Scheduler not working (cron.php hangs)

[beyondsecurity]

We've had this problem for a few months now, and upgading to new versions of sugarcrm has not solved the problem.

The issue is that the scheduler task gets stuck. Running:
php -f cron.php
from command line simply hangs and does not return. Running the cron job for the scheduler produces an infinite number of php tasks (one every minute) which eventually brings the server down to its knees.

Some of the tasks do run (like checking inbound emails), but others don't (like sending out reports or workflow tasks). We thought the scheduler might be hanging due to one of the tasks, but even setting all tasks to 'inactive' and running the scheduler manually still makes it hang.

We opened a bug for it on the sugar bugs system a few months ago, and did not receive any meaningful response from the sugar support team (we are PAYING customers) besides changing the bug's status once every few weeks and posting notes that it's a bug in the sugarcrm code (duh...).

We are at the end of our wits - our users need the time-based workflow features (which is a part of the reason why we bought the professional version) and trying to get support from sugarcrm is like pulling teeth - with an average response time of a few weeks (the response typically being cryptic and unhelpful).

So does anywone here have any experience with such problems or ideas on where to look for solutions? It's important to note this all worked perfectly, and stopped working one day - possibly after an upgrade. We do not directly modify any of the php code so it's definitely not something we did.

We are using sugarcrm professional Version 5.1.0 (Build 4732) but the problem started earlier - at a 4.x version. Using mysql 5.0.4 on a Linux debian (stable). Php version is 5.2.6, but it did not work with earlier php versions either.

Any ideas?

[dtokeefe]

Hi BeyondSecurity,

I sympathize with your frustration at paying for Sugar Pro and not getting satisfactory support from SugarCRM. You are not alone. SugarCRM, are you listening? We hear this often.

As a SugarCRM Partner and very experienced provider of development and support services for the software, Lampada Global could do either of the following to solve this problem:

1. Debug and fix the cron job that is hanging and taking your server down;

2. Develop a new cron job that implements the time-based workflow features your users need.

Please feel free to ping me on Skype (dtokeefe) to discuss your project.

Best regards,

David