Ubuntu 20.04
Virtualmin version 6.17-3
I have a 1-core VPS with interserver.net.
Just finished setting up the server, not in production yet. Basically there is nothing on it except for one virtual server. My CPU use spikes every minute goes up to 100% for a couple of seconds. Is that normal?
That’s more than likely just a byproduct of getting the cheapest plan they have than anything else. You have to remember, you’re not getting an actual computer. You’re getting a virtual server that’s software driven with limitations.
There are some scheduled jobs that Virtualmin runs every five minutes, by default, which can cause a brief CPU/memory usage spike. That could explain two of the three spikes you have, I think.
But…I mean, servers do work. Lots of stuff going on all the time. Brief usage spikes are normal.
Well, I also own a whole Dell 610 server with 16 cores and 32GB RAM (with Virtualmin of course). Interestingly the location of the CPU spikes is the same, but it is less than 10%, given I have 16 processors…
Is there a way to find out what causes the CPU surge on the VPS?
My only concern is, for example if there is a 5 sec CPU spike, during that time the web visitors are not served or will it affect the speed / response time?
Thank you
If it’s that long of a spike, you can just look at top or htop. If it’s on the five minute mark, it’s obviously Virtualmin. It’s performing some status checks, checking for software updates, optionally logging some domain status stuff, etc. Just general bookkeeping. You can change the frequency, and disable some of the things it does (if you’ve got bandwidth monitoring enabled, that would be a huge resource user on such a tiny system, for instance, and probably isn’t smart). But, it’s probably harmless.
The Virtualmin tasks run with a high niceness (low priority). Everything else can push those tasks aside if they need to. The only concern I might have is if you’re running out of memory during those tasks. That’s much more serious than minor CPU fluctuations.
It’s not on the chart, but RAM goes up from 40 to 50% when CPU spikes. The plan I have is modular, you can purchase as many resources you want. As the traffic goes up I can add more CPU units.
Thanks for your comment
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