Mysql grumblings

Problem: This site is very slow, especially when you click around ('use it') or are logged in. I have turned off many features I wanted to add because they run too slowly. The current site is a shadow of the vision I had for it this summer. The front page loads OK, but only because Drupal has an anonymous caching system that creates the appearance of decent page generating speed.

Cause: Powweb has 15 database servers for the whole company, which creates a bottleneck. Drupal generates a ton of queries to load every page, and each query gets pushed through a totally overtaxed MySQL server.

Solution: Switch the database to a different place, while leaving the other stuff in place. It's the damn internet - you can make connections behind the scenes.

Result: Total failure. PowWeb blocks MySQL connections going out of their web servers.

Today I spent a good chunk of time switching the content of this site off to a database server where I am working - a very friendly supervisor offered to let me test the performance of that hosting space with my own site.

However after hours of fiddling, I discovered the Powweb host does not allow direct database connections off their system.

A colossal letdown. I am going to bug the heck out of the Powweb people until they actually fulfill my need for a decent database server - either on their own system, or an outside system I procured space on.

What the hell is the point of having a website when it doesn't work right?

Thanks for your patience on the matter. And I won't even get into how this slowness directly causes fewer people to visit my site.