A-Plus Host

[Scot - ScotsScripts.com]

Hi Folks,

Does anyone know what the problem is with Aplus host?

I've got a very unhappy customer who is being misled by the host who is saying, "The problem is in the scotmail script. Go talk to Scot"

However, the problem is with the Aplus smtp server setup and all that stuff that needs to be done to hook it up to the miva back end. When sending out bulk emails, sometimes just a handful, all sorts of mvsmtp errors pop up, such as:

Runtime error in scotmail/scotmail.mvc @ [000000a1:00000682]: scotmail.mv: Line 7460: MvSMTP: Failed to read SMTP status: Read Timeout

If that's a problem with my coding I'll fix it, but I have a hunch that there's nothing I can do with mivascript to help this problem go away.

Any thoughts?

Thanks-

Scot

[d_host]

No, that's not uncommon about that particular host - their servers are typically running at quite high CPU load when we get a chance to log on to them (to move clients to us).

BTW, Aplus is about to shut down their San Diego office - they are apparently moving to Phoenix area. With the move, you can almost bet they will have major outages, downtime, etc, as they move all servers and equipment to the new location. I wouldn't expect them to be addressing the SMTP server issue, especially now when they have the office and datacenter move on their minds.

[ILoveHostasaurus]

You could put a delay in between each send but then you wont be able to deliver a reasonable number of messages before the Merchant application timeout.

[Scot - ScotsScripts.com]

Yeah, there's a setting in the script to do that. Even with a 45 second delay between email as small as groups of three, that error and similar ones pop up sometimes after the first loop. It's sad when someone starts to dislike me because I don't know how to fix their server- I'm just a developer, darnit!

[Nerd Boy Inc]

More power Scotty, damn it we need more power!!!

[ILoveHostasaurus]

Is there a variable available to give a script the value of the global timeout? Maybe you could detect that and try to knock out as many messages as possible in one smtp session then write some state information to db so you can pick back up where it left off even if an error occurs? Just an idea, shouldn't have to code around smtp problems but they may occur more often than not and most merchant sites are hosted at places they are more likely to occur.

[Julie Wilber]

More power Scotty, damn it we need more power!!!

I need to learn not to drink coffee while I'm on the forums :p

[Scot - ScotsScripts.com]

The global timeout variable is an idea I've entertained, however in this case, the Aplus miva setup is so messed up that the global timeout variable is always 0 (I wrote a diag script for the client to run).

[Scot - ScotsScripts.com]

Miva support hasn't helped much in this, the client told me they said that the system variable globaltimeout SHOULD be set to 0! Sheesh, it's hard to instill confidence in a pissed off customer when I say, "globaltimeout should be at least 30 seconds, probably a minimum of 90" and then he comes back and says, "Miva support says it should be 0."

[ILoveHostasaurus]

Miva support's normal response to application timeout is to tell the user or host to set the timeout to zero (unlimited) without realizing that the apache connection timeout needs to be bumped up as well or it will just get killed when the connection closes anyway.

[d_host]

Ask the customer if they can remove the globaltimeout setting altogether from their mivavm.conf file. If the line is not there, it will automatically default to 90 seconds. Granted, setting it to 0 means scripts should be able to run 'indefinitely', but that's apparently not the case on their servers. If this doesn't help - they are simply on a way overloaded server and it simply shuts down the SMTP service when CPU load is high. Sendmail, for example, will stop accepting any new connections when the load reaches 10.00 (but it will automatically start back up again when the load comes down). If they are using sendmail on the server and you constantly see SMTP timeouts, it's almost a giveaway that the server load is incredibly high (and 10.00 would certainly be!)

[jvb]

where would the mivavm.conf be located?

[d_host]

In most cases - in the cgi-bin directory where your 'mivavm' binary file is also located. If it's not there, the host has their servers set up in such a way that you can't make any changes to your configuration (not a very good thing).

[jvb]

Re: A-Plus Host

there are not any configuration problems with aplus.net. the problem is that they only allow 10 connections to the smtp server from the same IP address within a 5 minutes timeframe. so, if you get a few orders and are trying to send out emails at the same time, you would get data rate exceeded errors once you hit the smtp server 11 times in that 5 minute span.

it would have been nice to be able to specify a port number when using an smtp server. this would have allowed me to use any other mail server and avoided the problem. it also would have worked if the program could use sendmail as this doesnt have the connection limitation. since i couldn't do either of these, i have moved on to a different program that allows all these features plus more. scot was nice enough to refund 85% of the program cost.

[Vic - WolfPaw Computers]

Re: A-Plus Host

there are not any configuration problems with aplus.net.

Thats a matter of subjective opinion :)

I'd suggest searching the old MIVA Users List archives for posts about problems.

the problem is that they only allow 10 connections to the smtp server from the same IP address within a 5 minutes timeframe. so, if you get a few orders and are trying to send out emails at the same time, you would get data rate exceeded errors once you hit the smtp server 11 times in that 5 minute span.

This is an absurd restriction considering the site is an e-commerce site and needs to send customer and merchant notifications. As the holidays approach, volume will only increase - casuing more and more problems with even more stores hosted there.

There are plenty of other ways to prevent spamming, without impacting clients' ability to do business.

it would have been nice to be able to specify a port number when using an smtp server. this would have allowed me to use any other mail server and avoided the problem. it also would have worked if the program could use sendmail as this doesnt have the connection limitation. since i couldn't do either of these, i have moved on to a different program that allows all these features plus more. scot was nice enough to refund 85% of the program cost.

Bottom line, you shouldnt have to. Your host is supposed to be there as your foundation to help your business thrive. Not cut you off at the knees. Scot's software runs fine on many other hosts. This is the first time I've heard of it having a problem due to hosting configuration.