Symptoms
After updating to Prime Mover 1.9.5, export and restore are way slower than in previous versions.
Why does this happen?
Some hosts aggressively block continuous AJAX server requests, which could trigger the host WAF and rate-limiting security policies. As a result, Prime Mover is completely blocked from completing the export or restore process, and it returns a timeout error.
Starting with Prime Mover 1.9.5 +, the overall Prime Mover requests mechanism is significantly slowed down. This ensures that it will work in these types of hosts and allows the export/restore to complete without throwing any server timeout errors.
The only side effect is that the export and restore will also become very slow. But there is a solution to this (see next section).
Solution
If you want to bring back the original “fast” export and restore – it is straightforward:
- Login as administrator (or network administrator if multisite).
- Go to Prime Mover -> Advanced.
- Go to Debugging Tools -> Turbo mode settings.
- Check “Turbo mode” (see screenshot below) and click Save.
- Depending on how your site or host handles caching – it is best to clear your browser cache after saving this setting. This will ensure that Prime Mover uses the turbo mode setting for export and restoration.
How does “Turbo mode” work?
Prime Mover sends two kinds of requests to the server: progress tracker requests and core processing requests. The progress tracker requests monitor the updates of the export and restore process, while the core processing requests are responsible for executing the actual export and restore processing steps.
When turbo mode is enabled, Prime Mover sends progress tracker requests every 7 seconds and core processing requests every second (there are only a few export or restore processing steps). This results in faster processing; however, the frequency seems too high for some hosts.
By default (since Prime Mover 1.9.5), this is off. When disabled, Prime Mover only sends progress tracker requests every 37 seconds and core processing requests every 15 seconds. This does not affect Prime Mover functionality at all—it only slows down the frequency of requests so it won’t be flagged as too much by some hosts.
Is it safe to use “Turbo Mode”?
If your site has already been using Prime Mover for some time and there is no problem with your host (you can export and restore just fine), yes, you can use Turbo mode without any issues.
But if you are new to the Prime Mover plugin or you are using it with a new host – we don’t suggest enabling this setting as your host might be implementing security rules that could block Prime Mover requests.
Disabling turbo mode ensures that few requests are sent to the server and won’t trigger any rate-limiting security rules. This is why, by default, this setting is OFF, which is the safest option for all hosts.
Are there other benefits of turning off “Turbo mode”?
Yes, of course—disabling turbo mode results in sending fewer requests to the server when you are doing export and restore. This translates to less CPU and memory usage. Your CPU doesn’t spike as always when only a few requests are being sent and processed by your server.
In addition, this minimizes the possibility of parallel requests, which could overload some servers (typically if you are using a shared host with minimal resources set). In the end, this update makes the plugin more resource-friendly for your server.
Does this setting work for both Prime Mover FREE and Prime Mover PRO?
This setting can be found in both Prime Mover’s free and PRO versions.
What if I have further questions on this setting?
Please let us know by contacting our tech support.
Last updated: November 13, 2024