Slowness and 504 errors (UPDATE MONDAY 3:30 PM ET)

[EarlG]

Last edited Mon Mar 17, 2025, 03:29 PM - Edit history (2)

Update Monday 3:30 PM ET:

The issue with server stress is still ongoing, and the cause is still unknown. Our service provider was able to monitor the situation and recommend some additional steps, which we will be looking into. In the meantime, we have once again restricted traffic to registered members only, which means that as long as you are signed in to DU, the site should operate normally.

It is likely that going forward we will be seeing periods of slowness and 504 errors as we continue to investigate. If you see 504 errors going forward, know that we will continue to restrict access as necessary to restore service during these periods. When we have further news, I'll let you know.

Original message:

For the past week or so we have been experiencing intermittent and unusual server stress which has forced us to restrict traffic to the site in order to operate normally.

We are still investigating, so during this current period of instability we are not going to restrict traffic for a little while, so that we can gather information. This means that connection issues will persist for a brief time.

We do not anticipate that it will be too long before we restrict traffic again and get the site running as normal. We apologize for the inconvenience in the meantime.

[LiberalLoner]

1. Thank you. I was wondering why DU seems to be down so much of the time lately. I hope things will get better.

[William769]

2. Thanks.

[EastBayGuy]

3. I wonder about the IT support for this site and why this is an ongoing issue...

[quaint]

10. Elad and EarlG always take good care of us!

[erronis]

20. It may be that all liberal web resources are targets. Trmp has learned from RU, CN.

Actually trmp is incapable of learning. And his visible staff are probably the dumbest people on earth. But the handlers are honing their knives all the time.

[usaf-vet]

22. Meant to help, not criticize. Keeping networks running can be very frustrating and well as complex. 25 years of.......

...... network support yet retired now. One of my old check lists.

This is what they are dealing with.

A 504 Gateway Timeout error occurs when one server does not receive a timely response from another server that it was trying to communicate with to fulfill a request. Essentially, the gateway (or proxy server) times out while waiting for a response from an upstream server.

Common Causes of a 504 Error:
Server Overload – The backend server handling the request is too busy or experiencing high traffic.
Network Connectivity Issues – The upstream server may be unreachable due to network problems.
Slow or Non-Responsive Database Queries – If the site relies on a database, slow queries can cause timeouts.
Faulty Reverse Proxy or Load Balancer – If the site uses a load balancer or a reverse proxy (e.g., Cloudflare, Nginx, Apache), it might be unable to connect to the backend server.
Firewall Restrictions – Security settings may block communication between the servers.
DNS Resolution Delays – If a domain’s DNS settings are misconfigured or slow to resolve, the site may time out.
Misconfigured Server Settings – Incorrect timeout settings in the web server software (e.g., Apache, Nginx, or PHP) may lead to 504 errors.

How to Fix a 504 Error: For Users:
Refresh the Page – Sometimes, it’s just a temporary issue.
Try a Different Network or Device – Check if the issue is specific to your connection.
Restart Your Router – If it’s a network issue, a router restart may help.
Use a VPN (or Disable It if Already Using One) – If your IP is blocked or the site is geo-restricted, a VPN might help.

For Website Owners:
Check Server Load – Use server logs or monitoring tools to see if the server is overwhelmed.
Restart Web Services – Restart the web server (Apache, Nginx) or backend services.
Inspect Firewall & Security Rules – Ensure no firewall is blocking connections.
Increase Timeout Settings – Adjust timeout values in the web server or proxy settings.
Check for DNS Issues – Use a DNS checker tool to verify domain resolution.
Contact Hosting Provider – If the issue persists, your hosting provider may need to intervene.

[CoopersDad]

4. Thanks. I hope juries and members give others some slack.

These are tough times, people are tense, some are going to blow off some steam and complain about the platform.

Thank you for posting the technical updates!

[yardwork]

5. Thanks for these updates.

I appreciate all you and Elad do to keep DU up and running. I'm sure we're being targeted, just like everybody else.

[blue_jay]

15. That was my first guess too

I'm new here so don't know the history of site ups and downs, but given the a-hole tech bro, zealot, misogynist haters being groomed in the tech field, who are now emboldened, not to mention other countries continuous attack, it's my first guess. If any of us are able, we'd be wise to get more savvy on this front.

[Kali]

6. been happening the most for me this morning

before and around noon AZ time.

[irisblue]

7. Bump

[orangecrush]

8. Thank you

[Kali]

9. FYI

just had that weird jury duty format that I emailed to you the other day happen again.

I can't remember if I have had a normally formatted session since the that one

[Hope22]

11. Thanks for the heads up!

Much appreciated!😊

[Ford_Prefect]

12. I don't mean to presume nor push conspiracy buttons, but is it possible that one of the DOGE brigade has turned their

nasty attentions our way? Like a DOS but slower, or a worm messing with the server function? It does seem a reasonable question. It occurs to me that they might be monitoring traffic here in some pernicious way.

I'm sure that EARLG and the gang know their apples and I don't ask this to make that work harder.

[dutch777]

27. Crossed my mind too. Thanks to the DU team for being on it!

[livetohike]

13. Thanks for the update EarlG. You guys will figure

it out .

[moniss]

14. I have a question about my use of DU

and whether it contributes to the slowdown/traffic problem. Usually once I log in I stay logged in even sometimes beyond when I am using the site. Would it be better to log out if I'm not going to use the site for a few hours?

[blue_jay]

16. Good question, following...

[EarlG]

23. It makes no difference whatsoever

You do not need to log out. But thanks for asking.

[surfered]

17. Has Big Balls hacked us?

[eppur_se_muova]

18. Right now, it's running like greased lightning ! Whatever you did in the past hour must have worked.

Seriously, I've never seen DU pages load so fast.

I was having lots of 504 errors last night and this morning/afternoon, but none right now.

A Very Good Job, from where I sit.

[EarlG]

24. That's because right now only registered members can access the site

If you're not signed in to an account, all you get when you visit DU is a page telling you to sign in. This substantially reduces the amount of traffic (there are a lot more people lurking than posting every day) which means our software can comfortably handle the load. The trick is getting the site open for all visitors again.

[House of Roberts]

19. I'm currently signed in,

but if I have to sign out, does the initial page encountered have a login opportunity?
I've never been signed out during one of these things, and I'd like to know I can get signed back in.

[EarlG]

25. Yes, if you visit DU right now while signed out

you just get a page telling you that you need to sign in to participate. There is a link to sign in on that page.

[House of Roberts]

31. That's reassuring.

I guess this ain't you guys' first rodeo, huh?

[MustLoveBeagles]

21. Thanks for the updates

We appreciate all that you do.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

26. Thank you for the updates

We appreciate your hard work

[SWBTATTReg]

28. How about 2 aspirin and a nap?! Does wonders for me!! Ha ha heh.

[Uncle Joe]

29. I thought DU was probably under attack

by some of *rump's minions in power, they just can't handle democracy or political opposition.

Some sort of virus or something.

Thanks for the thread EarlG

[Cheezoholic]

30. It's not just here. There's something going on across the web in general and has been for over a month

There are lots of normally stable sites I visit getting random errors, more than I've ever seen at once (and I browse A LOT). I think there are nefarious actors (not necessarily DOGE) trying to take advantage of the chaos this administration as wrought. If you think of browsing the web like driving your vehicle every day you can tell when there's suddenly a gremlin cropping up. It's not my PC, I run a virtual session of windows when I browse most of the time and if anything gets through my security settings it dies when I kill the session. Just my opinion but something fishy's going on.

[Ford_Prefect]

32. It's been acknowledged that Russia, Iran, and China have ongoing activities attacking the internet here and elsewhere

I don't claim insider knowledge nor have a specific reference but it seems that if Putin wanted to amplify the chaos effects of the Orange menace and his minions messing with general connectivity as a direct effect or collateral damage would make sense.