Cannot use search at this time

[Zeblote]

I'm getting this quite often when looking at new posts. After refreshing a few times it works again. What's happening?

[ssilk]

This message comes, when the server is nearly overloaded. It prevents the database from being overused.

[Zeblote]

This message comes, when the server is nearly overloaded. It prevents the database from being overused.

Sometimes I have to hit f5 over 20 times until "view new posts" works. Is this really needed?

[Ojelle]

This message comes, when the server is nearly overloaded. It prevents the database from being overused.

Sometimes I have to hit f5 over 20 times until "view new posts" works. Is this really needed?

You need to wait 5sec and it works, refresh faster and it wont work. (thats how it goes for me)

[m44v]

I'm getting this message way too often, more obnoxiously when I click to see the next page of results. There's a lot of useful information in this forum but searching for it is a PITA.

[ssilk]

Here are the current numbers:

User search flood interval: 10
Number of seconds users must wait between searches. This interval is checked independently for each user.

Guest search flood interval: 20
Number of seconds guests must wait between searches. If one guest searches all others have to wait until the time interval passed.


But I don't have access to the server, I cannot see the load statistics, how many CPU etc. Changing this can be dangerous, without such stats.

[Zeblote]

This is still happening all the time.

[Koub]

By any chance, could you be behind some NAT, sharing your IP with other people (people reading this forum) ?

[Zeblote]

Yes, but I don't think anyone else uses this forum from our ip.

[ssilk]

I use the search also extensively. I have sometimes - in very, very rare cases - issues. But they are always gone with the next search.
As you see above in the post with the intervals: This strikes you only if you search too fast. Including paging. You can avoid paging for example, if you set the pager to 200 in the advanced-search or so. Perhaps your previous search was too deep? The more you shrink your search, the less time it takes and the more time you will get for the next time.

It might be, that there are some kind of inbuilt preference, that moderator/admin etc. have higher prio, than normal users. I can say by 100%, that there is no distinction about the source IP in phpBB. Makes no sense, cause IP's can change without warning.

There is no config-option about such stuff in phpBB, so - if - then it is deep in the code.

[Zeblote]

I don't use the advanced search though, I mostly use these 2 pages to browse the forum:
search.php?search_id=egosearch
search.php?search_id=newposts

The first always works, the second stops working quite often.

[daniel34]

User search flood interval: 10
Number of seconds users must wait between searches. This interval is checked independently for each user.

Guest search flood interval: 20
Number of seconds guests must wait between searches. If one guest searches all others have to wait until the time interval passed.

I think these are too high and should be lowered if the server load permits it.
Although the flood interval doesn't always apply, as a guest I can sometimes (not very often) page through results / search more often than every 20 seconds but at other times can't search at all for a few minutes.

It might be, that there are some kind of inbuilt preference, that moderator/admin etc. have higher prio, than normal users.

Pretty sure that's true. Even when paging rapidly through search results or making several searches in quick succession when logged in as mod I haven't seen an error message in months. It used to bother me sometimes when I was a regular user.

I can say by 100%, that there is no distinction about the source IP in phpBB. Makes no sense, cause IP's can change without warning.

It makes sense, as searches are limited per user, not per IP. And the guest limit is global. As written above: If one guest searches all others have to wait until the time interval passed.

You can avoid paging for example, if you set the pager to 200 in the advanced-search or so.

There is no such option, or did I miss it?

[orzelek]

Few times I tried to actually find something I get search errors about at most 2-3 pages of results.
It makes searching for something with semi-popular world pretty much useless.

[ssilk]

Guest search flood interval: 20
Number of seconds guests must wait between searches. If one guest searches all others have to wait until the time interval passed.

I think these are too high and should be lowered if the server load permits it.

It makes sense, as searches are limited per user, not per IP. And the guest limit is global. As written above: If one guest searches all others have to wait until the time interval passed.

Yeah?? If he logs in he can search much faster! There is in my eyes no reason to make search for guests superfast. But I'm open for other opinions...

You can avoid paging for example, if you set the pager to 200 in the advanced-search or so.

There is no such option, or did I miss it?[/quote]
Hm. I forgot, that you need to manipulate the URL to do such stuff.

[Zeblote]

Guest timeout doesn't matter, the problem is that we still get it while logged in.

[ssilk]

This could be changed by some admin or someone who can monitor the load of Webserver, Database, Users etc.
As moderator without further info, this is too dangerous to change this.