Optimizing your ActiveCampaign mysql database for improved import speed

If setup incorrectly, ActiveCampaign’s import system can be incredibly slow. I put together some tips for ensuring you have the best settings possible.

1. Make sure you are using INNODB for a table engine instead of MyISAM. The table level locking of MyISAM can make inserts very slow on import.
2. Find and open your MySQL config file. On linux this is typically at /etc/my.cnf. On Windows this is typically a file in your MySQL folder named my.ini
3. Add a line (or update if it is there) with the following:
   innodb_flush_log_at_trx_commit=0
4. Add a line (or update if it is there) with the following:
   innodb_buffer_pool_size=1G
5. Set the above size to 50% of the available memory on the server. In the above we set it to “1G” for if you have 2GB available on the server. If you have 8 GB on the server you could set this to “4G”
6. You MUST restart MYSQL on the server for these changes to be used.

Posted in Sysadmin, Tutorial

How-to: Enable page speed tracking in Google Analytics

The latest version of Google Analytics has a very nice feature called “Page Speed”. You’ll see the new tab underneath the content section…

I wondered why i had no data under site speed. After some research I found that I needed to modify the GA javascript to include a directive for page speed. You’ll need to add _gaq.push(['_trackPageLoadTime']);   to the inline  javascript as shown here..

<script type="text/javascript">
  var _gaq = _gaq || [];
  _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-858386-1']);
  _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
  _gaq.push(['_trackPageLoadTime']);

...continued...
</script>

After you save your modified file(s), you should begin to see data within 24 hours. Google tracks a small sample of pageviews and averages them all. You’ll see a page by page breakdown of speeds and how many times that page was sampled. This is helpful for finding outliers.

Pros: Nice data over time in a GUI with 2 seconds of work. Breakdown of individual page speeds.

Cons: Using this method fires an additional request to google for a second tracking pixel. Generally you shouldn’t notice this addition.

Posted in Computers & Internet, Sysadmin, Web Development