strange pauses

Hi

I've noticed a strange pattern in our logs.

We only log anything that takes longer then 5 seconds.

If I tail the logs, I see a steady stream of functions that took longer
then 5 seconds.  But every now and then I see nothing for 3 minutes and
after that a whole bunch (about 20 - 30) queries all finishing at the
same second.

During this 3 minutes of nothing being logged, the db is still active
and I can access our website

Looks to me like "something" is "locking" and causing requests to be
delayed.  Once this "lock" unlocks, everything goes through.

Sorry for the bad description, can anybody help?  Where do I start looking?

--
Adrian Moisey
System Administrator | CareerJunction | Your Future Starts Here.
Web: www.careerjunction.co.za | Email: adrian@careerjunction.co.za
Phone: +27 21 686 6820 | Mobile: +27 82 858 7830 | Fax: +27 21 686 6842