Verdant TCS

Where to start with determining where a performance issue exists?

If your site/server feels sluggish, the first thing to do is login as root via SSH (you will need an SSH key). Then run the “top” command or the “htop” command. Your load should be less than 1.00 X the number of CPU cores of your server. For example, if you have a two CPU […]

MySQL is consuming lots of CPU

If MySQL is consuming a lot of your CPU resources or is maxing out your server, the best thing to do is login and watch the queries in realtime.  Login to the server as root, and run “gp mysql login root” and then run: show processlist; And you’ll see something like the following screen: This […]

Why does my site take X seconds to load?

We often get asked why a site take X amount of seconds to load. Here’s the steps we would recommend in finding the culprit:  Step 1. Disable all caching so that you can get a real picture of performance. Use GTMetrix to take a scan of the site as it is now, and record those […]

An Introduction to CPU Steal, I/O wait and the top command

CPU steal can be highly problematic. Fortunately it’s not common place on the providers we integrate with, but we do see this from time to time, and you may have seen us mention “noisy neighbours” in the Facebook group or directly on support. In this article we’ll give you a brief overview of what CPU […]

WordPress Debug and Query Monitor

WordPress Debug and the excellent Query Monitor plugin are a highly effective combination to help you diagnose performance issues on your individual WordPress websites. AN INTRO TO WP_DEBUG If you’re having issues with your site, WordPress debug mode can help you find out what’s going wrong by recording any and all PHP errors that occur […]

Diagnosing 504 Timeouts and Performance Issues

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction What Causes a 504 Error? 1. Check Monit 2. Check top and htop 3. Check MySQL 4. Check Your Website Database 5. Check Your Website Debug/Error Logs 6. Check Your Website PHP Settings 7. Check Your Access Logs (Are you under attack?) 8. Has Your Site Been Compromised? Further Troubleshooting Steps if CPU […]