What does a Nagios LiteSpeed or Apache CRITICAL alert mean?

A Nagios CRITICAL alert means a monitoring check has failed its threshold. The text after the word CRITICAL names the check that failed, and that is the best clue to what needs attention.

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.

A CRITICAL alert names the check, not the cause. For example, a web server check may fail because the server is slow, overloaded, or not responding to the test.

Some alerts are false positives. A check can report CRITICAL because it is looking at the wrong thing or expecting different output. 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

Log in to your cPanel account using the details in your welcome email. Use the client area at https://my.hostking.host if you cannot find them.

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. Check for any notices or messages on the cPanel home page.
3. Open the error log, if you can find it, and note the time of any recent errors.
4. Pass any errors you find to support with the alert text.

DirectAdmin

Log in to your DirectAdmin account using the details in your welcome email. Use the client area at https://my.hostking.host if you cannot find them.

1. Log in to DirectAdmin.
2. Check for any notices on the main page.
3. Note any recent changes you made to your site or its files.
4. Pass these details to support with the alert text.

Shared hosting customers do not have root access to the server. Restarting web server services is a task for Hostking's team.

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 an error page. Note the error code and the time you saw it. 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, about 05:00 to 20:00 UTC) or open a support ticket from the client area at https://my.hostking.host.