claudetools/clients/internal-infrastructure/ix-server-issues-2026-01-13.md

IX Server Critical Performance Issues

Server: ix.azcomputerguru.com (172.16.3.10 / 72.194.62.5) Report Date: 2026-01-13 Status: Documented - Action Required Priority: CRITICAL

Executive Summary

Comprehensive scan of ix.azcomputerguru.com web hosting server revealed critical performance issues across multiple client sites. Primary issues: massive error logs (468MB on arizonahatters.com), database bloat (310MB on peacefulspirit.com), and Wordfence-induced memory exhaustion.

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Critical Priority Sites

1. arizonahatters.com - MOST URGENT

Error Log: 468MB PHP Memory Errors: 429 occurrences Database: 24.5MB (Wordfence bloat: wp_wffilemods 8.52MB, wp_wfknownfilelist 4.52MB)

Issue: Wordfence file scanning causing continuous memory exhaustion

Impact:

• Site performance degraded
• Server resources exhausted
• Risk of complete service failure

Action Required:

1. Disable Wordfence file scanning temporarily
2. Clear Wordfence file modification tables
3. Truncate error log: /home/arizonahatters/public_html/wp-content/debug.log
4. Re-enable Wordfence with adjusted settings (scan schedule, memory limit)

Commands:

# Backup then truncate error log
ssh root@172.16.3.10
cd /home/arizonahatters/public_html/wp-content/
cp debug.log debug.log.backup.2026-01-13
> debug.log

# Database cleanup (via WP-CLI)
wp db query "TRUNCATE TABLE wp_wffilemods;" --path=/home/arizonahatters/public_html/
wp db query "TRUNCATE TABLE wp_wfknownfilelist;" --path=/home/arizonahatters/public_html/

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2. peacefulspirit.com

Error Log: 4.0MB PHP Memory Errors: 2 occurrences Database: 310MB! (wp_wpml_mails: 156MB, wp_gf_entry_meta: 96MB)

Issue: WPML email logs and Gravity Forms data bloat

Impact:

• Slow database queries
• Backup size excessive
• Disk space waste

Action Required:

1. Truncate WPML email logs table
2. Archive or delete old Gravity Forms entries
3. Configure WPML to limit email log retention
4. Implement Gravity Forms entry retention policy

Commands:

# WPML email logs cleanup
wp db query "TRUNCATE TABLE wp_wpml_mails;" --path=/home/peacefulspirit/public_html/

# Gravity Forms cleanup (entries older than 1 year)
wp db query "DELETE FROM wp_gf_entry WHERE date_created < DATE_SUB(NOW(), INTERVAL 1 YEAR);" --path=/home/peacefulspirit/public_html/
wp db query "DELETE FROM wp_gf_entry_meta WHERE entry_id NOT IN (SELECT id FROM wp_gf_entry);" --path=/home/peacefulspirit/public_html/

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High Priority Sites (>50MB Error Logs)

Site	Error Log Size	Primary Issue
desertfox.com	215MB	Unknown - needs investigation
outaboundssports.com	208MB	Unknown - needs investigation
rrspc.com	183MB	Unknown - needs investigation
farwest.com	100MB	Unknown - needs investigation
fsgtucson.com	64MB	Unknown - needs investigation
tonystech.com	54MB	Unknown - needs investigation
phxpropane.com	52MB	Unknown - needs investigation
rednourlaw.com	50MB	Unknown - needs investigation
gurushow.com	40MB	Unknown - needs investigation
cryoweave.com	37MB	Unknown - needs investigation
bruceext.com	31MB	Unknown - needs investigation

Recommended Action:

1. Rotate error logs (backup and truncate)
2. Analyze recent errors for patterns
3. Address root causes (plugin conflicts, PHP errors, etc.)
4. Implement log rotation via logrotate

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Medium Priority Sites (Debug Logs)

Site	Debug Log Size	Additional Issues
gentlemansacres.com	debug.log: 350MB	N/A
azrestaurant.com	debug.log: 181MB, itsec_logs: 53MB	iThemes Security logs
rsi.com	debug.log: 166MB	N/A
voicesofthewest.com	akeeba log: 106MB	Backup log bloat

Action Required:

• Disable WP_DEBUG in production (wp-config.php)
• Truncate debug logs
• Configure iThemes Security log retention
• Clean up Akeeba backup logs

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Common Issues Found

1. Wordfence Database Bloat (Most Sites)

Tables:

• wp_wffilemods: 1.4-8.52MB
• wp_wfknownfilelist: 0.86-4.52MB
• wp_wfconfig: Up to 3.30MB

Solution:

-- Run on each affected site
TRUNCATE TABLE wp_wffilemods;
TRUNCATE TABLE wp_wfknownfilelist;
DELETE FROM wp_wfconfig WHERE name LIKE '%filemod%';

2. Email/Form Logs

Common Culprits:

• WPML email logs (wp_wpml_mails)
• Gravity Forms entries (wp_gf_entry, wp_gf_entry_meta)
• Post SMTP logs
• Action Scheduler logs

Solution: Implement retention policies, truncate old data

3. Old Backups (Disk Space)

Site	Backup Size	Age
acepickupparts	1.6GB	Various
azcomputerguru	3GB+	Various
sundanzer	2GB	Various
berman	388MB	2019
rrspc	314MB	2021

Action Required: Archive to offsite storage, delete from web server

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Scan Commands

Full Site Scan

ssh root@172.16.3.10
/root/scan_sites.sh
cat /root/site_scan_report.txt

Database Bloat Check

ssh root@172.16.3.10
/root/check_dbs.sh
cat /root/db_bloat_report.txt

View Critical Issues

ssh root@172.16.3.10
cat /root/URGENT_SITE_ISSUES.txt

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Automation Recommendations

1. Log Rotation

Create: /etc/logrotate.d/wordpress-error-logs

/home/*/public_html/wp-content/debug.log {
    weekly
    rotate 4
    compress
    delaycompress
    missingok
    notifempty
    create 644 root root
}

2. Database Maintenance Script

Create: /root/wordpress-db-maintenance.sh

#!/bin/bash
# WordPress database maintenance - run weekly

for site in /home/*/public_html; do
    if [ -f "$site/wp-config.php" ]; then
        echo "Cleaning $site..."

        # Wordfence cleanup
        wp db query "TRUNCATE TABLE wp_wffilemods;" --path="$site" 2>/dev/null
        wp db query "TRUNCATE TABLE wp_wfknownfilelist;" --path="$site" 2>/dev/null

        # Optimize all tables
        wp db optimize --path="$site" 2>/dev/null
    fi
done

3. Monitoring Alerts

Create: /root/monitor-disk-usage.sh

#!/bin/bash
# Alert if any site error log >100MB

find /home/*/public_html/wp-content/ -name "debug.log" -size +100M -exec ls -lh {} \; | \
  mail -s "IX Server: Large error logs detected" mike@azcomputerguru.com

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Server Resources

Current Usage

# Check disk space
df -h /home

# Check memory usage
free -h

# Check CPU load
uptime

Optimization Recommendations

1. OPcache: Ensure enabled and properly configured
2. MariaDB: Tune query cache and buffer pool size
3. PHP-FPM: Adjust pm.max_children based on memory
4. Apache/LiteSpeed: Enable HTTP/2, optimize workers

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Client Communication Template

Subject: Website Performance Maintenance Required

Body:

Hello [Client Name],

During our routine server maintenance, we identified some performance
issues affecting your website that require attention:

1. Error logs have grown to [SIZE], indicating [ISSUE]
2. Database optimization needed due to [BLOAT TYPE]

Recommended Actions:
- [SPECIFIC ACTION 1]
- [SPECIFIC ACTION 2]

Impact: [EXPECTED DOWNTIME/IMPROVEMENT]

We can schedule this work at your convenience. Please let us know
your preferred maintenance window.

Best regards,
Arizona Computer Guru Support

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Follow-Up Tasks

• Contact each critical priority client
• Schedule maintenance windows
• Execute cleanup on arizonahatters.com
• Execute cleanup on peacefulspirit.com
• Implement log rotation across all sites
• Create database maintenance cron job
• Set up monitoring alerts
• Document lessons learned
• Review Wordfence configuration across all sites
• Audit backup retention policies

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Server Access

# External SSH
ssh root@ix.azcomputerguru.com

# Internal SSH
ssh root@172.16.3.10

# WHM
https://ix.azcomputerguru.com:2087

# cPanel (example)
https://ix.azcomputerguru.com:2083

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Related Documentation

Original Report: ~/claude-projects/IX_SERVER_CRITICAL_ISSUES_2026-01-13.md

Session Logs:

• Various client work sessions documented in ~/claude-projects/session-logs/

Scripts Location:

• /root/scan_sites.sh
• /root/check_dbs.sh
• /root/URGENT_SITE_ISSUES.txt

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Project History

2026-01-13: Initial comprehensive server scan and issue documentation 2026-01-22: Imported to ClaudeTools project tracking system

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Status: Documented - Awaiting Action Owner: Arizona Computer Guru Operations Team Next Review: After critical issues resolved