Re: [squid-users] Squid proxy is very slow for web browsing in "near default" config

Dave T wrote:
> I just set up squid for the first time. It is on a Ubuntu box hosted
> on Linode.com. I have zero experience with proxy servers. I used this
> guide:
> http://news.softpedia.com/news/Seting-Up-a-HTTP-Proxy-Server-with-Authentication-and-Filtering-52467.shtml

Eeek! That tutorial is advising people to create open proxies for global
public access (allow all).

>
> (I also looked at a few other guides such as this one:
> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=320733. However, I wanted to
> most barebones config to start with and the link I used was the
> simplest I found.)

The simplest and safest documentation is in:
  /usr/share/doc/squid-common/QUICKSTART
or
  /usr/share/doc/squid3-common/QUICKSTART

... which outlines the minimal config changes to go from a clean install
of your particular version to a working proxy.

>
> So now that I have it set up, I'm testing it with FoxyProxy. It is not
> working well. Many web pages do not load completely. Some load very
> slowly. A few load fast (but even then, some images are often
> missing). Many times I have to try an address several times before a
> page will even start to load.
>
> I am using iptables. When I turn the firewall off, I have slightly
> less problems, but nothing significantly changes. I don't want to
> leave the firewall off, so I took a few ideas from here:
> http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/linux-setup-transparent-proxy-squid-howto.html
> But the changes I put in actually made the performance a little worse
> than before. And like I said, even with the firewall off, the problems
> I described remain.
>
> What should I look at next to begin to understand my problem? Thanks.

Coming here was a good start.

We are going to need to known the version of Squid you are using, there
are a dozen or more available on Ubuntu.

Also, we are going to have to see what squid.conf you have ended up
working with. Minus the documentation comments and empty lines please.

>
> BTW, is there a recent preconfigured squid virtual appliance that I
> could host on Amazon EC2 (or similar) that would be suitable for my
> own personal proxy server?

Not that I'm aware of. There have been several attempts in the last
years to get a current Squid appliance made. But none of those people
have reported back even to advertise their wares.

Amos

-- 
Please be using
   Current Stable Squid 2.7.STABLE7 or 3.0.STABLE21
   Current Beta Squid 3.1.0.15