[mapserver-users] Mapserver/PostGIS Faster Initial Load Time

[Jeff McKenna]

On 12-06-06 4:35 PM, Donald Kerr wrote:
> Basically my mapping setup is, from client to server, Openlayers WMS/WFS
> (Internet Explorer on XP Pro SP3) - Mapserver CGI - Shapefile (Tiffs) or
> PostGIS (XP Pro SP3 - IIS & FastCGI).
> 
>>From boot up, the initial, or first load of maps, takes up to 15 seconds.
> After that, it flies along fine.
> 
> I've tried pre-loading in a hidden browser instance but that didn't work. I
> cannot get that initial load time down at all.
> 
> Any tips to reduce the time taken for the first load of the software:
> Specifically Mapserver whether it's creating the map from PostGIS or the
> shapefile (Tiffs). 

I can give my experiences here.  I have a very slow server that I use
for client demos, and I very often hit this exact same issue (my
OpenLayers/MapServer WMS/WFS application takes very long to load
initially, then zooms along).  In my case, the long initial load is
always due to the large lib/OpenLayers.js file; I solve this by
generating an 'OpenLayers-lite.js' file (through the instructions at
http://docs.openlayers.org/library/deploying.html).

I hope that helps someone along the way.

Have a nice weekend all.

-jeff



-- 
Jeff McKenna
MapServer Consulting and Training Services
http://www.gatewaygeomatics.com/