Categories: Getting Started | Resource Management | CentOS | Debian | Fedora | Gentoo | OpenSUSE | Slackware | Ubuntu
This guide describes Linux resource monitoring tools and techniques, special considerations for virtual private servers, and advanced resource monitoring tools which may be used to automate monitoring tasks.
Optimal server performance requires the availability of random-access memory (RAM), CPU time, and disk space. Use the tools listed below to troubleshoot performance on your VPS and watch for unusually-high resource use which may indicate a shortage of resources and locate "zombie" processes which generally indicate a configuration problem or poorly-written application that may need to be terminated.
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The following memory and CPU monitoring tools are common to all Linux distributions:
When investigating a RAM or CPU resource issue, run free and top to gather information about the present use of the system's resources, then use ps to gather additional information about individual processes or groups of processes.
You may use the following filesystem monitoring tools with any Linux distribution offered at VPSLink:
By default, Linux will prevent writing to new and existing files if the filesystem nears its capacity to ensure that you will not be locked out, however, this is a highly undesirable condition for services on your VPS. Check the amount of available disk space on your server regularly, delete unnecessary files left behind by software installations, and rotate log files to avoid running out of disk space.
Memory Utilization Scripts offer solutions which may be customized to suit the needs of any administrator.
The VPS hosting environment provides the same basic facilities as a dedicated server and, just as with a dedicated server, you will want to optimize your applications for performance to ensure that resources are not wasted on unnecessary features.
Unlike a dedicated server, a virtual private server affords the luxury of upgrading on-the-fly. If your VPS requires additional resources as use increases, simply log in to the My.VPSLink.com Server Control Center to submit an upgrade request (in most cases, your server's allocation will be upgraded within minutes).
Your plan's resource allocation will be the factor which determines how much memory, CPU time, and disk space your processes will be able to use.
| Resource | Link-1 | Link-2 | Link-3 | Link-4 | Link-5 | Link-6 | Link-7 |
| Disk Space | 2.5 GB | 5 GB | 10 GB | 20 GB | 40 GB | 80 GB | 160 GB |
| Dedicated RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB | 256 MB | 512 MB | 1024 MB | 2048 MB | 4096 MB |
OpenVZ includes plan-specific settings which limit the number of running processes and other resources - see the /proc/user_beancounters explanation article for a description of these settings and VPSLink's configuration for each hosting plan.
To learn more about each hosting plan's capabilities, visit the VPSLink Hosting Plan Comparison at VPSLink.com
The VPS hosting platform which backs your VPS will also determine how your virtual private server handles heavy resource use.
As described in our OpenVZ versus Xen comparison at VPSLink.com, the Xen hosting platform at VPSLink will offer the use of swap space to increase the random-access memory available to processes on your VPS when necessary.
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