How can I view my accounts resource usage?

What is resource usage?

As your account requests the server to perform tasks for it, such as connecting to a database, running a PHP script, or sending some email, these all require time from the server's CPUs (Central Processing Units), as well as disk access time from the hard drive.

The CPU resource is a limited one, as there are only a set number of processors per server. Depending on the level of hosting that you have, you have a different allotment for CPU usage that you don't want to go over.

Going over the CPU limits assigned for you level of hosting could result in an email warning, or a temporary account suspension if the usage is severe enough. So being knowledgeable about the resource usage limits your account has, and how much your account is currently using is important information to know.

Shared Hosting

With shared hosting being the entry level and cheapest hosting option, you share the CPU with all of the users placed on the same server as yourself.

In a shared hosting environment, it's very key that no one user is over utilizing the CPU, which could lead to other users having their requests delayed or missed altogether.

You can read our guide on how to view your resource usage with CPU graphs available in cPanel, in order to see if your account is currently going over your CPU limit.

If you are near or over your account's CPU limit, we would strongly encourage you to take a look at our account suspensions article, as this goes more in-depth as to what exactly commonly causes high resource usage.

VPS and dedicated server resource usage

With both VPS and dedicated server hosting, you have SSH access to directly interact with the server to find out what's been going on with your usage. If you're on either platform you can read our guide on advanced server load monitoring to determine your resource usage levels.

For both VPS and dedicated servers we also have a large collection of articles on resolving server usage problems that can help you pinpoint what could be causing high usage for you.

VPS Hosting

With VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting being a step-up from shared, you are still sharing the same CPUs as the other VPS clients on that physical node.

On a VPS your maximum load average should be a 1.00 in short bursts. However ideally your load should remain under around a 0.7 for the majority of the day.

Dedicated Server Hosting

With dedicated servers being the top tier of hosting, you have full access to all of the CPU cores on your server.

On a dedicated server, ideally you want to maintain a load average lower than the number of CPU cores (and threads) that you have. However since it's your own server, we won't step in if your CPU usage is spiking, since you wouldn't be affecting any other users.

Dedicated server CPU cores

If you still need further assistance past what you see here, please use the Your opinion matters form at the top-right of this page to let me know what else should be added to make this information more helpful.

You can also feel free to contact our support department directly if you have any critical problems with your usage.