Nginx has a plugin that helps avoid the common problem of ‘hung’ mongrels or slow requests clogging up a site. It’s described in detail on Ezra’s blog. Essentially, it removes slow mongrels from the rotation until they shape up.

Many of our customers are using it succesfully. If you’re interested in trying it out, submit a ticket to have it installed. In some cases with older slices, it will also require a slice upgrade which can take some time, but is also a worthwhile to keep your slices in sync with our preferred environment.