How can i reduce CPU usage on my server?

[ozbmx]

Hi guys,

i need some expert advice on how to reduce CPU usage on my server.

i have done the following;

- disabled uploads of pictures/resize images
- disabled the gallery
- disabled watermarking

it dropped off for a while and now its on the increase again.

my forum is ozbmx.com.au take a look and tell me if there is anything that may reduce the usage further.

Cheers,
Xavier

[ozbmx]

is the shoutbox a large user for CPU? i noticed a jump a little when i installed it.

something has happened in the last week though on ozbmx because its gone up 50%

[ozbmx]

help!

the only software im running on my server is ipboard.

there has gotta be a way!

[Fishfish0001]

Disable the Shoutbox. Thats probably one cause.

[3DKiwi]

I doubt the changes you made will have much impact apart from saving some bandwidth. Things to do to lower CPU usuage:

Edit your robots.txt file and add a 5 second or 10 second delay. This slows down search engines indexing your site.
Edit your Google webmasters accounts and add a similar delay. if you haven't got one of these then you need to get one.
Pay IPS to optimize your server. I have done this with good results.

Hope this helps.

3DKiwi

p.s. I suggest getting some interesting skins for your site. It looks pretty boring with the default skin. Check out my site (link in my signature) and change the skin. I think you would agree these skins make the default one look pretty boring.

[LindsayFL]

The first thing you need to do is figure out what is causing the high CPU. In most cases, with IPB, this will be poorly optimised queries from hooks and applications that you installed. So either try disabling all hooks and additional applications. See what effect that has, then enable them one at a time until you track down the app that is causing the problem.

The shoutbox can cause high CPU issues if you have a number of members online at the same time, but is unlikely to be the culprit.

Does your server have 2GB of RAM or more? If you only have 1GB, consider upgrading to 2 GB.

Also, edit your /etc/my.cnf file (if you don't have one, you need someone to tune mysql) then add the following line to the [mysqld] section:

log-slow-queries

Once your server load gets high, take a look at your /var/lib/mysql/server-slow.log file to identify the slow queries, then look into adding indexes or altering queries to speed things up.

If mysql isn't the problem, then figure out what is running on your server. Common things that cause high CPU are running backups (especially if you use cpanel and use the default backup system) and parsing the traffic logs from your site. Consider disabling the logs you have on the server and using google analytics instead.

If there is a lot of searching performed on your site, consider using sphinx search instead.

[ozbmx]

Disable the Shoutbox. Thats probably one cause.

i did notice it go up after i installed it, it was significant but not enough to worry me. it was already very high before adding it.

I doubt the changes you made will have much impact apart from saving some bandwidth. Things to do to lower CPU usuage:

Edit your robots.txt file and add a 5 second or 10 second delay. This slows down search engines indexing your site.

Edit your Google webmasters accounts and add a similar delay. if you haven't got one of these then you need to get one.

Pay IPS to optimize your server. I have done this with good results.

Hope this helps.

3DKiwi

p.s. I suggest getting some interesting skins for your site. It looks pretty boring with the default skin. Check out my site (link in my signature) and change the skin. I think you would agree these skins make the default one look pretty boring.

ill have a crack at it. i just got a new skin made up by Eheren from IPB Forum Skins im going to install it today some itme. its verrrrry cool B)

The first thing you need to do is figure out what is causing the high CPU. In most cases, with IPB, this will be poorly optimised queries from hooks and applications that you installed. So either try disabling all hooks and additional applications. See what effect that has, then enable them one at a time until you track down the app that is causing the problem.

The shoutbox can cause high CPU issues if you have a number of members online at the same time, but is unlikely to be the culprit.

Does your server have 2GB of RAM or more? If you only have 1GB, consider upgrading to 2 GB.

Also, edit your /etc/my.cnf file (if you don't have one, you need someone to tune mysql) then add the following line to the [mysqld] section:

log-slow-queries

Once your server load gets high, take a look at your /var/lib/mysql/server-slow.log file to identify the slow queries, then look into adding indexes or altering queries to speed things up.

If mysql isn't the problem, then figure out what is running on your server. Common things that cause high CPU are running backups (especially if you use cpanel and use the default backup system) and parsing the traffic logs from your site. Consider disabling the logs you have on the server and using google analytics instead.

If there is a lot of searching performed on your site, consider using sphinx search instead.

great advice, thanks :) i may pay to have someone do it for me as time is money and it will take me a long time to do myself.

i dont know what the server is running as im paying an ISP to host my site and they do not disclose what hardware they are using.

cheers,
xavier

[3DKiwi]

What you pay should give you an idea of what your hardware is and you should know what your plan is e.g. VPS, dedicated server, shared hosting. If you're not getting your host complaining to you that you are using too many resources and your site is working okay I wouldn't worry too much.

3DKiwi

[ozbmx]

yeah the thing is i kept going over the CPU usage.. so the sent me to their sister company to be hosted there.

it is very expensive now 5 times what i was paying beforehand.

bandwith is not a drama - less than 40GB per month is getting used up. we are getting around 90,000 unique visitors per month and this has been constant for the last 3 months.

90% of the time we have between 100 and 250 users online at once never less than 50 people online at its most quiet times.

its a dedicated server by the way... i have had to cut back a few things on the forum or i would be moved up to the next level.

i dont want to use offshore servers - i want to keep it australian.

[Robulosity2]

If you have SSH access (and its linux)

cat /proc/cpuinfo
cat /proc/meminfo
cat /proc/version

Will give you CPU Info (model, cores, etc) Meminfo will give you Ram info and how its being broken up and version gives you the linux kernel version etc

[3DKiwi]

If you are on your own dedicated I don't see how you can be going over on CPU usage. While it might be high you aren't affecting other people since they aren't hosted on the same server.

I'm in New Zealand and use US hosting for my dedicated server. Much cheaper and most of my memebrs are in the US or Europe. Hosting in the US isn't really a problem I've found if you get the right host.

3DKiwi

[ozbmx]

who do you use as a host in the USA?

im thinking of changing...