While working with a virtual or dedicated server, errors may periodically occur. Don’t be afraid or panic – there is a solution! But first, let’s look at the definition of this 408 error. If we talk about what this error means and the reasons for its occurrence, then error 408 (Request Timeout) is one of the standard errors of the HTTP protocol. It is a kind of informer that the server did not receive the complete request within the specified timeout. This error can cause significant inconvenience for both users and website administrators.

Causes for Error 408

Below are the 6 main reasons why an error may occur. Causes of the 408 Request Timeout error are the following

  • Slow client internet connection. One of the most common causes of a 408 error is a slow Internet connection on the client. In this case, the client does not have time to send a request to the server within the time set by the server.
  • Suboptimal server settings. Incorrect server configuration can result in too short latency, which is especially noticeable when dealing with slow or unstable connections.
  • Network problems. Network-level issues such as high ping, packet loss, or unstable connections can also cause a 408 error to appear.
  • Long requests. Some requests may take a significant amount of time to complete, which may exceed the timeout set by the server. This may be due to heavy SQL queries or large amounts of data being passed in the query.
  • Overloaded server. If the server is overloaded with requests, it may not be able to process them in a timely manner. This causes the server to send a timeout message to the client.
  • Insufficient resources. If you find that the current server resources cannot cope, you can always request an upgrade of your tariff plan. Our team of engineers will do this quickly and efficiently – https://my.ava.hosting/submitticket.php

Possible Solutions for Error 408

All advice is for informational purposes only and based on our experience, the Ava HOST team sees the following possible solutions to this error. Here are some of them

Checking the client’s Internet connection

If error 408 occurs for a specific user, you should check their Internet connection. Make sure your connection speed is fast enough to send requests to the server within the specified time frame.

Server optimization

Increased timeout: Increase the timeout on the server. In web servers such as Apache or Nginx, this can be done by changing the Timeout and keepalive_timeout parameters.
Load balancing: Use load balancers to distribute requests across multiple servers and prevent them from becoming overloaded.
Resource Optimization: Make sure your server has enough resources (memory, CPU, etc.) to handle incoming requests.

Query optimization

Optimizing SQL Queries: Make sure your SQL queries are optimized and do not require excessive execution time.
Data Reduction: Minimize the amount of data sent in requests to reduce processing time.

Network monitoring and diagnostics

Regularly check the quality and stability of the network connection between clients and server. Use monitoring tools to identify and resolve potential network problems.

Cache usage

Implementing caching can significantly reduce the load on the server and reduce request processing time. Use caching systems such as Redis or Memcached to store frequently accessed data.