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Performance Monitoring Guide

# Performance Monitoring Guide

This guide provides newcomers to our MediaWiki site with information on monitoring server performance. Consistent monitoring is crucial for maintaining a stable and responsive wiki experience. This article covers key metrics, tools, and best practices for ensuring optimal performance.

Understanding Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Several key performance indicators (KPIs) should be regularly monitored to identify potential bottlenecks and issues. These include CPU usage, memory consumption, disk I/O, network traffic, and database performance. Understanding these metrics will allow you to proactively address problems before they impact users. See also Special:Statistics for basic site statistics.

CPU Usage

High CPU usage can indicate that the server is struggling to handle the current workload. This could be caused by complex queries, excessive user activity, or inefficient code. Monitoring CPU usage helps identify processes consuming excessive resources. See Manual:Configuration settings for guidance on optimizing the wiki’s configuration.

Memory Consumption

Insufficient memory can lead to swapping, significantly impacting performance. Monitoring memory usage helps determine if the server has enough RAM to handle the workload and if memory leaks are occurring. For more information on memory-related issues, refer to Help:Tracking down performance issues.

Disk I/O

High disk I/O indicates that the server is spending a significant amount of time reading from and writing to disk. This can be caused by frequent database queries, large file uploads, or insufficient disk caching. Consider using a faster storage solution, such as an SSD, if disk I/O is consistently high. See Manual:Upgrading PHP for information on PHP extensions affecting disk usage.

Network Traffic

Monitoring network traffic helps identify potential network bottlenecks or denial-of-service attacks. Excessive traffic can saturate the network connection, leading to slow response times. Consult Help:Spam prevention for information on mitigating malicious traffic.

Database Performance

The database is often the bottleneck in a MediaWiki installation. Monitoring database query times, connection usage, and cache hit ratios is crucial for maintaining performance. See Manual:Database setup for details on database configuration.

Tools for Performance Monitoring

Several tools can be used to monitor server performance. The choice of tools depends on your operating system and technical expertise.

Command-Line Tools

For Linux systems, command-line tools like `top`, `htop`, `vmstat`, `iostat`, and `netstat` provide real-time performance data. These tools are excellent for quickly identifying resource bottlenecks.

Graphical Monitoring Tools

Graphical monitoring tools, such as Grafana, Prometheus, and Nagios, provide a more comprehensive view of server performance over time. These tools allow you to create custom dashboards and set up alerts for critical events. See Help:System administration for a more complex overview of system monitoring.

MediaWiki Extensions

While limited, some MediaWiki extensions can provide basic performance insights. Extensions like Extension:PerformanceLog can log slow queries and other performance-related events.

Server Specifications and Recommended Configurations

The following tables outline recommended server specifications for different MediaWiki installation sizes. These are guidelines and may need adjustments based on your specific needs and workload.

Installation Size CPU Cores RAM (GB) Disk Space (GB) Expected Concurrent Users
Small (Under 10,000 articles) 2 4 50 50
Medium (10,000 - 100,000 articles) 4-8 8-16 200 100-500
Large (Over 100,000 articles) 8+ 32+ 500+ 500+

The above assumes a standard LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) stack.

Database Server Specifications

The database server requires significant resources, especially for large wikis.

Component Minimum Recommended Optimal
CPU Cores 2 4-8 8+
RAM (GB) 4 8-16 32+
Disk Type HDD SSD NVMe SSD
Disk Space (GB) 100 200-500 1TB+

PHP Configuration

Optimizing PHP settings can significantly improve performance.

PHP Setting Recommended Value Description
memory_limit 256M - 512M Maximum amount of memory a script may consume.
max_execution_time 30 Maximum time in seconds a script is allowed to run.
opcache.enable 1 Enables the PHP opcode cache.
opcache.memory_consumption 128 - 256 Amount of memory used by the opcode cache (in MB).

Proactive Maintenance and Optimization

Regular maintenance and optimization are essential for maintaining optimal performance. This includes tasks such as:

⚠️ *Note: All benchmark scores are approximate and may vary based on configuration. Server availability subject to stock.* ⚠️

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