I have a PHP script that when called via a browser it times-out after exactly 60 seconds. I have modified httpd.conf and set the Timeout directive to be 300. I have modified all PHP timeout settings to extend longer than 60 seconds. When I run the script from the command line it will complete. When I execute through browser each time after 60 seconds, POOF, timeout.
I have also checked for the existence of timeout directives in any of the .htaccess files. Nothing there.. I am completely stumped.
I am also forcing set_time_limit(0) within the PHP code.
I've been digging and testing for a week and have exhausted my knowledge. Any help is greatly appreciated.
You need to make sure you are setting a higher timeout limit both in PHP and in Apache.
If you set a high max_execution_time in php.ini your script won't timeout, however, if you are not flushing the output butter of the script's results to the browser on a regular basis, the script might time out on the Apache end due to a network timeout.
In httpd.conf do:
Timeout 216000
In php.ini do:
max_execution_time = 0
(setting it to 0 makes it never time out, like with a CLI (command line) script).
Make sure you restart Apache after you are done! On most linux distro's you can do this by issuing the command (as root):
service httpd restart
Hope this helps!
There are numerous places that the maxtime can be set. If you are using FastCGI, especially though something such as Virtualmin, there are an additional set of settings for max_execution_time that are hidden to you unless you have access.
In short, you will need to figure out all the places, given your PHP stack setup, there can be an execution time limiter, up those values, restart the server, and then do
set_time_limit(0);
for good measure.
Without more information about your specific setup and given my experience in dealing with execution time hangups in PHP, that's the most I can tell you.
Related
Im currently writing a php script which accesses a csv file on a remote server, processes the data then writes data to the local MySQL database. Because there is so much data to process and insert into the database (50,000 lines), the script takes longer than 60 seconds to run. The problem I have is, the script times out after 60 seconds.
To make sure its not a MySQL issue, i created another script that enters an infinite loop, and it too times out at 60 seconds.
I have tried increasing/changing the following settings on the Ubuntu server but it hasn't helped:
max_execution_time
max_input_time
mysql.connect_timeout
default_socket_timeout
the TimeOut value in the apache2.conf file.
Could it possibly be an issue because i'm accessing the PHP file from a web browser? Do web browsers have time out limits?
Any help would be appreciated.
The simplest and least intrusive way to get over this limit is to add this line to your script.
Then you are only amending the execution time for this script and not all PHP scripts which would be the case if you amended either of the 2 PHP.INI files
ini_set ('max_execution_time', -1);
When you were trying to amend the php.ini file I would guess you were amending the wrong one, there are 2, one used only be the PHP CLI and one used by PHP running with Apache.
For future reference to find the actual file used by php-apache just do a
<?php
phpinfo();
?>
And look for Loaded Configuration File
I finally worked out the reason the request times out. The problem lies with having virtual server hosting.
The request from the web browser is sent to the hosting server which then directs the request to the virtual server (acts like a separate server). Because the hosting server doesn't get a response back from the virtual server after 60 seconds, it times out and sends a response back to the web browser saying exactly this. Meanwhile, the virtual server is still processing the script.
When the virtual server finally finishes processing the script, it is too late as the hosting server has already returned a timeout error to the front-end user.
Because the hosting server is used to host many virtual servers (for multiple different users), it is generally not possible to change the timeout settings on this server.
So, final verdict: The timeout error cannot be avoided with virtual hosting. If this is a serious issue, you may need to look into getting dedicated server hosting.
Michael,
Your problem should come from the PHP file and not the web browser accessing it.
Did you try putting the following lines at the beginning of your PHP file ?
set_time_limit(0);
ini_set ('max_execution_time', 0);
PHP has 2 configuration files, one for Apache and one for CLI, which explains why when running the script in command line, you don't have a timeout. The phpinfo you gave me has a max_execution_time at 6000
See set time limit documentation.
For CentOS8, the below settings worked for me:
sed -i 's/default_socket_timeout = 60/default_socket_timeout = 6000/g' /etc/php.ini
sed -i 's/max_input_time = 60/max_input_time = 30000/g' /etc/php.ini
sed -i 's/max_execution_time = 30000/max_execution_time = 60000/g' /etc/php.ini
echo "Timeout 6000" >> /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
Restarting apache the usual way isn't good enough anymore. You have to do this now:
systemctl restart httpd php-fpm
Synopsis:
If the script(PHP function) takes 61 seconds or above, then you will get a gateway timeout error. The term Gateway is referred to as the PHP worker, meaning the worker timed out because thats how it was configured. It has nothing to do with networking.
php-fpm is a new service in CentOS8. From what I gathered from the internet (I have not verified this myself), it basically has executables(workers) running in the background waiting for you to give it scripts (PHP) to execute. The time saving is the executables are always running. Because they are already running you suffer no start-up time penalty.
I have a php script that need to be processed for one to 5 hours (sending newsletters to our customers). I tried both set_time_limit(2000); and ini_set('max_execution_time', 360000); but neither works. They work perfectly on the XAMPP local server, but they do not work on our dedicated server (Unix & Apache). I also changed the Apache timeout to 300 (which was 50), yet after 30 seconds of script running, it returns this:
Internal Server Error Page (Error 500)
I have no idea if there is any other place for timeout and/or why the server does not honor the ini_set() or set_time_limit() functions. We are using Unix CentOS 6 and Plesk 11.9 as server. I also changed the default php.ini max_execution_time, and it works...
I read many articles and forums, yet I don't know why this happens. I appreciate your help.
// add, in your php file header or config
ini_set('max_execution_time','256'); //max_execution_time','0' <- unlimited time
ini_set('memory_limit','512M');
Good work!
a better way would be using ini_set() or set_time_limit() at the top of the script which sends newsletters to the customers...you should not try to main config files...and also, as someone suggested above, cron jobs are good fit for such situations..
I appreciate your answers and comments. I setup the cron job, and it works perfect. I also have tried the chunk-chunk (150 emails per chunk) approach, and that one works too.
If you using Vps:
Edit your php.ini file:
max_execution_time = 256
memory_limit = 512M
Then, run command line to restart apache
service httpd restart
Or header file
ini_set('max_execution_time','256');
ini_set('memory_limit','512M');
Good luck!
I have a backup script which backups up all files for a website to a zip file (using a script similar to the answer to this question). However, for large sites the script times out before it can complete.
Is there any way I can extend the length of time available for the script to run? The websites run on shared Windows servers, so I don't have access to the php.ini file.
If you are in a shared server environment, and you don’t have access to the php.ini file, or you want to set php parameters on a per-site basis, you can use the .htaccess file (when running on an Apache webserver).
For instance, in order to change the max_execution_time value, all you need to do is edit .htaccess (located in the root of your website, usually accesible by FTP), and add this line:
php_value max_execution_time 300
where 300 is the number of seconds you wish to set the maximum execution time for a php script.
There is also another way by using ini_set function in the php file
eg. TO set execution time as 5 second, you can use
ini_set('max_execution_time', 300); //300 seconds = 5 minutes
Please let me know if you need any more clarification.
set time limit comes to mind, but may still be limited by php.ini settings
set_time_limit(0);
http://php.net/manual/en/function.set-time-limit.php
Simply put; don't make a HTTP request to start the PHP script. The boundaries you're experiencing are set because you're using a HTTP request, which means you can have a time-out. A better solution would be to implement this using a "cronjob", or what Microsoft calls "Scheduled tasks". Most hosting providers will allow you to run such a task at set times. By calling the script from command line, you don't have to worry about the time-outs any more, but you're still at risk of running into memory issues.
If you have a decent hosting provider though, why doesn't it provide daily backups to start with? :)
You can use the following in the start of your script:
<?php
if(!ini_get('safe_mode')){
set_time_limit(0); //0 in seconds. So you set unlimited time
}
?>
And at the end of the script use flush() function to tell PHP to send out what it has generated.
Hope this solves your problem.
Is the script giving the "Maximum execution time of xx seconds exceeded" error message, or is it displaying a blank page? If so, ignore_user_abort might be what you're looking for. It tells php not to stop the script execution if the communication with the browser is lost, which may protect you from other timeout mechanisms involved in the communication.
Basically, I would do this at the beginning of your script:
set_time_limit(0);
ignore_user_abort(true);
This said, as advised by Berry Langerak, you shouldn't be using an HTTP call to run your backup. A cronjob is what you should be using. Along with a set_time_limit(0), it can run forever.
In shared hosting environments where a change to the max_execution_time directive might be disallowed, and where you probably don't have access to any kind of command line, I'm afraid there is no simple (and clean) solution to your problem, and the simplest solution is very often to use the backup solution provided by the hoster, if any.
Try the function:
set_time_limit(300);
On windows, there is a slight possibility that your webhost allows you to over ride settings by uploading a php.ini file in the root directory of your webserver. If so, upload a php.ini file containing:
max_execution_time = 300
To check if the settings work, do a phpinfo() and check the Local Value for max_execution_time.
Option 1: Ask the hosting company to place the backups somewhere accesible by php, so the php file can redirect the backup.
Option 2: Split the backup script in multiple parts, perhaps use some ajax to call the script a few times in a row, give the user a nice progress bar and combine the result of the script calls in a zip with php and offer that as a download.
I have a php script written which calls an external command using exec which compiles a spacial database query result into a shape file. In tables with lots of records (say 15,000), this command can take as long as 7 minutes to execute. The script works fine on scripts which do not take too long (maybe <2min) but on longer scripts (like the 7 minute one) the page will display "500 internal server error". Upon reviewing the Apache server log, the error states: "Premature end of script headers: php-cgi.exe". I have already adjusted the php maximum execution time to allow more than enough time, so I know it is not this. Is there an Apache maximum that's being hit, or something else?
Premature end of script headers means that webserver's timeout for CGI scripts was exceeded by your script. This is a webserver timeout and it has nothing to do with php.ini configuration. You need to look at your CGI handler configuration to increase time allowed for CGI scripts to run.
E.g. if you are using mod_fastcgi you may want to specify the following option in your Apache config: FastCgiServer -idle-timeout 600 which will give you timeout of 10 minutes. By default fastcgi provides 30 seconds. You could find some other fastcgi options here http://www.fastcgi.com/mod_fastcgi/docs/mod_fastcgi.html
Apparently, the default httpd.conf file included in Apache 2.4 doesn't automatically include the extra file httpd-default.conf under /conf/extra (probably by design), which includes the timeout parameter. Since the timeout parameter isn't defined, it reverts back to the default value of 30 seconds, and your script(s) time out.
I did the following to resolve it:
Opened httpd.conf and added the following line to the bottom:
Include conf/extra/httpd-default.conf
Restarted Apache, and it worked.
An alternative would be to simply add the following line(s) to the httpd.conf file:
Timeout 300
KeepAlive On
MaxKeepAliveRequests 100
KeepAliveTimeout 5
Hope this helps someone out there :)
How can I rewrite this into a cron that will run every day for longer than 30 seconds? Also, do I need to edit the .htaccess or php.ini file in the cron.php directory to say something? Over the browser it runs just fine for longer than 30 seconds; over the shell, it runs just fine too. But as a cron set task, it dies after 30 seconds. I'm on 1and1 share hosting.
0 12 * * * php5 /this/is/the/file/cron.php
There are several things that could be terminating your script. One could be the maximum execution time set in the php.ini file. If that's the case, you can override it in your script with set_time_limit(0); where zero means no limit and any number greater than zero is the number of seconds to allow the script to run for before being terminated. It's important to note that this time does NOT include the time it takes for the browser to make the request, so file upload time wouldn't count here.
If you're in a shared hosting environment (like Dreamhost), they have process watches that will kill off any PHP process after a set time limit. You cannot get around these. You would need to contact the hosting provider to see what you need to do to get access to run the script for longer (for Dreamhost, they want you to have a they're PS offering).
Use this syntax to start php:
php -c /path/to/another/php.ini /this/is/the/file/cron.php
Then you can specify a different timeout (or no timeout) in a different php.ini file.
ini_set('max_execution_time', 600);
Add this to the top of your php file and it will run for 600 seconds. Anything more is not recommended but you can have a go if you want.
You don't need to set a higher max_execution_time if you use PHP CLI:
CLI SAPI default value for "max_execution_time" is set to unlimited.
http://nl3.php.net/manual/en/features.commandline.differences.php
I would just use wget http://path.to.myscript.php
If it's dying after 30 you may need to set max_execution_time = 60 in your php.ini to allow the script to run longer than 30 seconds.
You could also use ini_set('max_execution_time', 60)
But as the manual page says, in some cases (i.e. running in safe mode) this will have no effect at all: http://uk.php.net/manual/en/info.configuration.php#ini.max-execution-time
It could also be possible that the php.ini for client line has different max execution values than for the browser. I have seen it sometimes.