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  1. #1

    load average >2, any explanation

    hi

    I have a VPS account, and during last 24-48 hours had high downtimes. I checked servers load average and it was high >2

    Like this

    top - 02:27:29 up 26 min, 2 users, load average: 2.75, 2.22, 1.81
    As i cann't find any real explanation i start suspending all accounts and sites in my VPS account and restart server.

    Now, there isn't any active site or server (i don't use named or mail server in this account) - my server's load is still high

    top - 02:13:31 up 21 min, 2 users, load average: 2.75, 2.22, 1.81

    top - 02:29:53 up 37 min, 2 users, load average: 1.69, 1.66, 1.67


    Anyone can explain this? I contact my vps hoster, but don't have any response yet.

    P.S. just need to mention, that this start only yesterday, before this 2 months everything was fine.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    LocalHost
    Posts
    1,317
    what is result of top command
    Code:
    top
    and press Shift + P

    This will show the process causing high server load.
    YagHost - Fast Reliable Hosting Since 2009
    Managed VPS - NVMe DirectAdmin
    Web Hosting - NVMe SSD, AMD EPYC, 10 Gbps (US, Europe, Singapore)

  3. #3
    Code:
    top - 02:36:00 up 43 min,  2 users,  load average: 1.75, 1.65, 1.64
    Tasks:  59 total,   1 running,  58 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie
    Cpu(s):  0.0%us,  0.1%sy,  0.0%ni, 99.6%id,  0.3%wa,  0.0%hi,  0.0%si,  0.0%st
    Mem:   1048576k total,   418816k used,   629760k free,        0k buffers
    Swap:  1048576k total,        0k used,  1048576k free,   304784k cached
    
      PID USER      PR  NI  VIRT  RES  SHR S %CPU %MEM    TIME+  COMMAND
     6097 mysql     20   0  135m  19m 5124 S  0.5  1.9   0:00.41 mysqld
        1 root      20   0  2176  668  576 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.01 init
        2 root      20   0     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 kthreadd/486
        3 root      20   0     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 khelper/486
      449 root      20   0  1832  584  488 D  0.0  0.1   0:01.90 syslogd
      883 root      20   0 11964 9560 1360 S  0.0  0.9   0:00.40 lfd
      901 root      20   0  7328 1056  640 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 sshd
      909 root      20   0  2852  908  728 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 xinetd
     1028 root      20   0  2572 1132  996 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 sh
     1036 root      20   0 26516  14m 4164 S  0.0  1.4   0:00.21 php
     1054 root      20   0  6008 1748  768 S  0.0  0.2   0:00.13 kloxo.httpd
     1093 qmails    20   0  2456 1000  392 S  0.0  0.1   0:02.43 qmail-send
     1096 qmaill    20   0  1772  496  424 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.43 splogger
     1097 root      20   0  1784  380  300 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.13 qmail-lspawn
     1098 qmailr    20   0  1780  384  300 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.13 qmail-rspawn
     1099 qmailq    20   0  1764  368  300 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.25 qmail-clean
     1115 root      20   0  6964 1476 1100 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 authdaemond
     1117 root      20   0  1796  384  324 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 tcpserver
     1120 root      20   0  1796  380  320 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 tcpserver
     1125 root      20   0  1796  384  324 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 tcpserver
     1128 root      20   0  1796  380  320 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 tcpserver
    and after

    service mysqld stop
    Stopping MySQL: [ OK ]
    [root@server ~]# top

    Code:
    top - 02:37:58 up 45 min,  2 users,  load average: 1.53, 1.62, 1.63
    Tasks:  59 total,   1 running,  57 sleeping,   1 stopped,   0 zombie
    Cpu(s):  0.0%us,  0.2%sy,  0.0%ni, 99.6%id,  0.2%wa,  0.0%hi,  0.0%si,  0.0%st
    Mem:   1048576k total,   405088k used,   643488k free,        0k buffers
    Swap:  1048576k total,        0k used,  1048576k free,   305500k cached
    
      PID USER      PR  NI  VIRT  RES  SHR S %CPU %MEM    TIME+  COMMAND
        1 root      20   0  2176  668  576 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.01 init
        2 root      20   0     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 kthreadd/486
        3 root      20   0     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 khelper/486
      449 root      20   0  1832  584  488 D  0.0  0.1   0:02.02 syslogd
      883 root      20   0 11964 9560 1360 S  0.0  0.9   0:00.42 lfd
      901 root      20   0  7328 1056  640 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 sshd
      909 root      20   0  2852  908  728 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 xinetd
     1028 root      20   0  2572 1132  996 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 sh
     1036 root      20   0 26516  14m 4164 S  0.0  1.4   0:00.21 php
     1054 root      20   0  6008 1748  768 S  0.0  0.2   0:00.13 kloxo.httpd
     1093 qmails    20   0  2456 1000  392 S  0.0  0.1   0:02.49 qmail-send
     1096 qmaill    20   0  1772  496  424 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.47 splogger
     1097 root      20   0  1784  380  300 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.15 qmail-lspawn
     1098 qmailr    20   0  1780  384  300 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.14 qmail-rspawn
     1099 qmailq    20   0  1764  368  300 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.27 qmail-clean
     1115 root      20   0  6964 1476 1100 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 authdaemond
     1117 root      20   0  1796  384  324 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 tcpserver
     1120 root      20   0  1796  380  320 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 tcpserver
     1125 root      20   0  1796  384  324 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 tcpserver
     1128 root      20   0  1796  380  320 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 tcpserver
     1141 root      20   0  6964  508  132 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 authdaemond
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  4. #4
    top and press Shift + P

    Code:
    top - 02:44:36 up 52 min,  2 users,  load average: 1.72, 1.79, 1.71
    Tasks:  97 total,   1 running,  93 sleeping,   3 stopped,   0 zombie
    Cpu(s):  0.2%us,  0.2%sy,  0.0%ni, 99.3%id,  0.3%wa,  0.0%hi,  0.0%si,  0.0%st
    Mem:   1048576k total,   433220k used,   615356k free,        0k buffers
    Swap:  1048576k total,        0k used,  1048576k free,   308852k cached
    
      PID USER      PR  NI  VIRT  RES  SHR S %CPU %MEM    TIME+  COMMAND
     1036 root      20   0 26516  14m 4164 S  0.3  1.4   0:00.23 php
     9420 root      20   0  2416 1084  832 R  0.3  0.1   0:00.03 top
        1 root      20   0  2176  668  576 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.02 init
        2 root      20   0     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 kthreadd/486
        3 root      20   0     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 khelper/486
      449 root      20   0  1832  584  488 D  0.0  0.1   0:02.38 syslogd
      883 root      20   0 11964 9560 1360 S  0.0  0.9   0:00.48 lfd
      901 root      20   0  7328 1056  640 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 sshd
      909 root      20   0  2852  908  728 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 xinetd
     1028 root      20   0  2572 1132  996 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 sh
     1054 root      20   0  6008 1748  768 S  0.0  0.2   0:00.13 kloxo.httpd
     1096 qmaill    20   0  1772  496  424 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.56 splogger
     1098 qmailr    20   0  1780  388  304 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.16 qmail-rspawn
     1115 root      20   0  6964 1476 1100 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 authdaemond
     1117 root      20   0  1796  384  324 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 tcpserver
     1120 root      20   0  1796  380  320 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 tcpserver
     1125 root      20   0  1796  384  324 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 tcpserver
     1128 root      20   0  1796  380  320 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 tcpserver
     1141 root      20   0  6964  508  132 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 authdaemond
     1150 root      20   0  3348 1104  572 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 crond
     1174 xfs       20   0  3276  960  740 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 xfs

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    5,849
    Usually what you're describing happens because the node's disk i/o is overloaded, which can be caused by an abusive user on another VPS or just by the provider putting too many users on inadequate hardware.

    Try "vmstat 2" and watch the results for a while. Typically the interesting information is in the "wa" column (i/o wait for the shared filesystem) and "bi", "bo" (blocks in out) corresponding to your i/o usage.
    Chris

    "Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well informed just to be undecided about them." - Laurence J. Peter

  6. #6
    Code:
    procs -----------memory---------- ---swap-- -----io---- --system-- -----cpu------
     r  b   swpd   free   buff  cache   si   so    bi    bo   in   cs us sy id wa st
     0  0  53216   4092      0 992008    0    0    86     0    0  142  0  0 99  0  0
     0  0  53708   4248      0 992328    2  248   406     0    0  263  0  0 99  1  0
     0  0  55468   8808      0 989480    0  880   266     0    0  222  0  1 98  1  0
     0  0  55468   5968      0 992316    0    0   704    16    0  279  0  0 98  2  0
     0  0  55468   5072      0 993128    0    0   228     0    0  158  0  0 99  1  0
     0  0  55852   4532      0 994004    0  192   424     2    0  222  0  0 99  1  0
     0  1  56108   4392      0 994456    0  128   258    14    0  203  0  0 99  1  0
     0  0  56748   4424      0 995124    0  320   446     0    0  232  0  0 99  1  0
     0  1  57768   3804      0 996676    0  510   924     0    0  197  0  0 98  2  0
     0  0  58536   3784      0 997508    0  384   580     0    0  252  0  0 98  1  0
     0  0  58928   3456      0 997828   58  256   352     0    0  251  0  0 99  1  0
     0  0  59440   3440      0 998304    0  256   378  6942    0  213  0  0 99  1  0
     0  0  59900   3488      0 998792    0  230   374     0    0  241  0  0 99  1  0
     0  0  60356   3500      0 999096   28  256   348     0    0  204  0  0 98  2  0
     0  1  61252   3480      0 1000020    0  448   702     2    0  125  0  0 96  3  0
     0  1  62020   3144      0 1000972    0  384   638     0    0  225  0  0 97  3  0
     0  0  62404   3380      0 1001180    0  192   230     2    0  194  0  0 98  2  0
     0  0  62624  20512      0 984684   40  150   184     6    0  194  0  0 97  2  0
     0  0  62612  19176      0 986420    6    0   442     0    0  428  0  0 99  1  0
     0  0  62612  18512      0 987052    0    0   168    10    0  170  0  0 99  1  0
     0  0  62612  18200      0 987336    0    0    80     0    0  278  0  0 99  1  0
     0  0  62612  17900      0 987636    0    0    70     0    0  299  0  0 98  1  0
     0  1  62608  17752      0 987808    2    0    34     0    0  325  0  0 99  1  0
     0  0  62608  53784      0 951800    0    0    22     0    0  114  0  0 99  1  0
     0  1  53788  31176      0 952036 4410    0    36    48    0 2784 14  1 85  1  0
    procs -----------memory---------- ---swap-- -----io---- --system-- -----cpu------
     r  b   swpd   free   buff  cache   si   so    bi    bo   in   cs us sy id wa st
     0  0  53788  31488      0 952052    0    0     8     0    0   90  0  0 99  0  0
     0  1  52784  43196      0 952520  502    0   124     8    0  393  1  0 99  1  0
     0  0  52784  42444      0 953256    0    0   186     4    0  145  0  0 99  0  0
     0  0  52784  42176      0 953472    0    0    72  3652    0  201  0  0 98  2  0
     0  0  52784  41196      0 954484    0    0   254   224    0  222  0  0 99  1  0
     0  1  52784  39240      0 956400    0    0   484     0    0  318  0  0 99  1  0
     0  0  52692  38024      0 957360   46    0   238     2    0  257  0  0 99  1  0
     0  0  52572  37028      0 958232   60    0   218     0    0  230  1  1 98  1  0
     0  0  52572  35848      0 959452    0    0   298     0    0  227  0  0 99  1  0
     0  0  52572  35212      0 960048    0    0   160     0    0  157  0  0 99  1  0
     0  0  52572  34916      0 960328    0    0    76     0    0  190  0  0 99  0  0
     0  0  52568  33192      0 962068    2    0   422     4    0  294  0  0 99  1  0
     0  0  52568  32516      0 962728    0    0   170     0    0  171  0  0 99  1  0
     0  0  52568  30336      0 963728    0    0   256     0    0  153  0  0 99  1  0
     0  0  52568  29380      0 964136    0    0   104     6    0  192  0  0 99  1  0
    Is it useful?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    5,849
    Looks like your VPS isn't as idle as you think. There's a fair amount of activity showing on bo / bi (your i/o usage), and although the i/o wait does rise to 3% at one point, that's also at the peak of your usage (so not something you could blame on the provider).

    I don't see anything in the top listings to account for it but perhaps others will, or can suggest other tests. Maybe try shutting down all services and then ps aux.
    Chris

    "Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well informed just to be undecided about them." - Laurence J. Peter

  8. #8
    After 2 hours of inactivity (suspended all sites, accounts, applications and programs) - even i disable Kloxo Panel, and firewall ( csf v6.40)

    top - 04:13:13 up 2:20, 3 users, load average: 2.68, 2.33, 1.85
    It's fantastic !!!

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