[mapguide-users] Server Error, unable to connect to fastcgi server. [No Viruses detected]

Thu Nov 16 10:32:52 EST 2006

So, I could set php-cgi.exe over isapi_fcgi.dll as the default PHP handler
in IIS Application Mapping under the MapGuide virtual directory and get the
same FastCGI effect? 

--
Chris Gountanis
Programmer/Analyst - Network Administrator
cgountanis at mpower-tech.com
T: 877-269-6971 | T: 920-830-4053 | F: 920-832-0736

MPOWER TECHNOLOGIES
501 S Nicolet Road Appleton, WI 54914
www.mpower-tech.com

Making complex information more accessible.

-----Original Message-----
From: Brad Nesom [mailto:kidsmake6 at msn.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 8:15 PM
To: users at mapguide.osgeo.org
Subject: RE: [mapguide-users] Server Error, unable to connect to fastcgi
server. [No Viruses detected]

No, no,
We want more...

Hi Chris, Hi Tom,

MapAgent.exe and php-cgi.exe are both CGI and FastCGI applications.
They can be configured to function as standalone CGI apps or as longer
lifetime FastCGI apps.  As part of the performance optimization for MapGuide
we chose to use FastCGI.

When configured as regular CGI apps, process loading and initialization
becomes a significant part of the execution time.  For PHP, the entire API
definition of approximately 130 classes and 1400 methods has to be
registered with the PHP runtime.  This is lot of memory allocation and
initialization.  The Mapagent loads/initializes faster but it still takes
time.  Incurring 200+ milliseconds of overhead for a 10 millisecond HTTP
request was very performance restrictive.

Mapagent.exe and php-cgi.exe also connect to MapGuide Server through TCP/IP.
When run as regular CGI's, these processes can exhaust the ephemeral ports
on both Windows and Linux.  From what I remember, the default port pool on
Windows is around 3000 ports and they stay in a TIME_WAIT state for 4
minutes after they are closed.  A request rate of around 12 requests per
second for 4 minutes is sufficient to completely exhaust the ephemeral ports
on the server.  Once this happens, no new TCP/IP connections will be
accepted for any process running on the machine.  Under some of our internal
load tests, I could force this condition in about 30 seconds.  When run as
FastCGI apps, the Mapagent and php-cgi reuse existing connections to the
server which completely avoids this problem.

Isapi_fcgi.dll is an IIS extension for handling FastCGI applications.
With the default setups, both Mapagent.exe and php-cgi.exe run under this
IIS extension.  The Mapagent.fcgi file is just a placeholder.  It makes it
easier to configure either a FastCGI or regular CGI Mapagent without having
to change any URLs.  For FastCGI, Mapagent.fcgi redirects to isapi_fcgi.dll
which then calls a running mapagent.exe process.  For regular cgi
mapagent.fcgi just redirects to mapagent.exe.

It is possible to configure the Mapagent and php-cgi.exe as regular CGI
apps.  Initially, MapGuide was configured that way.  But there will be a
performance hit and the default settings for TCP/IP may need to be adjusted
to avoid ephemeral port exhaustion.

Thanks (for reading all this),

Trevor

-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Gountanis [mailto:cgountanis at mpower-tech.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2006 10:50 AM
To: users at mapguide.osgeo.org
Subject: RE: [mapguide-users] Server Error, unable to connect to fastcgi
server. [No Viruses detected]

With that being said is there a better way to setup the IIS/PHP config in
IIS. I was told be a few people that they had to change the PHP and FCGI
handlers manually after the fact. Why are PHP pages handled with the
isapi_fcgi.dll file and not the php-cgi.exe file? What is the big diff from
using mapagent.fcgi or using MapAgent.exe directly. What is the fcgi file
actually redirecting to?

--
Chris

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Chadwin [mailto:tom.chadwin at nnpa.org.uk]
Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2006 11:37 AM
To: users at mapguide.osgeo.org
Subject: [mapguide-users] Server Error, unable to connect to fastcgi server.
[No Viruses detected]

Hello all

I get the following error message intermittently in my W2K3/IIS/PHP
application:

Server Error, unable to connect to fastcgi server.

A refresh often gets rid of the problem. I can't find anything in the
Windows event logs. Can anyone point me towards finding the cause of this
problem?

Thanks

Tom

Tom Chadwin
ICT & Web Development Officer
Telephone: 01434 611530
Mobile:
Fax: 01434 611677
Email: tom.chadwin at nnpa.org.uk
Web : www.Northumberland-national-park.org.uk
<http://www.Northumberland-national-park.org.uk>

<http://www.northumberland-national-park.org.uk/>

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