fopen() taking ten seconds or more to come back...

[MikeSoja]

For months I've been using...

$fp = fopen("http://www.weather.gov/data/current_obs/KPKB.xml","r");

.... to open the xml file, which I then parse to extract the local
weather data, and it has worked swell.

Just lately, the page has started hanging, and by blocking off
sections of code and timing different sections I've traced the delay
to that fopen() statement.

The script runs nearly instantaneously from my local drive,
accessing the remote URL, but takes ten or eleven seconds,
consistently, from the web.

I suspected something changed with my web provider, but they're
still running PHP 4.3.1 and allow_url_fopen is on & on.

Any ideas?
Mike Soja

[Ewoud Dronkert]

MikeSoja wrote:

$fp = fopen("http://www.weather.gov/data/current_obs/KPKB.xml","r");
I suspected something changed with my web provider

Maybe weather.gov is blocking/putting a brake on their ip no.

--
E. Dronkert

[MikeSoja]

On Tue, 18 Oct 2005 14:23:31 +0200, Ewoud Dronkert
<fi*******@last name.net.invali d> posted:

MikeSoja wrote:

$fp = fopen("http://www.weather.gov/data/current_obs/KPKB.xml","r");
I suspected something changed with my web provider

Maybe weather.gov is blocking/putting a brake on their ip no.

It comes right back from my local hard drive.
Mike Soja

[MikeSoja]

On Tue, 18 Oct 2005 14:23:31 +0200, Ewoud Dronkert
<fi*******@last name.net.invali d> posted:

MikeSoja wrote:

$fp = fopen("http://www.weather.gov/data/current_obs/KPKB.xml","r");
I suspected something changed with my web provider

Maybe weather.gov is blocking/putting a brake on their ip no.

Or, rather, I should say, it comes right back *to* the fopen() when
I run it from my local hard drive. The delay only occurs when
fopen() runs from the web site.

And I only read from weather.gov once an hour, keeping a local copy
of the file between times, so I'm not hitting them up too often.

Mike Soja

[Ewoud Dronkert]

MikeSoja wrote:

The delay only occurs when fopen() runs from the web site.
I understood, that's why I suggested that weather.gov might be blocking
*their* ip address.
And I only read from weather.gov once an hour, keeping a local copy
of the file between times, so I'm not hitting them up too often.

...but probably not then.

--
E. Dronkert

[Gordon Burditt]

>> The delay only occurs when fopen() runs from the web site.

I understood, that's why I suggested that weather.gov might be blocking
*their* ip address.

And I only read from weather.gov once an hour, keeping a local copy
of the file between times, so I'm not hitting them up too often.

..but probably not then.

Unless this hosted site isn't the *only* site hitting weather.gov from
that IP address. You have to worry about what your neighbors on the
same box are doing.

Also, it could be that the net is just saturated for that machine's
connection to the outside world.

Gordon L. Burditt

[Steve]

$fp = fopen("http://www.weather.gov/data/current_obs/KPKB.xml","r");

Does the delay still occur at your site if you substitute the IP:

$fp = fopen("http://81.22.33.120/data/current_obs/KPKB.xml","r");

If not, then your host's DNS or some similar network-related issue is
causing the delay.

---
Steve

[MikeSoja]

On Tue, 18 Oct 2005 16:04:51 +0200, Ewoud Dronkert
<fi*******@last name.net.invali d> posted:

MikeSoja wrote:

On Tue, 18 Oct 2005 14:23:31 +0200, Ewoud Dronkert
<fi*******@la stname.net.inva lid> posted:

MikeSoja wrote: $fp = fopen("http://www.weather.gov/data/current_obs/KPKB.xml","r"); I suspected something changed with my web provider Maybe weather.gov is blocking/putting a brake on their ip no.

The delay only occurs when fopen() runs from the web site. I understood, that's why I suggested that weather.gov might be blocking
*their* ip address.
Ah, so. My mistake. I assigned the possessive to the closest noun,
not the correct one.

I suppose there's no way to find out, outside of badgering the
respective parties.
And I only read from weather.gov once an hour, keeping a local copy
of the file between times, so I'm not hitting them up too often.

..but probably not then.

As it is, the delay affects only the first page access every hour,
so it's just a niggling problem, and something apparently beyond the
scope of my script.

Mike Soja

[MikeSoja]

On 18 Oct 2005 09:31:03 -0700, "Steve" <go********@nas tysoft.com>
posted:

$fp = fopen("http://www.weather.gov/data/current_obs/KPKB.xml","r");

Does the delay still occur at your site if you substitute the IP: $fp = fopen("http://81.22.33.120/data/current_obs/KPKB.xml","r"); If not, then your host's DNS or some similar network-related issue is
causing the delay.

No delay on that one, just a big, fat 404.

"Warning: fopen(http://81.22.33.120/data/current_obs/KPKB.xml)
[function.fopen]: failed to create stream: HTTP request failed!
HTTP/1.0 404 Not Found"
I'm afraid I don't understand how using an incorrect address tells
me anything, though.

Mike Soja

[Steve]

Does the delay still occur at your site if you substitute the IP:

$fp = fopen("http://81.22.33.120/data/current_obs/KPKB.xml","r");

If not, then your host's DNS or some similar network-related issue is
causing the delay.

No delay on that one, just a big, fat 404.

I'm afraid I don't understand how using an incorrect address tells
me anything, though.

That was a regrettable typo (looks like my DNS is screwed up too!
Although it doesn't help that weather.gov is an alias) Please try with:

$fp = fopen("http://140.90.113.195/data/current_obs/KPKB.xml","r");

When I use this IP I get the same XML resultset as when using
www.weather.gov.

---
Steve