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Troubleshooting Speed Issues With a Hosted Library System

There can be many factors that contribute to the system running slowly. We have compiled a list of the most likely culprits to help you identify why your system may be running slower than expected.

 

The Computer Specification

There are many hardware components within a computer that contribute to determining how quickly it operates. Components such as its processor (CPU), memory (RAM), graphics processor (GPU) and hard disk (HDD), all contribute to how quickly your programs open and operate. As a result, it is really important that any computer using the library system meets the minimum specification.

 

Internet Connectivity and Speed

If you are using a solution that is hosted by us, you must have an active connection to the Internet in order to get to and use your library system.

It is likely that you will see different loading times throughout the system, depending on the speed of your connection. Because the application you see in your browser is constantly communicating with our hosted services (sending and receiving information) if you have a fast connection with low latency, this information can be accessed a lot quicker.

Using an online speed testing utility can be helpful in determining the speed of your internet connection.

 

RC Service Status

Our infrastructure and development teams work tirelessly to keep the systems running and at optimum efficiency. Whilst we do all we can to ensure the system stays up and running, sometimes things can go wrong, causing a disruption in the service. To keep our customers informed, we have a dedicated service setup that can alert you to any problems and that will advise you when they are happening, in real-time.

See our Status Page to check the service status of the system.

 

A Proxy Server

A web proxy server is a computer that resides between your computer and the internet, which facilitates access to web sites and resources on the internet. Whilst is is very rare that a domestic connection implements a proxy, it is common in the workplace and at other organisations to filter and control access to content on the internet.

Some sophisticated proxy servers can also scan and rewrite some information contained within the data passed between the computer using the library and our servers, which can contribute to slowing the system down. Proxy servers can also be configured to request authorisation to access certain resources. This can also increase the response and make the system seem like it is running slower.

For this reason, we recommend that you put any addresses that the library system uses onto a whitelist to make sure that the library system can function without interruption. In order to do this, it is likely you will need to liaise with your local IT contacts or the people who look after your network. 

 

Web Browser

Your web browser is the software application that presents the content and information when you visit your library system. The configuration (and associated settings) of the browser vary widely between organisations and sometimes the unique settings can have an effect on the applications performance and ability to operate.

Add-ons. A browser add-on (sometimes referred to as a browser 'extension' or 'plugin') can sometimes affect the running of the site and cause a series of problems or strange behaviour. Consider disabling any unused add-ons or temporarily disabling all but the required ones to see if this has an effect.

 

Antivirus

An antivirus system is a sophisticated tool that helps protect your computer against malicious activity. These programs can often be configured to scan code (scripts) that are embedded into web pages. This is another action that happens before you see the information that you are expecting and in some cases can slow down the presentation of information in your web browser.

If this is causing a slow down, consider altering the antivirus settings to prevent the program from scanning the content shown in Reading Cloud. How you do this will greatly depend on the antivirus system that you are using but it is likely that you will need the URL of your site to create an exception.

 

Clear the Cache

Once all of the above has been done, the best course is to clear the cache of your browser, this will prevent any corrupt temporary internet files from causing any issues that have now been resolved by the above steps.

It would also be worth clearing/ asking your IT team to clear the cache of the proxy. 

 

Still Having Problems?

Should you have checked the above or are in need of assistance with any of the content covered here, you can of course contact us. However, before doing so could you please go through the following to ensure that we have as much information as possible. 

In order to troubleshoot certain issues we sometimes need to examine the internet traffic between your computer and our servers. The best way to do this is through the use of a program called fiddler.

Please follow/ ask your IT team to follow through the article found here detailing how to install, setup and use fiddler. With Fiddler running, please replicate the work you were carrying out when you first noticed the performance issues, this will allow Fiddler to log the traffic. Once the issue reoccurs, follow the instructions in the provided article to save the log. 

Additionally, please work through the article found here and provide answers to all questions asked.

Please also include in your correspondence that you have carried out all of the following in order:

  • Your system meets the minimum requirements.
  • You have a suitable internet connection speed.
  • You have carried out all the steps in the whitelisting and antivirus settings.
  • You have cleared the cache.
  • You have installed fiddler and saved the log.
  • You have obtained answers to all of the troubleshooting questions (please send us the fiddler log and the answers in your correspondence).