[Closed] Toolset Blocks Ajax Requests, causing a high load on the server

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[john-pK]

I am trying to: ensure that Toolset is working properly. However, Toolset and I believe Toolset Blocks is causing a high load on the server where the website is hosted (AWS via WPEngine) due to multiple admin-ajax requests coming from hidden link. I've attached a screenshot which the hosting company sent to me. I will add logs to this ticket as soon as I have them.

Link to a page where the issue can be seen: hidden link

I expected to see: Functioning and performing websites

Instead, I got: High load on the server. Slow websites which are all on the same AWS server.

[john-pK]

Hi there,

The logs can be downoaded from here: hidden link

From the web hosting company:

privatesecprod also had high ajax usage :

52620 /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php
329 /
221 /xmlrpc.php
92 /psa-registered-employees/
88 /applying-for-a-first-licence-employees/
86 /contact-us/
55 /psa-registered-employees
53 /psa-registered-contractors/
48 /comments/feed/
43 /contractors-introduction/
41 /renew-your-licence-employees/
41 /latest-news/
37 /who-is-licensable-employees/
35 /training-information/
29 /wp-login.php
27 /psa-registered-contractors
23 /employees-licence-fees/
22 /standards-required-for-licensing/
22 /feed/
22 /-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
grep "\[action\]" wp-content/__wpe_admin_ajax.log | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head
464 [action] => wpv_get_view_query_results
16 [action] => heartbeat

wpv_get_view_query_results is from plugin toolset-blocks plugin was necessary and could not be toggled off.
We recommend reaching out to the plugin developers to see if they can provide further context on why/what is making the requests.

[Minesh]

Hello. Thank you for contacting the Toolset support.

I would like to know that do you see the same number of requests when only Toolset plugins are active and/or with default theme?

[john-pK]

Hi Minesh,

Thanks for coming back to me. This is a live website and we are unable to replicate the issue on our Development and Staging environments.

The best I will be able to do, is agree with the website owner that I disable the toolset plugins at a quiet time tonight to see if that improves the situation with the Ajax calls. We can enable the Ajax logging while I go this. I will not be able to disable all plugins and the theme as this is a live site with a lot of traffic.

However, I have spoken to the hosting company in the last 30 minutes and they are quite adamant that the high volume of ajax calls are coming from the Toolset Blocks plugin.

I can report back after I do this. Unless you have any other suggestions in the meantime?

Thanks

[Minesh]

Toolset Blocks can have requests, theoretically if you have more blocks added to page you will have more requests that is understandable and expected.

if you find anything specific that really needs to be fixed please let us know.

[john-pK]

Hi Minesh,

That's why I'm looking for support. I was hoping that you, as part of the Toolset development team, might be able to advise on how we can resolve this situation? This was not an issue up until recently.

I have sent over logs. Have you had a chance to take a look at them? What other information would you like? We cannot proceed like this as it's severely impacting the remaining sites on the AWS server.

I will try and triage further tonight to see if disabling the Toolset plugins has a positive impact on the server. I will let you know.

[Minesh]

Yes, I already checked the server error logs but that will not help us to find why and what is causing the issue, yes but we have few points where there are number of requests are fired, based on log you shared, for example, following URL I see number of times in the log:
- hidden link

That's why I'm looking for support. I was hoping that you, as part of the Toolset development team, might be able to advise on how we can resolve this situation? This was not an issue up until recently.
==>
ok, when you say recently, what modifications are made to the site. Did you update/installed anything or moved the site to different server?

I will try and triage further tonight to see if disabling the Toolset plugins has a positive impact on the server. I will let you know.
==>
I'm not asking to Disable the Toolset plugins but to make sure there is no conflict with other plugins please check:
- What if you disable the Toolset plugins?
- What if you keep Toolset Plugins active and disable other third-party plugins?

Do you see any difference?

[john-pK]

Hi Minesh,

*****************************************
Ok, when you say recently, what modifications are made to the site. Did you update/installed anything or moved the site to different server?
No, we didn't make any modifications to the website. It was working fine until recently. The only changes we made were to update WordPress and the various plugins used, which we do all of the time. The site is on the same server as always.

*****************************************
What if you disable the Toolset plugins?
Last night at 22:00 GMT, i disabled the 2 Toolset plugins, Toolset Blocks and Toolset Types. Before I deactivated the 2 plugins, the server CPU was running at 100%. When i deactivated the two plugins, after a few minutes the hosting company could see a drop in the CPU to about 50%. I have attached a screenshot which the hosting company (WPEngine) provided to me. The yellow arrow is when i disabled the plugins. The memory went back up after I re-enabled the plugins.

I have also attached a 2nd screenshot which is from the hosting company. They have advised that the issue related to the "wpv_get_view_query_results" action which is from the toolset-blocks plugin.

*****************************************
What if you keep Toolset Plugins active and disable other third-party plugins?
I have not tried this because the site is a live website and if I disable all plugins then the site will not render correctly.

*****************************************

Please let me know what additional logs/information you need from the hosting company, or from the WordPress backend.

Thank you

[Minesh]

it seems the problem is on the back end when editing pages with View blocks. How often are they doing that?
- If you are doing again and again then it should be expected and if you see it again and again then I suggest to switch to classic editor and do not use blocks editor. If you are editing views using blocks please make sure once your editing is finish close that post/content template.

If this issue is keep happening for you then I really suggest you to switch to classic views.

[john-pK]

Hi Minesh,

I have not edited the page template in several months. There are two separate views:

hidden link
hidden link

Neither of these templates has been edited in months. We have a scheduled import each night around 11pm and other than that, nothing is edited.

I am happy to set you up as a user if you need to go in and see what is happening. If you can provide me a secure mechanism to share login credentials with you then I will. We need to get this issue resolved and all the logs are pointing towards the Toolset Blocks plugin unfortunately.

Thanks

[Minesh]

I understand but as said if this is a really issue for you then you should build the same view using the classic view and check if that helps to reduce the requests. For now, you may try to create a test page where you should create a view using classic view and then try to add the same view on that test page and check if you see improved results.

This could be the exception as I do not see any other user reported the same issue. However - if you insist I'm happy to dive into your site and review your current setup.

*** Please make a FULL BACKUP of your database and website.***
I would also eventually need to request temporary access (WP-Admin and FTP) to your site. Preferably to a test site where the problem has been replicated if possible in order to be of better help and check if some configurations might need to be changed.

I have set the next reply to private which means only you and I have access to it.