[ILUG] High load problems with Apache

[Rod Murphy]

Hi all,

I've been having issues with high load (typically using 95%+ of server CPU,
tho memory use is normal) on a test server I'm working with for the last few
days/weeks.

I've tracked the problem down to one client machine (WinXP which happens to
be in the office on the same network as the server - actually both client
and server have public IPs - I know, don't ask).

The client machine has no open browser windows so I'm assuming it's got some
sort of virus/spyware that's causing the problem. Either way, I've obviously
no control over which clients connect to the server, so I need to figure out
the best way to protect from such attacks (assuming that's what's
happening).

I've set up server-status on the server which shows output as follows:

http://pastebin.com/m4c5dfe44

You can access this status live here:

http://beta.zircol.com/server-status

(note, this may not tell you anything once I restart the server)

I've tried playing around with KeepAlive parameters (currently "Off"), but
it doesn' seem to have helped.

Timeout is set to 300 - I might try reducing that to see it that helps -
I'll wait for advice first, tho.

If I restart the server, the problem goes away for a few days.

I'm new to the server-status directive, so am not entirely sure what it's
telling me. If anyone could shed some light on what's going on or suggest
other methods / tools to investigate the problem further, I'd be very
grateful for your input

To complicate matters, we're moving office this evening (including the
server which will get a new IP). So this problem may go away, but if for
nothing other that my own self-improvemnt, I'd like to figure out how to
solve it.

Thanks in advance,

Rod.