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I've tried to configure my Apache server to use a maximum of 120 threads and one (Oracle) SQL connection per thread. I did this by setting:

MaxClients 120

in httpd.conf file. I also set:

oci8.max_persistent = 1

in php.ini file.

However, I see the number of threads/connections occasionally going over 120. Am I missing something?


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How high over 120? –  mahnsc Jul 11 '11 at 3:21

2 Answers 2

As bindbn tells you, you should check the MPM

# apache2 -V | grep "Server MPM" 
Server MPM:     XXXX

And as you answer him, you're using 'prefork', configuration it's pretty similar to worker:

<IfModule prefork.c>
  StartServers            8
  MinSpareServers         5
  MaxSpareServers        20
  MaxClients            150
  MaxRequestsPerChild  1000

More info:



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Both links are broken. –  Flimm Apr 22 '13 at 13:46

Check MPM:

# apache2 -V | grep "Server MPM"
Server MPM:     Worker

Check that the correct section changed:

<IfModule mpm_worker_module>
    StartServers          2
    MinSpareThreads      25
    MaxSpareThreads      60
    ThreadLimit          55
    ThreadsPerChild      25
    MaxClients          120
    MaxRequestsPerChild   0


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Thanks for your answer. Server MPM is actually set to "prefork", so that no threading is used. The MaxClients directive is set on the global level. –  Dario Oct 15 '10 at 8:24

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