It appears that the mod_perl shipped with secureweb has a memory leak when configured as a DSO that can be demostrated on a server that has the mod_perl module included but doesn't actually call any perl by hupping the server while watching the process size. The mod_perl version grows considerably faster than the non-mod_perl version. I've tried a few different combinations: perl 5004_01, perl 5004_04, mod_perl 1.16, 1.16_02, 1.18 This is all with redhat 4.2 I've read that it may be better to make mod_perl not be a DSO but have it in the binary instead. Some of the folks on the mod_perl list claim that helps. This is inconvenient for you folks but perhaps you would consider shipping the rpm either with two binaries or in two flavors?
mod_perl 1.19 still has this memory leak. I am discussing things with the developers.
I'm seeing major problems with busy servers without using mod_perl, too. My httpsd processes are growing to over 50 megs total size pretty quickly if they see significant load. The one test server I had with mod_perl included grew to over 150 megs without any load at all. Any progress on this?
the concensus among mod_perl people seems to be to restart the server periodically in a cron job if you are experiencing memory leaks. While the problem may be fixed in a better way down the road, this is the current solution, and while sub-optimal, it works.