25 process limit on shared servers

[kbs]

Many Hostgator customers on shared servers will be unaware of the 25 process limit on their account. Much is made of "6,000 Gigabytes of Bandwidth" and "600 Gigs of Web Hosting Space", but you won't find any mention of the 25 process limit.

Many of us are hoping that our websites grow in popularity over time, but we don't want to hog the server resources, and we don't want our website to stop working all of a sudden. So how do we find out when our account is approaching the 25 process limit so that we can do something about it?

Also, if my site is not loading, then I want to be able to count out the 25 process limit as a problem, which will make it easier for support to find a solution to why my website is down.

[striddy]

Originally Posted by kbs

So how do we find out when our account is approaching the 25 process limit so that we can do something about it?

Try this thread. Bit of a hot topic.

http://forums.hostgator.com/showthread.php?t=31003

[whatrevolution]

It's not a 25 process limit, however. I'd like to tell you what it really is, but I don't get it myself.

[GatorChrisN]

Originally Posted by whatrevolution

It's not a 25 process limit, however. I'd like to tell you what it really is, but I don't get it myself.

There is a 25 process limit in the Apache configuration on all shared and reseller servers, but this will not cause a site to be suspended but rather display an Internal Server 500 error until some processes die off.
As for checking the processes, the best way to do this is to open a ticket and request shell access, so you can run:

ps aux

And look at any running processes to determine if a script is not terminating correctly, or perhaps you are just having a lot of traffic.

As for many of you all speaking of suspending accounts without warning, the only time this is done is in very EXTREME cases where it's causing the entire server to potentially stop responding/need a reboot. For every one account we suspend, there are 100s of other resource abusing users that we simply kill of their processes to let the load drop rather than suspend the sites. The last thing we admins want to do is disable a script or suspend a site, believe me.

As always, thank you all for your business!

[whatrevolution]

Originally Posted by GatorChrisN

There is a 25 process limit in the Apache configuration on all shared and reseller servers, but this will not cause a site to be suspended but rather display an Internal Server 500 error until some processes die off.

Thanks for clearing that up. I confused this with the separate, "25% of system resources", conversations.

Originally Posted by GatorChrisN

As for many of you all speaking of suspending accounts without warning, the only time this is done is in very EXTREME cases where it's causing the entire server to potentially stop responding/need a reboot.

It is a good way to solve those extreme cases, too. There should never be doubt of that.

Originally Posted by GatorChrisN

For every one account we suspend, there are 100s of other resource abusing users that we simply kill of their processes to let the load drop rather than suspend the sites. The last thing we admins want to do is disable a script or suspend a site, believe me.

No argument there, either. As the system works today, those are good ways treat the symptoms of an overworked webserver. I hope that we are told when you are doing that, so we know that a suspension is imminent. You're going to protect the machine from us, and punish us when boundaries are crossed, so we need every opportunity to willfully follow the rules.

Originally Posted by GatorChrisN

As always, thank you all for your business!

You're welcome, thank you for yours, and thanks for having us.

[markr34]

Originally Posted by striddy

Try this thread. Bit of a hot topic.

http://forums.hostgator.com/showthread.php?t=31003

I can't view this thread. I have had this problem 3 times now and it is extremely frustrating every time. I can't claim that my scripts are perfectly efficient, but without access to process information I have no idea how my site is performing until it suddenly shuts down.

There needs to be better warning and tools for managing processes like http://www.linux.com/feature/114341 or a web console (http://www.linux.com/feature/133016)

[regentronique]

Originally Posted by markr34

I can't view this thread. I have had this problem 3 times now and it is extremely frustrating every time. I can't claim that my scripts are perfectly efficient, but without access to process information I have no idea how my site is performing until it suddenly shuts down.

The reason why you cant view the thread is because you are still "Awaiting Activation"...

Ask GatorWesley to give you complete access to the forum!