Have had to reboot server twice in two days

December 25, 2013 10.2k views
tracetalbot
By:
tracetalbot
Hi, I set up a WordPress blog on Digital Ocean and I've had to reboot the server twice in two days. After setting up the blog, and posting one story successfully, I returned to admire my beautiful work two hours later only to see the message (Error Establishing Database Connection). I then rebooted the server and got it working again, posted another heartbreaking story successfully, and, after waiting a period of time, I returned to admire my first two stories only to see Error Establishing Database Connection again, which I was able to fix by rebooting the server. I used the tutorial on your website to setup wordpress with Apache and Mysql. Is this expected behavior? Is there anything I could do to prevent this from happening?
Log In to Comment
10 Answers
thejuli December 25, 2013
Maybe you have to optimize your web server / sql stuff? I'm doing fine and I'm using WP as well.
If I was you I will just set up cron to restart AMP every 2 hours etc.
Reply
pablo December 25, 2013
"Error Establishing Database Connection"

That's a very common problem w/Apache + MySQL residing on the same server. That's why WordPress.com (the inventors of WordPress) dumped Apache -- in favor of Nginx -- years ago (not to mention that every premium/dedicated WordPress-hosting company also uses Nginx instead of Apache).
Reply
tracetalbot December 25, 2013
Thanks, can you post a gist explaining how to do the cron job every two hours?
Reply
andrejevicnemanja December 25, 2013
That is not Windows to restart it every time you get in trouble. It's a server, so read mysql/apache logs and fix the issue or hire someone to do it for you.
Reply
tracetalbot December 25, 2013
What folder are the apache and mysql logs in? I"m just a hobbyist developer trying to learn about servers etc. I can't hire someone
Reply
andrejevicnemanja December 25, 2013
If you are using CentOS then

/var/log/httpd/*.log for Apache
/var/log/mysqld.log for mysql
Reply
kamaln7 MOD December 25, 2013
I don't recommend adding a cronjob to restart your server every two hours. In fact, you should never need to do that.

Your droplet is most likely running out of memory, try adding swap:
How To Add Swap on Ubuntu 12.04
by Etel Sverdlov
Linux swaps allow a system to harness more memory than was originally physically available. Here's how to set up a linux swap file on Ubuntu 12.04
Reply
pablo December 26, 2013
Most people would not tolerate buying a Porsche that needed to be restarted every 2 hours (moving from shared hosting to a VPS is like upgrading from a Chevy Cavalier to a Porsche). Unless you know more about WordPress and web servers than the inventors of WordPress, why not mimic what they do? Check out:

1.) How To Migrate a WordPress Installation from Apache to Nginx on an Ubuntu VPS;

2.) How To Configure Single and Multiple WordPress Site Settings with Nginx;

3.) How To Install Wordpress, Nginx, PHP, and Varnish on Ubuntu 12.04.
How To Install Wordpress, Nginx, PHP, and Varnish on Ubuntu 12.04
by Etel Sverdlov
Varnish is an HTTP accelerator and a useful tool for speeding up a server, especially during a times when there is high traffic to a site. It works by redirecting visitors to static pages whenever possible and only drawing on the server itself if there is a need for an active process. This tutorial covers installing wordpress on a LEMP stack (with nginx instead of apache), and then installing varnish.
Reply
tracetalbot December 26, 2013
Thanks, the solution provided by Kamal helped! Will also look at nginx. Thanks Pablo
Reply
pablo December 28, 2013
Check out 10 Million hits a day with WordPress using a $15 server (but notice that the author of that blog post now uses a $10/mo. DigitalOcean VPS).
Reply
Have another answer? Share your knowledge.