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We have made some changes to the Tommy server to help reduce the number of 503 errors, and speed up the execution of PHP scripts. The feedback we've gotten so far seems to indicate that it is working. We have also noticed that the changes have sped up the time it takes for Apache to restart which should reduce downtime as well. Since the DDoS was targeting the webmail subdomain of random domains hosted on Tommy we just went through and disabled Roundcube on every account. We figure most people probably don't even use the webmail anyways so it is a waste of system resources to have it on by default. If you regularly use Roundcube webmail you can re-enable it yourself on your domain if you need to. Login > Continue to Plesk > Mail > Mail Settings > [Your Domain] > Webmail > Select Roundcube > Ok After enabling webmail again you will need to wait for up to 2 hours for an Apache restart before it will work. In the meantime if you go to webmail.yourdomain.helioho.st it will show the queued page with an estimate of when webmail should start working again. We will also be disabling webmail on Johnny to help with the 503 errors on that server too. We will likely need to disable free signups for a day or so because the server gets really slow while all the webmails are being disabled so account creations tend to time out. Let us know if you have noticed an improvement on the PHP performance of Tommy, or if you have any questions.

Over the past week or so both Johnny and Tommy have been experiencing occasional slow loading and 503 errors on PHP pages from time to time. This is definitely not normal because we've been using Plesk since 2021 and none of us can even remember the last time we saw a 503 error, and then suddenly they are happening quite frequently on these two servers. We are investigating the issue, and are hoping to resolve it soon. In the meantime, here are some ideas you can do to improve the uptime of your PHP based website. 1. Morty hasn't been affected at all by the 503 errors on PHP pages at all so far, so this is a great time to upgrade to our fastest flagship server starting at only $1 per month. You can check out the discounted Morty packages at https://heliohost.org/dashboard/move/ and move yourself over without talking to an admin by using our fully automated upgrade process with zero downtime for your website if you're interested in trying it out. 2. VPS also have not been affected by the 503 errors either. They start at $4 per month, and aren't affected by other users on the same server as you, because on a VPS you're the only user. Being able to have root SSH access is also a great perk of being a VPS customer. You can check out the plans at https://heliohost.org/vps/ 3. If you don't want to upgrade it is possible for some PHP websites to be converted to static websites. Since it is only PHP being affected by these 503 errors converting your site to use only static html, Javascript, and CSS will allow your website to load faster, have less errors, cause less server load, and greatly reduce the chance of your site getting hacked. It's not possible for all websites to be converted though so this isn't an option for everyone. 4. You could also switch to a language other than PHP. For instance, Python websites using CGI, Django, or Flask haven't been affected by the 503 errors at all. Node.js hasn't been affected by the 503 errors either, but if you decide to try Node.js we recommend keeping a close eye on your load graph at https://heliohost.org/dashboard/load/ because it's easy to go over your 200 GB memory limit. In order to diagnose these 503 errors, the first step we're going to take is implementing additional logging and performance monitoring so we can see exactly when and why the errors are occurring. Let us know if you have any questions, or have any additional information to assist in our investigation.

We have closed free signups on the Johnny server temporarily to do some maintenance on the server. This is the same work that we did on the Tommy server recently to improve the speed and uptime of PHP software. We will make another news post once free signups are open again.

Happy Memorial Day everyone! HelioHost has released a new YouTube video on how to issue a Google Trust Services certificate on a VPS. Check it out and subscribe at https://youtu.be/qXp6pw_aV0w We are going to try to continue releasing new videos every 2 weeks, because some users find it much easier to follow a video guide rather than reading the text guides we have at https://wiki.helionet.org/ Please let us know if there is a specific topic that you think would be good for our next video. Also if you don't mind subscribing to our YouTube channel that would be a great way to get some free advertising. We are a small non-profit funded by donations so we don't have a huge budget to afford paid advertising, so the more word of mouth recommendations, the more social media likes, and the more subscribes we can get goes a long ways towards finding more users and continuing to grow. Even if you can't donate, this is a great way to help us for free. Thanks!

Thank you both or the reverse DNS and the rebuild!

Update: The issue is resolved and I am able to generate a new letsencrypt ssl certificate for mail domain using hestia interface. Now SMTP using SSL working fine.

Thanks!

Thanks for the detailed information on this! I had no idea that plesk could be configured to auto-pull via web hook. I might see about having this added to our Wiki as I'm sure others will find this useful. Been an admin for ~13 years and still learning something new every day...

It's a library that's meant to be implemented through Composer. If your project doesn't use composer, you'll need to set that up, after which you can just add the package to your composer.json file. When you do a composer install the result is a vendor folder with all the dependencies and a custom-built autoloader script that you call from your code to load them all. Composer is one of those things that's usually best done on your local PC. Once you get everything working, you can commit the composer.json file in your git repo (the vendor folder itself is typically excluded). Plesk has Composer support, so you can use that to process the composer.json and install the required dependencies right on the server.

Installed. You can see the current list of installed modules and their versions for Morty's Python 3.12 at https://krydos3.heliohost.org/pyinfo/info3.12.py

Ok,I know,thanks!

Oh, I have that kind of luck sometimes! 😅 I've unblocked your IP again. Even if I did know the failed attempt limit I probably shouldn't share it for security reasons. Please try to connect again, and let us know if you have any more trouble.

Remote access enabled. host=65.19.154.94 port=5432 user=moisesbaly_balyonline_db_user dbname=moisesbaly_balyonline_db password=<set in Plesk>

Got ya. Thanks for the help. If I have any further question, I will follow up.

There's something wrong with the service plans on the server, we think something broke when we make changes to fix the 503 errors that users were seeing... i'll take another look when I get to a computer later this morning.

UPDATE: I used the following two links to gain an understanding of what was causing the error: https://linux.101hacks.com/unix/client-denied-by-server-configuration/ https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/howto/htaccess.htm I had to correct my .htaccess file, as the line of code was causing the error code. It had to be changed to Require all denied. After I did that, the error code went away. Woohoo!

Your disk space seems to have updated in our internal system, so it might take an Apache restart to take effect (which should be in about 1.5 hours). If you're still having issues after that, an administrator will look into it in the morning.

Please confirm the version of Python you need this for? You can check here for guidance on what information to provide when asking for additional modules: https://wiki.helionet.org/Python_Tutorial#Request_Additional_Python_Modules

i am new to this site and i already test the flask app all working perfectly but when i made some changes in the code it doens't reflect so i need some help with that here is my username tinagolden url=tinagoldenretreiver.helioho.st

Like I said on the news post 6% of your memory usage came from Laravel, and 94% of your memory usage came from Node.js. Laravel had nothing to do with your suspension. You were unsuspended at 2025-05-07 13:14:31, and warned not to cause high load. Instead of reading our warning you just started a bunch of Node.js commands running again at 2025-05-07 14:39:28, and quickly went to 210 GB memory usage. You can be unsuspended this time tomorrow when your load is back to zero. Hopefully the 24 hours will give you time to read and understand that you share this server with 929 other users, and it's not fair for you to hog all the system resources, cause downtime for other users, and cause other user's websites to load slowly.

Today a quick check shows that the situation has greatly improved: no 503 errors and normal response time. Thanks staff, you guys are great !

Looks good. I have credited your account with a balance of $6, and started the move to Morty. Since you're using Cloudflare you'll need to keep an eye out for the second email, and change your DNS records yourself as instructed.

It might be the app itself too. If the app opens all 10 connections and then DBeaver tries to open 1 more you would get that error too. By default most software assumes you have a 8 GB VPS and can have 100 database connections open at once.

We don't know what's causing this problem, but it affects everyone on Tommy and Johnny. It started a few weeks ago and we initially thought it was affecting only a few users and was related to a DDoS against our webmail service, but that doesn't seem to be the case as the issue is now widespread. Investigation into this issue is ongoing. Please see this News posting for more information and updates as they become available: https://helionet.org/index/topic/64305-503-errors/?do=getNewComment

Our signup page mentions "You may only have one account on Johnny or Tommy without prior written permission from an admin." And the Terms of Service, which users must read and agree to before creating an account, also mentions "Each person is allowed to have one account on Tommy or Johnny unless permitted in writing by an administrator of HelioHost." Since you created 2 accounts, you would have seen both these warnings twice, for a total of 4 times. If there is a way you think we can make the rule easier to read or more obvious so people actually read it, please let us know. You also mentioned you "have not received any specific information regarding the reason" for the suspension, which we will investigate further and advise on, since emails are generally sent to users who are suspected to be in violation of the Duplicate Account rule. In the meantime, I have unsuspended the account. It will take a few moments to reinstate so please make sure you read the Terms of Service as well as the Suspension Policy.

Please do not make multiple threads for the same question. Your account has not been incorrectly suspended, it was suspended for breaking the rules about High Server Usage Since you have created another thread here for the issue, updates will be provided there: https://helionet.org/index/topic/64331-suspended-lzban8/ HelioHost is run by volunteers who contribute their free time and creating duplicate requests for the same issue can result in unnecessary duplication of volunteer effort and delay responses to you, as well as to others who need help. Please review our 'Where do I ask for Help?' page, which explains: Wherever you prefer to ask for help, please ask your question in one place only. HelioHost is run by volunteers who contribute their free time, and some are more active on certain platforms than others. Posting the same question across multiple platforms (like Discord, the HelioNet Forum, or email) or creating duplicate requests on the same platform for the same issue can result in delays.

thank you!!

The requested modules have been installed on Tommy's Python 3.12. You can see the current list of installed modules at https://krydos1.heliohost.org/pyinfo/info3.12.py WSGI control access has been enabled on the domain shahzaib.heliohost.us. To restart your Flask app and load new code changes in simply edit /home/shahzaib.heliohost.us/httpdocs/flasktest/flask.wsgi. Adding a blank line, removing a blank line, adding a space, or removing a space are examples of editing the file. As long as the last modified timestamp changes it will clear the server cache. Let us know if you run into any issues.

Krydos can do all of this for you.

Ok. I'm going to just change the email on the account and unsuspend it instead. It may be a little while because I have to get someone to reset your multiple account detection first...otherwise it's just going to suspend you again. I'll let you know when it's unsuspended.

Thank you for the clear answer. Ok...so your issue is that your friend isn't allowed to do that per our terms of service. Accounts must be created and maintained ONLY by the actual owner unless permission is requested in advance, so the account is in violation simply because you asked him to violate the TOS on your behalf. If you would like your own account, you are welcome to it, but you will need to sign up under your own email address, and under no circumstances are you allowed to share a PC, network connection, or content with him. He is not allowed to maintain the account for you, and you cannot store any content for his website (or vice versa). If we detect this again, both accounts will be permanently banned from our service. Would you like me to delete the voltars account so you can sign up again under your own email address? If so, let me know what email address you would like to use and I'll reinvite you for your own account.

You've got to admit this does not scream "I'm a legitimate email provider" We see criminals, phishers, spammers, etc. sign up with email addresses that when checked have messages like this all the time. Unsuspended.

All HelioHost staff are volunteers who help out in their spare time. In order to be mindful of their time, please make sure you check the list of modules already installed on your server before asking for modules, to make sure you are not asking for things that are already installed. For example, you have asked for numpy and pandas, both of which are already available on both Python 3.9 and Python 3.12 on the Tommy server that you're on. If you need a different version of these than the ones already installed, please provide this information as part of your request. Please take a moment to review the list of modules already installed against your request list. You can use Control + F to search for the module names on the page. Once you've doublechecked you are not asking for other modules that already exist on the server for the version of Python you're using, please let us know, and be sure to also confirm which version of Python you need them for. Thanks very much! 🙂

Plesk doesn't do a very good job of filtering Passenger and WSGI logs. It's only accessible to root admins because it has a lot of private info from other accounts in the same file. Create a file named .env and use the python module dotenv to load it.

To access it from a Django app running on our server, yes just localhost. To access it remotely, you’ll use the server host name (tommy.heliohost.org). Escalating to Krydos.

It's nighttime in the United States right now, where a majority of our volunteer staff is. You should receive a response in about eight to twelve hours.

This support request is being escalated to our root admins who can look into this further for you.

It looks like you were suspended for using 201.15 GB of memory. I'm not sure what content you're hosting that caused such a massive spike in memory over a ~17 hour period, but it's also possible that a bot or malicious actor is paging your website repeatedly. I've unsuspended your account, it'll resume working shortly.

Your suspension has nothing to do with inactivity. It's because you used a disposable email address, which violates our terms of service. Please provide a real email address (PM me if you wish to keep it private, or post it and we can edit it out afterwards) and we can update your account and unsuspend you

WSGI control access has been enabled on the domain grafolana.helioho.st. To restart your Flask app and load new code changes in simply edit /home/grafolana.helioho.st/httpdocs/GrafolanaBack/flask.wsgi. Adding a blank line, removing a blank line, adding a space, or removing a space are examples of editing the file. As long as the last modified timestamp changes it will clear the server cache. Let us know if you run into any issues.

Account aloneguardspare has been deleted and you've been unsubscribed from emails. If you want the other account removed as well, please post here from the other account's matching forum account to confirm and we can do the same for that one too.

You're suspended for having more than one account. Users are only allowed to have one account. Which one would you like to keep? (It's worth noting that while your particular case did not receive any notice of the multiple account violation, we improved this process about 2 weeks after your suspension occurred. If it happened today, you would've gotten an email 24 hours before your suspension telling you that we suspect you're violating the TOS and asking you to explain).

You were suspended for creating multiple accounts, which is against our terms of service. Are there any circumstances that could explain why you were flagged for having multiple accounts?

I have a Rails app running now on Tommy. Is it possible to run a Laravel app on my account as well without the two interfering? Or can I deactivate Ruby without losing that app and then install Laravel?

Sure. Domain added. It should start working within the next 2 hours. You'll see a new folder on your account for the domain where you can place the files for Laravel.

I believe that's supposed be megabytes but is an older version of the chart that doesn't show usage beyond 100. The version of this chart that admins work with shows the memory usage in megabytes. This is your account as seen from my side. That spike peeked around 150MB. I asked about the charts differing in a staff channel for you. For a simple reference, if the app will run 24/7, keep your app's memory below ~70MB and you should be fine. 70MB continuous for 24 hours converts to 98.4GB, which is basically right at the 100GB cumulative daily cap.

Your account was suspended for causing high server load. I have unsuspended your account, but please try to limit the load you put on our servers as it slows down not only your site, but the sites of all other HelioHost users sharing your server. If you still see the suspended page, please clear your cache. If you need help figuring out why your site is causing such high load let us know and we can try to help. If the high load is simply because your site is getting a lot of traffic you might consider trying paid hosting from our partner starting at only a cent for the first month. https://www.heliohost.org/partners/hostgator

Thats an ignorant attitude. To not think is to be ignorant. God must either exist or not exist & without making a decision about his existence, no progress can be made in understanding reality. The fundamental question is not weather the books teach different things but rather which book does God want us to follow. Praying is not important it is praying as God wants us to pray. Without studying religion & God, our existence is one of ignorance

Exactly Who is it that controls the laws of Physics ? Who makes the Sun rise ? Who created & maintains gravity ? Without an Eternal creator, existence is an impossibility What makes that anomaly come into existence ? Who brings about change ? Does the universe run by itself ? A ball does not reach a goal without a kick, how than can such a great universe function without someone running it ? Because the Creator told us He sent his message to mankind, to offer them guidance My religion gives me proof for its authenticity, which in turn confirms my belief that it is from the Creator.

Who created the Creator? You say everything is limited and must rely on something else that is also limited. Therefor, shouldn't someone or something have created the Creator? Finally a reply Well, then if the Creator was to have a creator than creation itself would be an impossibility Since the chain would be never ending. The Creator is by nature unlimited & eternal, thus He created