Should I be worried?

[incka]

Last night: 28.20% CPU usage by mysql. Usually it's about 10%. My server emailed me last night about it. Any idea if I need a new server?

[incka]

My server load says:

Server Load 2.02 (1 cpu) (flashing red dot)

[tomek]

Hi Incka

Do you use MySql's query cache? It helps a lot... (MySql 4.x needed)
How much ram does your server have?
Do you have a constant server load of 2 or is this a peak value?

here's some info on server load:
http://www.crucialparadigm.com/resources/tutorials/server-administration/server-loads-explained-linux-unix.php

[AndyH]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Does it sit around 2 or is that a spike?

[incka]

Just today. My ram usage is aways about 25%. Just today mysql and CPU have spiked.

[AndyH]

Don't worry about the RAM usage until the server starts using swap memory.

How is the actual loading time of your websites? If it is fine then don't worry. :)

[chromate]

Exactly. Use your websites at a peak usage time, if they go slow then think about a new server. Otherwise, don't worry about it. I doubt you would need a new server for your sites.

[Westech]

Does the traffic on your sites correspond with the peaks in server load?

[incka]

I'll check tonight.

[UnitHosting]

You should be very worried.

What kind of CPU are you using at the moment?
Do you have daily backup enabled on your server?

When CPU/MEM is high? Log into SSH, and type top and paste the result here.

EDIT: paste the result from ps -aux from SSH as well.

[incka]

I'll paste what the server says when I get back to my outlook.

It did say something about changing settings to stop the error if you are not worried by it...

[intelliot]

My load average sometimes spikes to 30+ (and things slow to a crawl). Optimization tips...?

[tomek]

My load average sometimes spikes to 30+ (and things slow to a crawl). Optimization tips...?

http://phplens.com/phpeverywhere/tuning-apache-php

Do some research on:
PHP APC Cache
mod_deflate
mod_cache
MySQL Query Cache
MySQL Server Optimization

[Todd W]

Hey Incka,

Sounds like 1 of 2 things.

1. You are getting a TON of users to your MySQL driven sites and you have not optmized my.cnf yet.

2. You have optimized my.cnf - and you are getting a ton of users still.

If #1 you need to optimize my.cnf I don't know your server specs so I can't reccomend anything specifically but checkout the mysql samples such as my-huge.cnf and my-medium.cnf

If you are not familiar tweaking this there are places that do this for under $100 - and they will tweak it a couple times to find the "right" setting for you. I run a script that shows queries/second and each time I tweak a setting I let it go a few days then compare to previous setting, something you may want to check out if you do it yourself.

If #2 congratulations you may need a larger server soon.

-Todd

[Mike]

What's happening with this Sean?

[incka]

It's gone down to usual levels.