My site Backup Content files are spontaneously & exponentially expanding

[Geoffrey]

I built my site on localhost dev machine.  I worked out all the major problems, loaded all the images, verified payment extensions, did multiple backups while building, etc. 

The backups were always pleasantly small, like 85MB total:
2 MB database
34MB code
50MB content.

After I published the site live, I set up the htaccess and robot files and set the proper file permissions, and then I tested payments and then I cruised around the site and made a few small language edits. 

Then I did an AbanteCart data backup of the new live site.  It worked great, all three backup components succeeded in just a few minutes.  Total size of backup folder was 85MB.

I ftp'd the backup folder down to my local machine and deleted it from the live admin/system/backup folder. 

During the next week, I added two new products to the live site with 2MB of new images.  I also edited the filenames and Title names of about 20% of my image files for SEO optimization.

I did a 2nd backup.  It worked fine, so i didn't really look at it.  I just downloaded it and deleted it from the live admin/system/backup folder. 

Then I edited a few more image filenames and titles, and some language.

I tried another backup today, and the 3rd step (dynamic content) failed. 

So I investigated some. 

The Files folder (dynamic content) from the 1st backup is 50MB.

The Files folder from the 2nd backup is 120MB!

I don't know the actual size of the Files folder from the 3rd backup attempt because it timed out and failed. 
BUT, the AbanteCart Backup page indicates that it is now 246MB. 

Why is my site expanding from 50 to 120 to 246MB of dynamic content in 2 weeks during which I have made very few edits and the site has received very little traffic? 

The admin/system/backup folder is empty.

I cleared the error log.  Is there some hidden archive of log errors stored somewhere?

I have also checked my resources folder.  It has less than 10 duplicate images.  It looks virtually identical to my original localhost resources folder in terms of structure and number of folders and files.  Image file replication does not seem to be the obvious cause. 

I have no video or other resource files on the site. 

Where should I be looking to find the source of this rapid file-size expansion?

What are the possible causes? 

At this rate, my site will supernova in a matter of weeks, consuming my host company before collapsing into a singularity at a rate exceeding discernible scalar invariant curvatures of space and time.  A2 is in Michigan.  The SN corona is unlikely to extend beyond Pennsylvania into New Jersey, but the subsequent black hole formation will make all of that irrelevant. 

So it would be good if you could take a look at this soon. 

Thanks. 

[Basara]

Hello.

Try to clear the AbanteCart cache

[abolabo]

hello.

Abantecart have few folders with dynamical content:
 - resources
- downloads
- image (and thumbnails subfolder)
- system/cache
- system/logs
- all subfolders of admin/system
+ some extension folders (extensions can store it's own data inside it's directories)

i think you should to check it all

[Geoffrey]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I checked all the dynamic files, and ended up basically checking filesize on every file on the site.  The only folders that exceed a MB or so of data were the resource and thumbnail photos. 

I clear cache frequently while working on the site, so that wasn't it. 

I deleted the error log yesterday, but nothing changed immediately immediately after I did that. 

I deleted a few default extensions that I will never need. 

I checked the Backup page again, it now says 48 MB.

So I'm back to normal, which is good. 

But I can't pinpoint the solution.  It was either a delayed reaction to deleting my bloated error log, or it was an immediate reaction to deleting some of the default extensions.  Maybe it was a cache thing, but I've been clearing cache so much lately that i really don't think it was. 

I have mixed feelings about this issue.   

[Geoffrey]

It was the cache.  I worked on my site and visited 5 pages today, plus who knows who else visited it, plus who knows how AC cache wroks exactly.  Anyway, it built up 25MB of cache in 3 hours this afternoon, which explains how I went from 50MB of dynamic content to 250MB between cache-clears. 

This is probably an opportunity for improving AC. 

I know from reading here that the AC Backup causes problems for some users, and that other users simply don't use it. 

My AC Backup started failing when cache reached 200MB.  This is for a 85MB site with only 50MB dynamic data!

Perhaps if Backup excluded Cache, some of these problems would vanish.

Also, I'm no expert, but it seems strange to me that an 85MB site could generate 200MB cache in a very short period. 

Is this normal? 

Also, if I clear the Abantecart Cache, does that affect page-load times for the next handful of site visitors? 

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but the purpose of cache is to speed up page loads, therefore clearing cache would slow-down page loads until cache is re-populated? 

Is this how it works?

Thx. 

[Geoffrey]

I guess I should follow up for the benefit of future novices...

The content files did not continue exponential expansion.  The world is safe. 

They plateau'd at 186MB over content size.

My stats: the site is 2MB of db, 31MB of code, and 50MB of content.  If I clear cache and check the backup stats, it says the content is 50MB.  If I then visit every page on the site in short order, the content file-size immediately leaps to 236MB, or 186MB of cache. 

My working assumption is that this is normal. 

Thx. 

[Basara]

Hello.

If you clear all AbanteCart caches you also purge image thumbnails cache.
For store speed AbanteCart create resized version of your product, category and other images. So if you upload 1 image to the product with 1600px* 1000px  in the listings system will create from it 200px*200px (or whatever you have in settings), if you add to cart 75x75 image will be created etc.
On next page visit all this images will be loaded from cache