From time to time we have guest posts on the blog. Today\u2019s post is from Konstantin Gerasimov at goivvy.com.<\/p>\n
Introduction<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\nTime to first byte (TTFB) is how long it takes a server to generate HTML of a requested page. 1-2 seconds is an acceptable TTFB of an uncached page. Anything above it could be a sign of a performance issue.<\/p>\n
In this guide I\u2019ll show you how to use a PHP profiler to improve TTFB of an Adobe Commerce site (or any other PHP based site). As a Magento 2 developer<\/a> I used this technique to optimize numerous slow pages and it helped a lot.<\/p>\nWhat is Tideways and how to use it<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\nTideways is a commerce version of an abandoned XHProf<\/i> PHP profiler. Once it\u2019s set up it gives you a trace diagram with function call names and respected times it took to execute them.<\/p>\n
Tideways has a free trial period, you don\u2019t need to provide credit card details to sign up. All you need is an email address. It gives you 14 days of trial use but the trial period length might change in the future, check with their website.<\/p>\n
Once you registered for a trial, you\u2019d need to install a php extension and a daemon. There are instructions on tideways website but you might need expert help<\/a>.<\/p>\nRun a manual trace<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\nTurn off Magento 2 full page cache and find a page that you think is too slow. Head over to Traces > Trigger<\/i> trace and click on Generate Token<\/i>:<\/p>\n![\"(click](\"https:\/\/www.lexiconn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Generate-Token-300x137.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Copy the token, append it to the page URL and fetch it with a browser. Wait 2-3 seconds and your trace is going to be available for analyzing.<\/p>\n
Analyze trace output<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\nDiagram has several tabs: Timeline<\/i>, Summary<\/i>, Callgraph<\/i> and Bottlenecks<\/i>:<\/p>\n![\"Homepage-timeline-before\"](\"https:\/\/www.lexiconn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Homepage-timeline-before-258x300.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
TTFB is 3.32 seconds. Let\u2019s see if there is any room for improvement.<\/p>\n
Analyzing a Callgraph<\/h3>\n
Callgraph provides a waterfall diagram.<\/p>\n
![\"Homepage-callgraph-before\"](\"https:\/\/www.lexiconn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Homepage-callgraph-before-300x168.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Scroll down and analyze every function call, there should be something that contributes to that 3+ seconds TTFB.<\/p>\n
In our case, Topmenu::getMegamemuhtml<\/i> needs further investigation. This function generates top menu html and its output could be cached to save 0.6+ seconds.<\/p>\n
Here is a screenshot of a trace with mega menu cached:<\/p>\n
![\"Homepage-callgraph-after\"](\"https:\/\/www.lexiconn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Homepage-callgraph-after-300x176.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
TTFB is 1.48s now.<\/p>\n
There is another function to improve \u2013 Homepage::getProduct<\/i>, it\u2019s selected on the screenshot above. The function takes 0.8s to be executed and it\u2019s all because of 27 load model calls. Model loads are expensive and should be substituted with direct attribute fetching whenever possible.<\/p>\n
There might be other slow calls, you just need to go over a tree diagram and inspect every node.<\/p>\n
There could be slow SQL queries. You need to enable SQL profiling in General Settings<\/i>:<\/p>\n
What is Tideways and how to use it<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\nTideways is a commerce version of an abandoned XHProf<\/i> PHP profiler. Once it\u2019s set up it gives you a trace diagram with function call names and respected times it took to execute them.<\/p>\n
Tideways has a free trial period, you don\u2019t need to provide credit card details to sign up. All you need is an email address. It gives you 14 days of trial use but the trial period length might change in the future, check with their website.<\/p>\n
Once you registered for a trial, you\u2019d need to install a php extension and a daemon. There are instructions on tideways website but you might need expert help<\/a>.<\/p>\nRun a manual trace<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\nTurn off Magento 2 full page cache and find a page that you think is too slow. Head over to Traces > Trigger<\/i> trace and click on Generate Token<\/i>:<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Copy the token, append it to the page URL and fetch it with a browser. Wait 2-3 seconds and your trace is going to be available for analyzing.<\/p>\n
Analyze trace output<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\nDiagram has several tabs: Timeline<\/i>, Summary<\/i>, Callgraph<\/i> and Bottlenecks<\/i>:<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
TTFB is 3.32 seconds. Let\u2019s see if there is any room for improvement.<\/p>\n
Analyzing a Callgraph<\/h3>\n
Callgraph provides a waterfall diagram.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Scroll down and analyze every function call, there should be something that contributes to that 3+ seconds TTFB.<\/p>\n
In our case, Topmenu::getMegamemuhtml<\/i> needs further investigation. This function generates top menu html and its output could be cached to save 0.6+ seconds.<\/p>\n
Here is a screenshot of a trace with mega menu cached:<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
TTFB is 1.48s now.<\/p>\n
There is another function to improve \u2013 Homepage::getProduct<\/i>, it\u2019s selected on the screenshot above. The function takes 0.8s to be executed and it\u2019s all because of 27 load model calls. Model loads are expensive and should be substituted with direct attribute fetching whenever possible.<\/p>\n
There might be other slow calls, you just need to go over a tree diagram and inspect every node.<\/p>\n
There could be slow SQL queries. You need to enable SQL profiling in General Settings<\/i>:<\/p>\n
Run a manual trace<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\nTurn off Magento 2 full page cache and find a page that you think is too slow. Head over to Traces > Trigger<\/i> trace and click on Generate Token<\/i>:<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Copy the token, append it to the page URL and fetch it with a browser. Wait 2-3 seconds and your trace is going to be available for analyzing.<\/p>\n
Analyze trace output<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\nDiagram has several tabs: Timeline<\/i>, Summary<\/i>, Callgraph<\/i> and Bottlenecks<\/i>:<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
TTFB is 3.32 seconds. Let\u2019s see if there is any room for improvement.<\/p>\n
Analyzing a Callgraph<\/h3>\n
Callgraph provides a waterfall diagram.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Scroll down and analyze every function call, there should be something that contributes to that 3+ seconds TTFB.<\/p>\n
In our case, Topmenu::getMegamemuhtml<\/i> needs further investigation. This function generates top menu html and its output could be cached to save 0.6+ seconds.<\/p>\n
Here is a screenshot of a trace with mega menu cached:<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
TTFB is 1.48s now.<\/p>\n
There is another function to improve \u2013 Homepage::getProduct<\/i>, it\u2019s selected on the screenshot above. The function takes 0.8s to be executed and it\u2019s all because of 27 load model calls. Model loads are expensive and should be substituted with direct attribute fetching whenever possible.<\/p>\n
There might be other slow calls, you just need to go over a tree diagram and inspect every node.<\/p>\n
There could be slow SQL queries. You need to enable SQL profiling in General Settings<\/i>:<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Copy the token, append it to the page URL and fetch it with a browser. Wait 2-3 seconds and your trace is going to be available for analyzing.<\/p>\n
Analyze trace output<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\nDiagram has several tabs: Timeline<\/i>, Summary<\/i>, Callgraph<\/i> and Bottlenecks<\/i>:<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
TTFB is 3.32 seconds. Let\u2019s see if there is any room for improvement.<\/p>\n
Analyzing a Callgraph<\/h3>\n
Callgraph provides a waterfall diagram.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Scroll down and analyze every function call, there should be something that contributes to that 3+ seconds TTFB.<\/p>\n
In our case, Topmenu::getMegamemuhtml<\/i> needs further investigation. This function generates top menu html and its output could be cached to save 0.6+ seconds.<\/p>\n
Here is a screenshot of a trace with mega menu cached:<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
TTFB is 1.48s now.<\/p>\n
There is another function to improve \u2013 Homepage::getProduct<\/i>, it\u2019s selected on the screenshot above. The function takes 0.8s to be executed and it\u2019s all because of 27 load model calls. Model loads are expensive and should be substituted with direct attribute fetching whenever possible.<\/p>\n
There might be other slow calls, you just need to go over a tree diagram and inspect every node.<\/p>\n
There could be slow SQL queries. You need to enable SQL profiling in General Settings<\/i>:<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
TTFB is 3.32 seconds. Let\u2019s see if there is any room for improvement.<\/p>\n
Analyzing a Callgraph<\/h3>\n
Callgraph provides a waterfall diagram.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Scroll down and analyze every function call, there should be something that contributes to that 3+ seconds TTFB.<\/p>\n
In our case, Topmenu::getMegamemuhtml<\/i> needs further investigation. This function generates top menu html and its output could be cached to save 0.6+ seconds.<\/p>\n
Here is a screenshot of a trace with mega menu cached:<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n(click to enlarge)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
TTFB is 1.48s now.<\/p>\n
There is another function to improve \u2013 Homepage::getProduct<\/i>, it\u2019s selected on the screenshot above. The function takes 0.8s to be executed and it\u2019s all because of 27 load model calls. Model loads are expensive and should be substituted with direct attribute fetching whenever possible.<\/p>\n
There might be other slow calls, you just need to go over a tree diagram and inspect every node.<\/p>\n
There could be slow SQL queries. You need to enable SQL profiling in General Settings<\/i>:<\/p>\n
![\"SQL-profiling\"](\"https:\/\/www.lexiconn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SQL-profiling-300x58.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n