What does a Nagios Current Load CRITICAL alert mean?

A Nagios Current Load CRITICAL alert means the server's load average has gone above a threshold set in the monitoring configuration. Load average is a measure of how many processes are running or waiting to run. A short spike is often harmless, but a load that stays high can slow your site.

This article explains what the alert means and the steps to take as a customer. Some fixes need server access, so the steps also show when to ask Hostking for help.

What the alert means

Nagios is a monitoring tool. It runs checks on a server at regular intervals and sends a notification when a check reports CRITICAL.

"Current Load" is the name of the check, not the cause. It usually reads the 1, 5 and 15 minute load averages. CRITICAL means one of these values is above the threshold set by whoever configured the monitoring.

Load average is not a percentage. It is the average number of processes that are either using the CPU or waiting for it. On Linux, processes waiting for disk input or output (I/O) also count toward the load.

Load is not divided by the number of CPUs by default. A load of 2 means something different on a 2-CPU server than on an 8-CPU server. Compare the load with the number of CPU cores on the server.

Some alerts are false positives. A threshold may be set lower than the normal load for a busy server. In these cases the server may be working normally.

Steps to take when you receive the alert

1. Copy the full alert text, including the word CRITICAL and the name of the service.
2. Note the date and time the alert was sent.
3. Open your website in a web browser and check whether it loads.
4. Open a page that you know is important, such as your home page or a contact form.
5. Check whether you have recently changed your site, installed a plugin or updated software.
6. If your site loads normally, wait 10 to 15 minutes and check again. Short spikes can clear on their own.
7. If your site does not load, or loads very slowly, contact Hostking support as described below.
8. Send the exact alert text and the time to support so the team can check the right service.

Checking the control panel

cPanel

1. Log in to cPanel using the details in your welcome email. If you cannot find them, use the client area at https://my.hostking.host.
2. Check for any notices or messages on the cPanel home page.
3. In the search box at the top of the page, type "Resource Usage" and open the Resource Usage page.
4. Note the time of any high usage shown on the page, and any 508 "Resource Limit Reached" errors.
5. Send these details and the alert text to support.

DirectAdmin

1. Log in to DirectAdmin using the details in your welcome email. If you cannot find them, use the client area at https://my.hostking.host.
2. Check for any notices on the main page.
3. Note any recent changes you made to your site or its files.
4. Send these details and the alert text to support.

Shared hosting customers do not have root access to the server. Restarting services and checking server-wide load is a task for Hostking's team.

Reducing load on your site

Most load on a website comes from the site itself. Pages that are built on each visit, such as WordPress pages without caching, use more CPU than cached pages.

• Turn on page caching with a caching plugin, if your site runs WordPress.
• Disable a plugin you recently installed, then check the site again.
• Check that scheduled tasks (cron jobs) are not running too often or getting stuck.
• Reduce large images, scripts or database-heavy features that you added recently.

Change one thing at a time, and check the site after each change.

Troubleshooting

The alert repeats but my site loads. This can be a false positive or a short spike. Send the alert text to support so the team can check the monitoring for your service.

My site shows a 508 error. A 508 "Resource Limit Reached" error means your account has reached its limit for concurrent requests. Note the time you saw it and send these details to support as soon as possible.

My site is slow. Check whether you have recently added large images, plugins or scripts. Remove recent changes one at a time, and check the site after each change.

I cannot find my login details. Check your welcome email. If you still cannot find them, log in to https://my.hostking.host or contact support.

If you are still stuck, contact Hostking support by live chat on the website (7 days a week, 05:00 to 20:00 UTC) or open a support ticket from the client area at https://my.hostking.host.