403 error

simon_72

Joined: 2010-12-28
Posts: 13

Posted: Tue, 2011-04-19 19:41

Hi,

I've had a problem today where my site loads with a 403 error page. I've spoken to the host who seem to think its something i've done. Im not aware i've done anything, so my question is:

1. Can gallery have caused this problem
2. Is there any advice on how to fix it (regardless of whether gallery caused it?)

Cheers
Si

nivekiam

Joined: 2002-12-10
Posts: 16504

Posted: Tue, 2011-04-19 19:49

Check permissions. I bet your host changed something. There is not any bit of code in Gallery that sets file permissions on the files it creates. Do you happen to be using Network Solutions as your host?

Can you post a link to your Gallery?
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simon_72

Joined: 2010-12-28
Posts: 13

Posted: Tue, 2011-04-19 19:54

Thanks for the response nivekiam. Im not using Network Solutions. I use a small firm, but it is shared hosting. I phoned today, but the guy i need to speak to is on Holiday apparantly. I was always under the impression a 403 was webmaster generated (ie, not putting an index, having clashing htaccess files etc etc) but ive checked and everything is there on the backend, and i havent changed anything since it last worked this morning, i just cant view anything from the front end anymore. I'll PM you the link. I'd rather not put it public.

Thanks for your help

nivekiam

Joined: 2002-12-10
Posts: 16504

Posted: Tue, 2011-04-19 22:07

Quote:

I phoned today, but the guy i need to speak to is on Holiday apparantly.

Phone support is nice and all, but really, that's a bit too damn small if the only person who knows how to deal with file system permissions or "the server thingy" is on vacation and makes the entire company come to a halt....

403 errors means "forbidden". Not that an index file is missing, but that the user the web server runs as doesn't have permission to access the files/directories.

Plain and simple, you need to find a new host, your current host is pitifully understaffed if the ONLY person who has 1/2 a clue is gone AND if they are setup that way and that person can't log in remotely to help a PAYING customer, they are totally screwed as a company....

I'm getting a 403 error for your root site, either you or your host has changed file permissions. Have you been mucking around with file permissions at all via FTP or SSH? If not, then it's your host. But your webserver (Apache) has no access to the files where your site is stored at.

In short, this isn't a Gallery issue
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simon_72

Joined: 2010-12-28
Posts: 13

Posted: Wed, 2011-04-20 05:21

Thankyou again for your help. I've since spoken to the host again (after your comments) and it appears they disabled the hosting due to an unusual level of 'server processes which could cause stability and performance issues'. According to them, there were 371 processes running simultaneously from Gallery, and therefore, they have renenabled everything but the gallery section! (a bit of a pain when its a photo site!) My question now therefore, is how do i reduce the number of processes (whatever that means!)

At the minute, my gallery has approximatley 36,000 photos and approx 15gb of files

Thanks again
Simon

nivekiam

Joined: 2002-12-10
Posts: 16504

Posted: Wed, 2011-04-20 06:28

Either you have a lot of people browsing your site, or they have severely mis-configured their server. I'm betting they have mis-configured their server since they have it configured to allow more processes than memory available to it.... I'm guessing they are using cPanel to "manage" their server and they really don't know what they are doing other than clicking a few buttons. I'm just coming to that conclusion because they didn't know what was wrong with your site to begin with and "they guy who knows a little bit about anything is out of town, you'll have to wait" sort of responses.

BTW, I don't see that your Gallery install has been "disabled", but there is a message that short open tags is required to be enabled, which is true and we try to turn those on with our .htaccess and/or php.ini files that ship with G3.
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simon_72

Joined: 2010-12-28
Posts: 13

Posted: Wed, 2011-04-20 08:48

Hi and thanks again! They've now reinstated the website but have encouraged me to do something to reduce server processes. I got the same message this morning (short tags) but a quick edit of the .htaccess file and its working again! Nonetheless, despite it working fine for the last year and a half, i've lost quite a bit of confidence so am looking at moving hosts. Its just the thought of transferring so much data and also the involvement of a database that concerns me ...

Is there any companies (ideally UK based) you would recommend for a gallery of that size, and is the transfer usually pain free? Finally, in the mean time, is there anything i can do to reduce the load and try and keep the current hosts happy until i have some time to get it all sorted?

Cheers, Si

simon_72

Joined: 2010-12-28
Posts: 13

Posted: Wed, 2011-04-20 09:02

Bit of an update, apparantly i need to 'look through my scripts and see if there is anything which spans multi-processes and then ammend these' I have no idea what that means, but is there anything in Gallery which does it?

Cheers

nivekiam

Joined: 2002-12-10
Posts: 16504

Posted: Wed, 2011-04-20 12:15

Nope, nothing in Gallery does that, at least nothing I know of. They have their server mis-configured.

Here is my only opinion/suggestion about hosting, take it or leave it. The last update to that post is over a year ago now, but my opinion is still the same:
http://gallery.menalto.com/node/88391#comment-310594

I'm not sure any of them would either fit the bill or be in your budget for them to fit your needs though.
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simon_72 Joined: 2010-12-28 Posts: 13	Posted: Tue, 2011-04-19 19:41
	Hi, I've had a problem today where my site loads with a 403 error page. I've spoken to the host who seem to think its something i've done. Im not aware i've done anything, so my question is: 1. Can gallery have caused this problem 2. Is there any advice on how to fix it (regardless of whether gallery caused it?) Cheers Si
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nivekiam Joined: 2002-12-10 Posts: 16504	Posted: Tue, 2011-04-19 19:49
	Check permissions. I bet your host changed something. There is not any bit of code in Gallery that sets file permissions on the files it creates. Do you happen to be using Network Solutions as your host? Can you post a link to your Gallery? ____________________________________________ Like Gallery? Like the support? Donate now!

simon_72 Joined: 2010-12-28 Posts: 13	Posted: Tue, 2011-04-19 19:54
	Thanks for the response nivekiam. Im not using Network Solutions. I use a small firm, but it is shared hosting. I phoned today, but the guy i need to speak to is on Holiday apparantly. I was always under the impression a 403 was webmaster generated (ie, not putting an index, having clashing htaccess files etc etc) but ive checked and everything is there on the backend, and i havent changed anything since it last worked this morning, i just cant view anything from the front end anymore. I'll PM you the link. I'd rather not put it public. Thanks for your help

nivekiam Joined: 2002-12-10 Posts: 16504	Posted: Tue, 2011-04-19 22:07
	Quote: I phoned today, but the guy i need to speak to is on Holiday apparantly. Phone support is nice and all, but really, that's a bit too damn small if the only person who knows how to deal with file system permissions or "the server thingy" is on vacation and makes the entire company come to a halt.... 403 errors means "forbidden". Not that an index file is missing, but that the user the web server runs as doesn't have permission to access the files/directories. <Above is what I wrote before I got your PM> Plain and simple, you need to find a new host, your current host is pitifully understaffed if the ONLY person who has 1/2 a clue is gone AND if they are setup that way and that person can't log in remotely to help a PAYING customer, they are totally screwed as a company.... I'm getting a 403 error for your root site, either you or your host has changed file permissions. Have you been mucking around with file permissions at all via FTP or SSH? If not, then it's your host. But your webserver (Apache) has no access to the files where your site is stored at. In short, this isn't a Gallery issue ____________________________________________ Like Gallery? Like the support? Donate now!

simon_72 Joined: 2010-12-28 Posts: 13	Posted: Wed, 2011-04-20 05:21
	Thankyou again for your help. I've since spoken to the host again (after your comments) and it appears they disabled the hosting due to an unusual level of 'server processes which could cause stability and performance issues'. According to them, there were 371 processes running simultaneously from Gallery, and therefore, they have renenabled everything but the gallery section! (a bit of a pain when its a photo site!) My question now therefore, is how do i reduce the number of processes (whatever that means!) At the minute, my gallery has approximatley 36,000 photos and approx 15gb of files Thanks again Simon

nivekiam Joined: 2002-12-10 Posts: 16504	Posted: Wed, 2011-04-20 06:28
	Either you have a lot of people browsing your site, or they have severely mis-configured their server. I'm betting they have mis-configured their server since they have it configured to allow more processes than memory available to it.... I'm guessing they are using cPanel to "manage" their server and they really don't know what they are doing other than clicking a few buttons. I'm just coming to that conclusion because they didn't know what was wrong with your site to begin with and "they guy who knows a little bit about anything is out of town, you'll have to wait" sort of responses. BTW, I don't see that your Gallery install has been "disabled", but there is a message that short open tags is required to be enabled, which is true and we try to turn those on with our .htaccess and/or php.ini files that ship with G3. ____________________________________________ Like Gallery? Like the support? Donate now!

simon_72 Joined: 2010-12-28 Posts: 13	Posted: Wed, 2011-04-20 08:48
	Hi and thanks again! They've now reinstated the website but have encouraged me to do something to reduce server processes. I got the same message this morning (short tags) but a quick edit of the .htaccess file and its working again! Nonetheless, despite it working fine for the last year and a half, i've lost quite a bit of confidence so am looking at moving hosts. Its just the thought of transferring so much data and also the involvement of a database that concerns me ... Is there any companies (ideally UK based) you would recommend for a gallery of that size, and is the transfer usually pain free? Finally, in the mean time, is there anything i can do to reduce the load and try and keep the current hosts happy until i have some time to get it all sorted? Cheers, Si

simon_72 Joined: 2010-12-28 Posts: 13	Posted: Wed, 2011-04-20 09:02
	Bit of an update, apparantly i need to 'look through my scripts and see if there is anything which spans multi-processes and then ammend these' I have no idea what that means, but is there anything in Gallery which does it? Cheers

nivekiam Joined: 2002-12-10 Posts: 16504	Posted: Wed, 2011-04-20 12:15
	Nope, nothing in Gallery does that, at least nothing I know of. They have their server mis-configured. Here is my only opinion/suggestion about hosting, take it or leave it. The last update to that post is over a year ago now, but my opinion is still the same: http://gallery.menalto.com/node/88391#comment-310594 I'm not sure any of them would either fit the bill or be in your budget for them to fit your needs though. ____________________________________________ Like Gallery? Like the support? Donate now!

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