning/
Postgresql
==========
Alternative to MariaDB/MySQL. Used in production by a few core developers.
Requires at least Postgresql 9.0
Other performance improvements
------------------------------
See http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Performance_Optimization
Oracle Database
===============
Usage scenario: Existing enterprise installations. Only core apps are supported
and tested. Not recommended because it involves compiling the oci8
Other performance improvements
------------------------------
http://de.slideshare.net/cjorcl/best-practices-php-and-the-oracle-database and
ask your DBA.
Problems
--------
When ORA-56600 occurs (Oracle Bug 8467564) set this php.ini setting:
`oci8.statement_cache_size=1000`, see `oracle forum discussion`_
.. _oracle forum discussion:
https://community.oracle.com/message/3468020#3468020
********************
SSL / Encryption App
********************
SSL (HTTPS) and file encryption/decryption can be offloaded to a processor's
AES-NI extension. This can both speed up these operations while lowering
processing overhead. This requires a processor with the `AES-NI instruction set
<http://wikipedia.org/wiki/AES_instruction_set>`_.
Here are some examples how to check if your CPU / environment supports the
AES-NI extension:
* For each CPU core present: ``grep flags /proc/cpuinfo`` or as a summary for
all cores: ``grep -m 1 ^flags /proc/cpuinfo`` If the result contains any
``aes``, the extension is present.
.. windows is not supported on 8.x
.. * On Windows you can run ``coreinfo`` from Sysinternals `Windows
.. Sysinternals
.. Download Coreinfo
.. <https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/cc835722.aspx>`_ which
.. gives you details of the processor and extensions present. Note: you may
.. have
.. to run the command shell as administrator to get an output.
* Search eg. on the Intel web if the processor used supports the extension
`Intel Processor Feature Filter
<http://ark.intel.com/MySearch.aspx?AESTech=true>`_ You may set a filter by
``"AES New Instructions"`` to get a reduced result set.
* For versions of openssl >= 1.0.1, AES-NI does not work via an engine and
will not show up in the ``openssl engine`` command. It is active by default
on the supported hardware. You can check the openssl version via ``openssl
version -a``
* If your processor supports AES-NI but it does not show up eg via grep or
coreinfo, it is maybe disabled in the BIOS.
* If your environment runs virtualized, check the virtualization vendor for
support.