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  1. #1

    High Wordpress CPU Usage, probably due to plugins?

    Hi Guys,

    First post here but I'm hoping you all can help me solve the problem that is literally ruining my sites productivity (you know, because my web hosting service has limited access to the site for everyone but me due to high CPU usages).

    I'll post what they told me:


    In order to prevent server overload, the source of the high load has to be isolated so that it cannot affect the overall server performance. This is a standard procedure used by all shared hosting providers.

    We have conducted a thorough investigation which showed that one of your scripts loops and spawns too many processes. The script that loops (i.e. references itself) is:

    techin5.com/wp-content/themes/index.php

    For additional information please review the server logs below:

    77.240.0.145 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:28 -0500] "GET /tag/interview/ HTTP/1.1" 200 49945 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.0) AppleWebKit/535.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/16.0.912.75 Safari/535.7"
    184.154.233.15 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:28 -0500] "GET /wp-content/themes/index.php HTTP/1.1" 200 5 "-" "PHP/5.2.17"
    87.237.60.34 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:28 -0500] "GET /2011/06/21/ HTTP/1.1" 200 48484 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.0) AppleWebKit/535.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/16.0.912.75 Safari/535.7"
    188.65.176.178 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:28 -0500] "GET /tag/battlefield-3/ HTTP/1.1" 200 59087 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.0) AppleWebKit/535.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/16.0.912.75 Safari/535.7"
    87.237.60.34 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:28 -0500] "GET /2011/06/24/ HTTP/1.1" 200 48339 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.0) AppleWebKit/535.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/16.0.912.75 Safari/535.7"
    77.240.0.145 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:28 -0500] "GET /2011/06/27/ HTTP/1.1" 200 48411 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.0) AppleWebKit/535.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/16.0.912.75 Safari/535.7"
    88.208.222.90 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:28 -0500] "GET /tag/call-of-duty/ HTTP/1.1" 200 55136 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.0) AppleWebKit/535.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/16.0.912.75 Safari/535.7"
    77.240.0.145 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:28 -0500] "GET /2011/06/26/ HTTP/1.1" 200 48505 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.0) AppleWebKit/535.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/16.0.912.75 Safari/535.7"
    188.65.176.178 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:28 -0500] "GET /tag/expansion/ HTTP/1.1" 200 46179 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.0) AppleWebKit/535.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/16.0.912.75 Safari/535.7"
    188.65.176.178 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:28 -0500] "GET /tag/bf3/ HTTP/1.1" 200 55438 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.0) AppleWebKit/535.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/16.0.912.75 Safari/535.7"

    184.154.233.15 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:29 -0500] "GET /wp-content/themes/index.php HTTP/1.1" 200 5 "-" "PHP/5.2.17"
    184.154.233.15 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:29 -0500] "GET /wp-content/themes/index.php HTTP/1.1" 200 5 "-" "PHP/5.2.17"
    184.154.233.15 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:29 -0500] "GET /wp-content/themes/index.php HTTP/1.1" 200 5 "-" "PHP/5.2.17"
    184.154.233.15 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:29 -0500] "GET /wp-content/themes/index.php HTTP/1.1" 200 5 "-" "PHP/5.2.17"
    188.65.176.178 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:29 -0500] "GET /tag/cod/ HTTP/1.1" 200 51528 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.0) AppleWebKit/535.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/16.0.912.75 Safari/535.7"
    184.154.233.15 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:29 -0500] "GET /wp-content/themes/index.php HTTP/1.1" 200 5 "-" "PHP/5.2.17"
    188.65.176.178 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:29 -0500] "GET /tag/expansion-pack/ HTTP/1.1" 200 46209 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.0) AppleWebKit/535.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/16.0.912.75 Safari/535.7"
    184.154.233.15 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:29 -0500] "GET /wp-content/themes/index.php HTTP/1.1" 200 5 "-" "PHP/5.2.17"
    184.154.233.15 - - [13/Jul/2012:01:12:29 -0500] "GET /wp-content/themes/index.php HTTP/1.1" 200 5 "-" "PHP/5.2.17"


    A looping script can be a quite complex problem. It may be caused by an additionally installed extension/module that is not working properly, or it may be in the application itself.


    So, now that we've determined (host and myself) that it's a plugin issue (after renaming the Plugins folder to anotehr name to disable them). However, at one point I manually (through the wordpress plugins menu) deactivated plugins 5 at a time to see what the issue was, and the issue still cropped up.

    So I disabled all plugins and the issue came back. Maybe someone can help me pin point the rogue(rogues?) plugins.

    List of plugins:
    All in One SEO Pack
    AntiVirus
    BulletProof Security
    Disqus Comment System
    Easy Review Builder
    Fast Secure Contact Form
    Google XML Sitemaps
    hitcounter
    Login LockDown
    Polldaddy Polls & Ratings
    Secure WordPress
    Social Metrics
    Social Slider by ARScode
    UberMenu
    W3 Total Cache
    Wordbooker
    WP-PageNavi
    WP to Twitter

    I've currently disabled most of them to check slowly which could be the issue. I've heard all in one SEO is a poorly written plugin, and I've deactivated to see if that's the issue.. but if someone sees another plugin not worthy of an activation, let me know.

    Currently the issue is still prominent, with the following plugins active:

    AntiVirus
    BulletProof Security
    Disqus Comment System
    Easy Review Builder
    Fast Secure Contact Form
    Official StatCounter Plugin
    UberMenu (Paid plugin)

  2. #2
    In order to find "problematic" plugin I advise you to disable them one by one and ask your host to check resource usage
    Also I advise you to check plugins review, maybe one (or few) is consuming an excessive amount of resources
    As an additional reason you can ask your host to check plugin folder via some malware detect application like maldet

    BTW: log showed before seems to be Apache access_log, but in order to get closer to the problem it would be better to ask them for providing Apache error_log and check your own error_log which usually locates in the wordpress document root folder
    Last edited by myidealhost; 07-24-2012 at 08:27 AM. Reason: btw
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  3. #3
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    Does your host have phone support? The easiest way to troubleshoot this may be to give them a call and have them monitor things while you disable plugins. I will say out of the active plugins, the only ones I have not used are AntiVirus, Bulletproof Security, Easy Review Builder, and Ubermenu so I'm inclined to believe that it may be one of those 4.

  4. #4
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    All in One SEO Pack is a notorious waste of resources.

    I would leave W3 Total Cache enabled. The W3 Total Cache pluggin actually reduces the CPU usage and speeds up your site.
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  5. #5
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    All in One SEO Pack is a garbage, remove it and you'll already see the difference.
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  6. #6
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    As a general side note, I do definitely prefer the Wordpress SEO plugin from Joost de Valk.

  7. #7
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    There are ways and means of you doing a little bit of work yourself to determine what is going in within Wordpress.

    You can disable all of the plugins, profile the resource usage then enable them one at a time and monitor the increase in resources. If you have a little bit of know-how with Wordpress this is quite easy to do and not dependent on having your host online with you while you do it.

    It is probably best to work with your host so they know what you are doing since you are causing resource issues.
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  8. #8
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    P3 plugin will help sometimes to find out which plugin is using most resources.

  9. #9
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    you don't need to install another plugin to find the bad plugins, you need to know what is going on within WP to correctly identify what is using the resources.
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  10. #10
    P3 shows this - twitpic.com/ab9ej6 (not allowed to post links so copy paste)

    Not really much of discovery. I've removed P3 now. I'll certainly be removing All in one SEO soon. However, my host server won't help me anymore, they say this is the 3rd instance (it's the same issue thats occured 3 times in the last few days, so dunno how to get them to help. They want me to go dedicated servers.. so I may change host servers)

  11. #11
    May I suggest no one EVER use Siteground as their hosting service. They've been nothing but useless in helping in this issue. I'm moving away from them.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by jubbing View Post
    However, my host server won't help me anymore, they say this is the 3rd instance (it's the same issue thats occured 3 times in the last few days, so dunno how to get them to help. They want me to go dedicated servers.. so I may change host servers)
    That's usually issues with unlimited-offer hosts. You should consider what you need, and find a better host with a real allocation.

  13. #13
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    Change your theme, you probably have exploited codes in theme (techin5.com/wp-content/themes/index.php)

    If you disabled all your plugins and nothing worked, then...

    1. your theme is the issue, possibly exploited. Was it free? Have you looked at the theme code?

    2. The hosting node your account is on could have an abuser. No matter what optimization, tweak, redesign that you do, if your hosting neighbour is using up all the resources, your account will suffer...and WordPress is sensitive to that
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  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by IGobyTerry View Post
    As a general side note, I do definitely prefer the Wordpress SEO plugin from Joost de Valk.
    I second that too. The All in One will add to your sites load.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by jubbing View Post
    However, my host server won't help me anymore, they say this is the 3rd instance (it's the same issue thats occured 3 times in the last few days, so dunno how to get them to help. They want me to go dedicated servers.. so I may change host servers)
    That is usually the game plan for most unlimited hosts. Sell cheap hosting until you use up the resources, and then offer a huge jump to dedicated, completely over-looking some of the obvious solutions.

    1. How much traffic do you have?

    2. A Wordpress site can still stay on shared with a good host. Then your next step is to either have the host create a package for your needs, or go to a VPS...which can last you for a while before going to dedicated.
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  16. #16
    The log shows the problem from theme, Have you tried to switch to another theme and check it?

  17. #17
    For those wondering if it's a theme problem, it's highly unlikely. With the plugins still active, I changed the theme. The problem still occurred. However when I renamend my plugins folder to _Plugins, the problem went away clearly showing the issue was with a plugin. Unfortunately there is no way to check without moving away from Siteground, who's plans aren't even that great for VPS.

  18. #18
    I recall seeing this issue with one of our customer's sites some time ago. It turned out to be the security plugin that they were using (secure-wordpress, I believe).
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  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by jubbing View Post
    For those wondering if it's a theme problem, it's highly unlikely. With the plugins still active, I changed the theme. The problem still occurred. However when I renamend my plugins folder to _Plugins, the problem went away clearly showing the issue was with a plugin. Unfortunately there is no way to check without moving away from Siteground, who's plans aren't even that great for VPS.
    Re-activate your plugins, one by one, and monitor everything while your doing this. Once you activate the problematic plugin you will know.
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  20. #20
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    Plan B...since you don't have access to monitor. There are a few plugins that will show resource and cpu usage...I don't recall which exact one since I'm able to monitor from the back-end.

    Find one of them and activate it first and record the information it gives you. Then re-activate your plugins one by one and check with the load plugin. Then you should be able to find the problem plugin. Once your done everything, deactivate and delete the load plugin since you won't need it anymore.

  21. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by LDHosting View Post
    I recall seeing this issue with one of our customer's sites some time ago. It turned out to be the security plugin that they were using (secure-wordpress, I believe).
    I don't believe I had that plugin activated when the issue occured.
    Last edited by jubbing; 07-26-2012 at 05:23 AM.

  22. #22
    Some plugins are absolutely unnecessary. It advisable ti install plugins that you can't do without.

  23. #23
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    When you renamed the plugins directory the problem went away...

    Well, that makes sense as the way WP works is to look at everything in the WP directory, then go to the database for settings. One of those setting will be enabled or disabled. So when you re-named the directory, it was like a default install again.

    The way to get to the bottom of this is close to what you did. go and disable ALL the plugins then rename the directory. Next, create a new empty plugins directory and one at a time move the plugins from the re-named directory into the plugins directory. It will be pretty easy to see which plugin is the one that causes the issue.

    There are a few other steps that you should take as well to make the actual profiling a simple task - and that info is easy to find on the Wordpress site.
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  24. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by RRWH View Post
    When you renamed the plugins directory the problem went away...

    Well, that makes sense as the way WP works is to look at everything in the WP directory, then go to the database for settings. One of those setting will be enabled or disabled. So when you re-named the directory, it was like a default install again.

    The way to get to the bottom of this is close to what you did. go and disable ALL the plugins then rename the directory. Next, create a new empty plugins directory and one at a time move the plugins from the re-named directory into the plugins directory. It will be pretty easy to see which plugin is the one that causes the issue.

    There are a few other steps that you should take as well to make the actual profiling a simple task - and that info is easy to find on the Wordpress site.
    Exactly what I'm planning to do now

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