June 2023

I have a VPS hosting account running WHM and Cpanel. There are three website accounts with WordPress websites. The server specs are 2 cpu, 4 gb ram, 75 gb storage. The website accounts only take up 2 gb of storage. The websites have very low traffic. Maybe one or two website users at any time. What would be causing load averages to spike up to 4 or 5?

ChatGPT:

Sudden spikes in load averages can be caused by a number of factors. Even if your websites are low traffic, the server load is determined by all processes running on the server, not just web traffic. Here are some possible causes for these load average spikes:

1. Cron Jobs: If you have scheduled tasks that are resource-intensive and they all run at the same time, they could cause a spike in load. Cron jobs are often used to schedule tasks like backups, updates, or other maintenance tasks.
2. Automated Backups: Backups can use a significant amount of CPU and I/O resources, especially if you’re compressing the data. If you have automated backups configured and they’re running during the spikes, this could be the cause.
3. Search Engine Crawlers: Sometimes, search engine bots like Googlebot may crawl your site too frequently or too deeply, causing high CPU usage. Although this is more of an issue for high-traffic sites, it can happen to smaller sites as well.
4. Scripts and Plugins: Certain scripts or plugins (for example, in WordPress) can consume a significant amount of resources, especially if they’re poorly coded. This is particularly true for plugins that perform complex operations, such as page builders, related post plugins, statistics plugins, etc.
5. Malware or Attacks: If your site has been compromised or is under some form of attack (like a DDoS attack), that could cause high load averages.
6. Server or Database Optimizations Needed: If the server’s configuration isn’t optimized for your particular workload, that can cause high CPU usage. Similarly, unoptimized databases or queries can cause high load.
7. Software Updates: Sometimes, updating the server’s software or a website’s CMS/plugins can cause temporary spikes in server load.

To investigate further, you can use tools like top or htop on the command line to see which processes are using the most resources. Additionally, check your cron jobs and server logs for any clues. If you have access to WHM, the “Process Manager” and “Daily Process Log” can be useful tools as well.

If the cause isn’t immediately clear, it could be worth reaching out to your hosting provider for assistance, especially if you notice a persistent issue. They may be able to provide some insight or assist with optimizations to bring the load down.