Troubleshoot server performance problems

There are several possible reasons why your server might be under-performing. Use the list below to identify what could be affecting it.

• Check the server type and ensure that it has the necessary CPU and RAM resources to meet your application requirements and user load.

• Check if your application is using a cache. Consider enabling a cache if one is not already present. For applications like WordPress, caching plugins like W3 Total Cache can produce a significant improvement in performance.

• Check if there are any cron jobs running on the server and consuming resources.

• Review the server dashboard or monitoring page and check the list of processes consuming CPU and memory. Alternatively, log in to the machine console via SSH and execute the following command to see a list of running processes:

    $ ps -e -orss=,args= | sort -b -k1,1n | pr -TW$COLUMNS
    $ ps -e -o pcpu,nice,state,cputime,args --sort -pcpu | head -10
  

• Check available memory, as low memory affects application and/or database performance and connectivity. Use the following command to see the available and used memory:

    $ free -m
  

• In case of problems with the disk size, check the free disk space and which directories have a large number of files:

    $ df -ih
    $ df -h
    $ cd /opt/bitnami
    $ sudo find . -type f | cut -d "/" -f 2 | sort | uniq -c | sort -n
    $ du -h -d 1
  

• Try performing a complete reboot of the server.

• Check if your server is being accessed by suspicious IP addresses and block them if so. Refer to the FAQ for detailed instructions.