Skip to content

NODEBB: Nginx error performance & High CPU

Solved Performance
69 3 31.7k 2
  • @DownPW said in NODEBB: Nginx error performance & High CPU:

    I don’t understand all you say.
    Finally what we can do ?

    My point here is that the traffic, whilst legitimate in the sense that it’s from another site that has closed, could still be nefarious in nature so you should keep your guard up. However, a number of signups can’t be wrong - particularly if they are actually posting content and not performing requests that actually do not pertain to available URL’s on your site.

    I see no indication of that, so the comfort level in the sense that it’s legitimate traffic does increase somewhat accompanied by the seemingly legitimate registrations. However, because all the source IP addresses and within the Cloudflare ranges, you have no ability to tell really who they are without performing the steps I outlined in the previous post.

    The good news is that your site just got a huge increase in popularity, but with that will always be a need to keep a close eye on activity. It would only take one nefarious actor to potentially bring down your site.

    The nginx configuration you’ve applied will indeed alleviate the stress placed on the server but is a double edged sword in the sense that it does make the goalpost much wider in terms of any potential attack.

    My advice herein would be to not scale these settings too high. Use sane judgement.

    For the NodeBB side, I know they have baked rate limiting into the product but I’m sure you can actually change that behaviour.

    Have a look at

    /admin/settings/advanced#traffic-management
    

    You’ll probably need to play with the values here to get a decent balance, but this is where I’d start.

    @phenomlab

    I think you’re right Mark and that’s why I come here looking for your valuable advice and expertise 😉

    Basically, the illegal site that closed was a movie download site A topic was opened on our forum to talk about it and many came looking for answers on why and how.

    You’re actually right about the fact that we can’t be sure of anything and there are bot attacks or ddos in the lot of connexions

    I activated the under attack mode on Cloudflare as you advised me to see (just now.) and we will see like you said

    As you advised, I also reset the default nginx configuration values ​​and removed my nginx modifications specified above.

    I would like to take advantage of your expertise, see a hand from you to properly configure nginx for ddos ​​and high traffic. (What precise modifications to specify as well as the precise values.)

  • @phenomlab

    I think you’re right Mark and that’s why I come here looking for your valuable advice and expertise 😉

    Basically, the illegal site that closed was a movie download site A topic was opened on our forum to talk about it and many came looking for answers on why and how.

    You’re actually right about the fact that we can’t be sure of anything and there are bot attacks or ddos in the lot of connexions

    I activated the under attack mode on Cloudflare as you advised me to see (just now.) and we will see like you said

    As you advised, I also reset the default nginx configuration values ​​and removed my nginx modifications specified above.

    I would like to take advantage of your expertise, see a hand from you to properly configure nginx for ddos ​​and high traffic. (What precise modifications to specify as well as the precise values.)

    @DownPW ok, good. Let’s see what the challenge does to the site traffic. Those whom are legitimate users won’t mind having to perform a one time additional authentication step, but bots of course will simply stumble at this hurdle.

  • @DownPW ok, good. Let’s see what the challenge does to the site traffic. Those whom are legitimate users won’t mind having to perform a one time additional authentication step, but bots of course will simply stumble at this hurdle.

    @phenomlab

    number of user is better (408) but a lot of loose connexion. navigation is hard

  • @phenomlab

    number of user is better (408) but a lot of loose connexion. navigation is hard

    I have chaneg nginx conf with :

    worker_rlimit_nofile 70000;

    events {
    worker_connections 65535;
    multi_accept on;
    }

    CF is under attack mode

  • I have chaneg nginx conf with :

    worker_rlimit_nofile 70000;

    events {
    worker_connections 65535;
    multi_accept on;
    }

    CF is under attack mode

    @DownPW I still have access to your Cloudflare tenant so will have a look shortly.

    EDIT: I am in now - personally, I would also enable this (and configure it)

    d85820ea-6643-49bd-98da-a8537e970f04-image.png

    b6a188a9-deba-4980-b4a1-99df7975160d-image.png

  • @DownPW I still have access to your Cloudflare tenant so will have a look shortly.

    EDIT: I am in now - personally, I would also enable this (and configure it)

    d85820ea-6643-49bd-98da-a8537e970f04-image.png

    b6a188a9-deba-4980-b4a1-99df7975160d-image.png

    @phenomlab I have already activate it and add a waf rules for russian country

    2e3108dc-8d68-4e48-91c7-e1c3bc00c229-image.png

    With this bots settings :
    e12409dd-df54-4def-b998-470786c3afa9-image.png

    and this settings for ddos protection :

    2e176374-f7d1-48e4-b38f-83360a0f182a-image.png

  • @phenomlab I have already activate it and add a waf rules for russian country

    2e3108dc-8d68-4e48-91c7-e1c3bc00c229-image.png

    With this bots settings :
    e12409dd-df54-4def-b998-470786c3afa9-image.png

    and this settings for ddos protection :

    2e176374-f7d1-48e4-b38f-83360a0f182a-image.png

    @DownPW said in NODEBB: Nginx error performance & High CPU:

    I have already activate it

    Are you sure? When I checked your tenant it wasn’t active - it’s from where I took the screenshot 😁

  • @DownPW said in NODEBB: Nginx error performance & High CPU:

    I have already activate it

    Are you sure? When I checked your tenant it wasn’t active - it’s from where I took the screenshot 😁

    @phenomlab

    yep I activate it after 😉

  • @phenomlab

    yep I activate it after 😉

    For your information @phenomlab ,

    • I have ban via iptables suspicious ip address find on /etc/nginx/accesss.log and virtualhost access.log like this : iptables -I INPUT -s IPADDRESS -j DROP
    • Activate bot option on CF
    • Create contry rules (Russie and China) on CF WAF
    • I left under attack mode option activated on CF
    • I have just change nginx.conf like this for test (If you have best value, I take it ! ) :
    worker_rlimit_nofile 70000; 
    
    events {
    
    	worker_connections 65535;
    	multi_accept on; 
    }
    
    http {
    
    	##
    	# Basic Settings
    	##
    
    	limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=flood:10m rate=100r/s; 
    	limit_req zone=flood burst=100 nodelay; 
    	limit_conn_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=ddos:10m; 
    	limit_conn ddos 100;
    

    100r/s iit’s already a lot !!

    and for vhost file :

    server {
    	.....
    
            location / {
    				
    				limit_req zone=flood; #Test 
    				limit_conn ddos 100; #Test 
    }
    

    –> If you have other ideas, I’m interested
    –> If you have better values ​​to use in what I modified, please let me know.

  • For your information @phenomlab ,

    • I have ban via iptables suspicious ip address find on /etc/nginx/accesss.log and virtualhost access.log like this : iptables -I INPUT -s IPADDRESS -j DROP
    • Activate bot option on CF
    • Create contry rules (Russie and China) on CF WAF
    • I left under attack mode option activated on CF
    • I have just change nginx.conf like this for test (If you have best value, I take it ! ) :
    worker_rlimit_nofile 70000; 
    
    events {
    
    	worker_connections 65535;
    	multi_accept on; 
    }
    
    http {
    
    	##
    	# Basic Settings
    	##
    
    	limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=flood:10m rate=100r/s; 
    	limit_req zone=flood burst=100 nodelay; 
    	limit_conn_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=ddos:10m; 
    	limit_conn ddos 100;
    

    100r/s iit’s already a lot !!

    and for vhost file :

    server {
    	.....
    
            location / {
    				
    				limit_req zone=flood; #Test 
    				limit_conn ddos 100; #Test 
    }
    

    –> If you have other ideas, I’m interested
    –> If you have better values ​​to use in what I modified, please let me know.

    @DownPW my only preference would be to not set worker_connections so high

  • @DownPW my only preference would be to not set worker_connections so high

    @phenomlab

    Ok so what value do you advise?

  • @phenomlab

    Ok so what value do you advise?

    @DownPW you should base it on the output of ulimit - see below

    https://linuxhint.com/what-are-worker-connections-nginx/#:~:text=The worker_connections are the maximum,to accommodate a higher value

    With that high value you run the risk of overwhelming your server.

  • @DownPW you should base it on the output of ulimit - see below

    https://linuxhint.com/what-are-worker-connections-nginx/#:~:text=The worker_connections are the maximum,to accommodate a higher value

    With that high value you run the risk of overwhelming your server.

    @phenomlab

    Thanks mark 😉

    My ulimit is 1024, so I will set it to 1024

  • @phenomlab

    Thanks mark 😉

    My ulimit is 1024, so I will set it to 1024

    @DownPW And the worker_processes value ? I expect this to be between 1 and 4 ?

  • @DownPW And the worker_processes value ? I expect this to be between 1 and 4 ?

    @phenomlab

    worker_processes auto;
    
  • @phenomlab

    worker_processes auto;
    

    @DownPW ok. You should refer to that some article I previously provided. You can probably set this to a static value.

  • @DownPW ok. You should refer to that some article I previously provided. You can probably set this to a static value.

    @phenomlab

    Ok I will see it for better worker_processes value

    I add a rate limite request and limit_conn_zone on http block and vhost block :

    – nginx.conf:

    http {
    
    	#Requete maximun par ip 
    	limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=flood:10m rate=100r/s; 
    	#Connexions maximum par ip 
    	limit_conn_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=ddos:1m;
    
    -- vhost.conf :
            location / {
    				
    				limit_req zone=flood burst=100 nodelay; 
    				limit_conn ddos 10;
    

    –> I have test other value for rate and burst but they cause problem access to the forum. If you have better, I take it

    I add today a proxy_read_timeout on vhost.conf (60 by default)

    proxy_read_timeout 180;
    

    I have deactivate underattack mode on CF and change for high Level

    I have add other rules on CF waf :

    9059db6c-f4f3-4415-bb47-ab88b2b41861-image.png

  • @phenomlab

    Ok I will see it for better worker_processes value

    I add a rate limite request and limit_conn_zone on http block and vhost block :

    – nginx.conf:

    http {
    
    	#Requete maximun par ip 
    	limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=flood:10m rate=100r/s; 
    	#Connexions maximum par ip 
    	limit_conn_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=ddos:1m;
    
    -- vhost.conf :
            location / {
    				
    				limit_req zone=flood burst=100 nodelay; 
    				limit_conn ddos 10;
    

    –> I have test other value for rate and burst but they cause problem access to the forum. If you have better, I take it

    I add today a proxy_read_timeout on vhost.conf (60 by default)

    proxy_read_timeout 180;
    

    I have deactivate underattack mode on CF and change for high Level

    I have add other rules on CF waf :

    9059db6c-f4f3-4415-bb47-ab88b2b41861-image.png

    @DownPW what settings do you have in advanced (in settings) for rate limit etc?

  • @DownPW what settings do you have in advanced (in settings) for rate limit etc?

    @phenomlab said in NODEBB: Nginx error performance & High CPU:

    @DownPW what settings do you have in advanced (in settings) for rate limit etc?

    In cloudflare ?

  • @phenomlab

    I wanted to test awstats on virtualmin with root account and it hasn’t updated since August 2022.

    I wanted to regenerate the files but I have a problem of rights.

    df12b039-076d-4e64-9a8d-ad6580ed57dc-image.png
    4030eec2-29ce-4dcf-83f6-adc60f87be5e-image.png

    What do you think ? and how t ore-generate a rapport correctly

    I would like to use it to better manage the @ips that connect to the server


Did this solution help you?
Did you find the suggested solution useful? Support 💗 Sudonix with a coffee
If your organisation needs deeper expertise around infrastructure, security, or technology leadership, learn more about Phenomlab Ltd. Many of the deeper technical guides behind Sudonix are published there.

Related Topics
  • Bug Report

    Solved Bugs nodebb bugs
    47
    1
    26 Votes
    47 Posts
    10k Views
    @crazycells Good points, thanks. I completely forgot that classes are added - makes life much simpler! EDIT - seems this is pretty straightforward, and only needs the below CSS .upvoted i { color: var(--bs-user-level) !important; } This then yields [image: 1718028529465-3f072f8a-ebfa-4910-8723-73c493b8e4eb-image.png] However, the caveat here is that the .upvoted class will only show for your upvotes, and nobody else’s. However, this does satisfy the original request however I would love to see my upvoted posts more clearly, because currently, when I upvote, nothing on the post tool is changing, it would be nicer if there is an indication that I have upvoted (like a filled or colored triangle?)
  • Goodbye OnePlus, hello Samsung

    Blog oneplus performance
    73
    36 Votes
    73 Posts
    12k Views
    @phenomlab yeah and that makes sense. I wish I would have noticed it before i wiped the old phone and packaged it up to send back. Then I could have tried a different method for transferring the data. Oh well, ya live and ya learn I guess
  • NodeBB socket with CloudFlare

    Unsolved Performance socket cloudflare nodebb
    23
    1 Votes
    23 Posts
    7k Views
    @DownPW it’s your only realistic option at this stage.
  • Where are widgets stored?

    Solved Configure nodebb
    3
    1 Votes
    3 Posts
    877 Views
    @phenomlab Thanks, have DMed you
  • NodeBB v3 Chat Very Slow

    Moved Performance nodebb v3 nodebb chat
    47
    11 Votes
    47 Posts
    12k Views
    @DownPW Seems fine.
  • NodeBB v3.0.0-rc.1

    Performance nodebb v3.0.0
    1
    1 Votes
    1 Posts
    483 Views
    No one has replied
  • Nord VPN & Bitdefender

    Solved Performance nord vpn bitdefender
    8
    1 Votes
    8 Posts
    2k Views
    @JAC been working fine. No complaints from me
  • NodeBB 1.19.3

    Solved Performance nodebb 1.19.3 performance
    33
    4 Votes
    33 Posts
    9k Views
    @phenomlab I find the problem Mark The error message indicated this path : http://localhost:4567/assets/plugins/nodebb-plugin-emoji/emoji/styles.css?v=6983dobg16u I change the path url on config.json [image: 1645128773854-47bacc80-f141-41e4-a261-3f8d650cc6f6-image.png] And all it’s good Weird, I didn’t have to change that path before 1.19.3 But this does not prevent the problem from a clean install with Emoji Plugin EDIT: After test, that resolv the problem installation for 1.18.x but not for 1.19.x (I have other error message when I run ./nodebb Setup For resume: NodeJS 16_x with 1.18.x is ok