Webpage Loaded Slowly After DreamHost Changed Our Server ?

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We knew DreamHost was trying to migrate to new server for their part of customers, or maybe they called this was Upgrade.

OK, since we now get website loading speed slow again today, which is just after they migrated our all websites to new server, and since we also got loading speed slow issue before they migrated our websites, so we want to record something about what happened on our websites.

This website and other websites which we created have been hosted on DreamHost for several yeas without critical issues, we were happy with DreamHost services actually until recent dates.

We started to encounter the website loading performance problem since later 2013, We did not know what happened, we tried to resolve some website code problem, kept on upgrading WordPress core and used newer and high rate themes, but, we guessed the webpage loading performance did not caused by only WordPress code, but the most important should be Hosting Server.

The following is that we used a online service to test webpage loading speed today, you know today is just the 2nd day after DreamHost migrated our websites to their new server. we set the location to our local area.

We can see first view time was almost 9 seconds, and repeat view load time was 11.173 seconds ! which was very slow. You can check more detail testing report here. Then we set the from location to London, UK, and got the following report, the load time was over 16 seconds! Crazy! please check detail report here. We got their notice email in Dec 13, 2013, which was about they said they were going to migrate our side:

Hello Beloved Customer! We’re happy to share some great news with you - DreamHost is upgrading your hardware! As you may have heard, IPv4 IPs are becoming extremely scarce (as in there are no more being given out by ARIN, the entity that regulates their distribution and use). Unfortunately, IPv6 is not fully support so it’s not yet possible to simply switch to that. This has left us in a situation where we need to wisely manage those IPs which are under our control. To that end we are reorganizing our network which means we’re going to be migrating your account to a shiny, brand new server! Your site will be migrated to a new server at your current location at the start of next week or shortly thereafter. We’ll be sending a follow up notification with specific dates and details. We will also be closely monitoring the migration process to make it as painless as possible. Please note, however, that you may experience some higher than usual loads while your data is being moved over, which may cause slower load times than usual on your websites. You will find this to be particularly likely for database-driven sites in the first 24 hours after migration (as MySQL moves take longer - this will result in some temporary latency for those customers being moved out to Virginia). We apologize for the inconvenience this is causing. Once the move has completed, we will notify you via email. Important note, because you have third party DNS (one or more of your domains does not point to our name servers) or other services that connect to your domain via the IP address you’ll need to take a few extra steps. When the move is complete, you will receive a follow up email, containing your new IP addresses. You will need to update those outside records to match ours within seven days from the completion of the move to avoid site downtime. Your new IP can also be viewed by clicking on DNS in the panel at this location (after we have migrated you): https://panel.dreamhost.com/index.cgi?tree=domain.manage& We are very happy to share this great news with you - it will only mean a better and more reliable experience for you. Should you have any questions or concerns please reply to this message with the details. You can also submit a ticket through the DreamHost panel under Support / Contact Support. P.S.: Hopefully you were able to confirm receipt of this message - we’re doing our best to make sure that everyone with outside DNS has received it (you may even receive more than one notice of this move). If you were not able to confirm the message delivery via receipt please take a moment and respond to this Email so that we know you’ve read it as this will allow us to proceed as planned.

And, yesterday, Jan 19, 2014, we received another email from DreamHost, which was about their migration works done notice:

Hello, xxxx, This is just a note to let you know that we have moved your account to a new server, deacon! We sent you notification of this move a short while ago, so hopefully you were able to address any potential problems before the move happened. PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE MESSAGE, as it may help you fix any problems that come up as a result of the move. We have also created a wiki article that explains everything you will need to know about why we moved you and solutions on how to fix anything that may have broken because of the move: DreamHost Wiki: Server Moves Below is a brief summary of the more common problems we're seeing after customers are moved to their new server. You can get more detailed information at the wiki article above though. If you don't understand any of these directions, please reply to this message and we'll be happy to help you further. UNIQUE IP: If you have a unique IP on your account, it has likely changed with the move. See below for details. CUSTOM DNS: If you run your own DNS outside of DreamHost (i.e. you're not using ns1.dreamhost.com, ns2.dreamhost.com and ns3.dreamhost.com as your domains' nameservers) you'll need to update your records now. You can always go to the 'Manage Domains' section of your web panel and click on the 'DNS' link for your domains to see what the new IP is for that domain. You can then use these new IPs to point your services to us from the outside DNS provider which is managing your DNS. For your convenience, here are your new IPs: …. …. That's it, really... and we really apologize for any inconvenience which may have resulted from this move! Thanks! The Happy DreamHost Migration Team

We noticed DreamHost team actually has mentioned the website loading speed might be slower than usual: you may experience some higher than usual loads while your data is being moved over, which may cause slower load times than usual on your websites. You will find this to be particularly likely for database-driven sites in the first 24 hours after migration (as MySQL moves take longer - this will result in some temporary latency for those customers being moved out to Virginia). We apologize for the inconvenience this is causing. However, I think the first 24 hours has already passed, why the website still loaded slowly ? Hope DreamHost will give us response quickly. Thanks!