server load is a bit high, how to reduce it?

2025-04-09

i ran 9 small websites on a dedicated server, the total average bandwidth is about 30G only, it was fine in the past a few months, server load always below 0.1, but starting from last week, my server load shot up to 2 sth, and the server started to slow down.

it's a celeron server with 512RAM, it should be sufficient to run 9 small sites.

here are my top and ps -aux results, can any pro help me to take a look? thanks in advance.

13:16:34 up 1 day, 23:56, 1 user, load average: 2.25, 2.09, 1.55 134 processes: 132 sleeping, 2 running, 0 zombie, 0 stopped CPU states: 0.0% user 1.5% system 2.3% nice 0.0% iowait 96.0% idle Mem: 512784k av, 506256k used, 6528k free, 0k shrd, 2624k buff 35460k actv, 12504k in_d, 10192k in_c Swap: 2096440k av, 107888k used, 1988552k free 17708k cached PID USER PRI NI SIZE RSS SHARE STAT %CPU %MEM TIME CPU COMMAND 14162 root 19 4 5908 68 48 S N 3.3 0.0 3:40 0 httpd 13555 root 15 0 800 768 376 R 0.3 0.1 0:04 0 top 28111 mysql 21 6 10420 4580 984 S N 0.1 0.8 0:12 0 mysqld 1 root 15 0 100 68 44 S 0.0 0.0 0:05 0 init 2 root 15 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 keventd 3 root 15 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 kapmd 4 root 34 19 0 0 0 SWN 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 ksoftirqd_CPU0 9 root 15 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 bdflush 5 root 15 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 0:01 0 kswapd 6 root 15 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 kscand/DMA 7 root 15 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 1:30 0 kscand/Normal 8 root 15 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 kscand/HighMem 10 root 15 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 kupdated 11 root 25 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 mdrecoveryd 15 root 15 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 kjournald 73 root 25 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 khubd 282 root 15 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 kjournald 283 root 15 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 0:01 0 kjournald 285 root 15 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 loop0 286 root 15 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 kjournald 287 root 15 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 kjournald 288 root 15 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 0:06 0 kjournald 512 root 15 0 0 0 0 SW 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 eth0 1059 root 15 0 96 56 16 S 0.0 0.0 0:01 0 syslogd 1063 root 15 0 56 44 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 klogd 1081 rpc 15 0 80 4 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 portmap 1100 rpcuser 25 0 80 4 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 rpc.statd 1151 root 24 0 56 4 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 apmd 4275 root 25 0 224 4 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 bash 4278 root 19 4 232 4 0 S N 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 sshd 4292 root 24 0 152 4 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 xinetd 4301 root 21 6 120 48 36 S N 0.0 0.0 0:02 0 da-popb4smtp 4310 nobody 22 6 168 4 0 S N 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 directadmin 4585 ftp 23 8 396 80 0 S N 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 proftpd 4600 root 15 0 72 4 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 vm-pop3d 4628 root 15 0 68 48 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 crond 4743 xfs 15 0 1800 4 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 xfs 4752 daemon 15 0 80 64 20 S 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 atd 4763 root 15 0 48 4 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 rhnsd 4785 root 22 0 52 4 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 mingetty 4786 root 22 0 52 4 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00 0 mingetty

ps -aux USER PID %CPU %MEM VSZ RSS TTY STAT START TIME COMMAND root 1 0.0 0.0 1384 68 ? S May15 0:05 init [3] root 2 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 0:00 [keventd] root 3 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 0:00 [kapmd] root 4 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SWN May15 0:00 [ksoftirqd_CPU0] root 9 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 0:00 [bdflush] root 5 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 0:01 [kswapd] root 6 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 0:00 [kscand/DMA] root 7 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 1:30 [kscand/Normal] root 8 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 0:00 [kscand/HighMem] root 10 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 0:00 [kupdated] root 11 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 0:00 [mdrecoveryd] root 15 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 0:00 [kjournald] root 73 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 0:00 [khubd] root 282 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 0:00 [kjournald] root 283 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 0:01 [kjournald] root 285 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 0:00 [loop0] root 286 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 0:00 [kjournald] root 287 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 0:00 [kjournald] root 288 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 0:06 [kjournald] root 512 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? SW May15 0:00 [eth0] root 1059 0.0 0.0 1452 152 ? S May15 0:01 syslogd -m 0 root 1063 0.0 0.0 1380 156 ? S May15 0:00 klogd -x rpc 1081 0.0 0.0 1560 4 ? S May15 0:00 portmap rpcuser 1100 0.0 0.0 1532 4 ? S May15 0:00 rpc.statd root 1151 0.0 0.0 1376 4 ? S May15 0:00 /usr/sbin/apmd -p 10 -w 5 -W -P /etc/sysconfig/apm-scripts/apmscript root 4275 0.0 0.0 4256 4 tty8 S May15 0:00 /bin/bash root 4278 0.0 0.0 3516 4 ? SN May15 0:00 /usr/sbin/sshd root 4292 0.0 0.0 2068 4 ? S May15 0:00 xinetd -stayalive -pidfile /var/run/xinetd.pid root 4301 0.0 0.0 2496 48 ? SN May15 0:02 /usr/local/directadmin/da-popb4smtp nobody 4310 0.0 0.0 4176 4 ? SN May15 0:00 /usr/local/directadmin/directadmin d ftp 4585 0.0 0.0 2416 120 ? SN May15 0:00 proftpd: (accepting connections) root 4600 0.0 0.0 1656 4 ? S May15 0:00 vm-pop3d -d 10 -t 600 root 4628 0.0 0.0 1432 132 ? S May15 0:00 crond xfs 4743 0.0 0.0 4984 4 ? S May15 0:00 xfs -droppriv -daemon daemon 4752 0.0 0.0 1420 4 ? S May15 0:00 /usr/sbin/atd root 4763 0.0 0.0 3408 4 ? S May15 0:00 rhnsd --interval 240 root 4785 0.0 0.0 1360 4 tty1 S May15 0:00 /sbin/mingetty tty1 root 4786 0.0 0.0 1360 4 tty2 S May15 0:00 /sbin/mingetty tty2 root 4787 0.0 0.0 1360 4 tty3 S May15 0:00 /sbin/mingetty tty3 root 4788 0.0 0.0 1360 4 tty4 S May15 0:00 /sbin/mingetty tty4 root 4789 0.0 0.0 1360 4 tty5 S May15 0:00 /sbin/mingetty tty5 root 4790 0.0 0.0 1360 4 tty6 S May15 0:00 /sbin/mingetty tty6 named 4903 0.0 0.1 30080 776 ? S May15 0:47 /usr/sbin/named -u named mail 8296 0.0 0.0 6240 4 ? S May15 0:00 /usr/sbin/exim -bd -q15m -oP /var/run/exim.pid root 14162 0.0 0.0 39692 68 ? SN 00:15 0:00 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 28511 0.1 0.6 42128 3428 ? SN 10:24 0:12 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 28525 0.1 0.5 42136 2724 ? SN 10:25 0:13 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 29031 0.1 0.8 42408 4268 ? SN 10:25 0:14 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 31546 0.1 0.6 42112 3120 ? SN 10:26 0:12 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 555 0.1 0.3 42108 1712 ? SN 10:28 0:12 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 556 0.1 0.6 42076 3388 ? SN 10:28 0:12 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 5269 0.1 0.1 42104 624 ? SN 10:32 0:11 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 8317 0.1 0.2 42296 1060 ? SN 10:38 0:11 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 8318 0.1 0.5 42096 2764 ? SN 10:38 0:12 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 8319 0.1 0.6 42080 3080 ? SN 10:38 0:11 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 8320 0.1 0.3 41564 1980 ? SN 10:38 0:11 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 19230 0.1 0.5 42104 2624 ? SN 10:54 0:11 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 19231 0.1 0.3 42080 1720 ? SN 10:54 0:10 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 22036 0.1 0.3 41356 1732 ? DN 10:56 0:09 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 28365 0.1 0.7 41484 3756 ? SN 11:05 0:11 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 28366 0.1 0.8 42076 4448 ? SN 11:06 0:09 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 28369 0.1 0.4 42452 2384 ? SN 11:06 0:11 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH root 31657 0.0 0.0 6764 4 ? SN 11:53 0:00 /usr/sbin/sshd admin 31659 0.0 0.0 6828 312 ? SN 11:53 0:00 /usr/sbin/sshd admin 31660 0.0 0.0 4308 4 pts/0 SN 11:53 0:00 -bash apache 31692 0.1 0.4 42196 2128 ? SN 11:53 0:06 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 3799 0.1 0.3 42096 1848 ? SN 11:57 0:06 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH apache 8464 0.1 0.4 40152 2208 ? SN 12:00 0:05 /usr/sbin/httpd -DHAVE_PHP4 -DHAVE_MMAP_STATIC -DHAVE_VHOST_ALIAS -DH root 25217 0.0 0.0 4112 4 pts/0 S 12:23 0:00 su - root 25220 0.0 0.1 4380 592 pts/0 S 12:23 0:00 -bash root 28084 0.0 0.0 4212 4 pts/0 S 12:27 0:00 /bin/sh /usr/bin/mysqld_safe --datadir=/var/lib/mysql --pid-file=/var mysql 28111 0.0 0.7 63272 4100 pts/0 SN 12:27 0:12 /usr/sbin/mysqld --basedir=/ --datadir=/var/lib/mysql --user=mysql -- root 22481 0.0 0.0 6232 4 ? S 13:01 0:00 /usr/sbin/exim -q root 31954 0.0 0.0 6308 4 ? S 13:14 0:00 /usr/sbin/exim -q mail 31955 0.0 0.0 6320 4 ? S 13:14 0:00 /usr/sbin/exim -q root 2447 0.1 0.0 6236 4 ? S 13:16 0:00 /usr/sbin/exim -q root 3961 0.0 0.0 6308 4 ? S 13:16 0:00 /usr/sbin/exim -q mail 3962 0.0 0.0 6324 16 ? S 13:16 0:00 /usr/sbin/exim -q moodcity 3963 5.4 0.8 5980 4396 ? DN 13:16 0:00 /usr/bin/perl topic.cgi moodcity 3964 6.2 0.7 5336 3636 ? RN 13:16 0:00 /usr/bin/perl topic.cgi root 3965 4.0 0.1 2748 796 pts/0 R 13:17 0:00 ps -aux root 3966 0.0 0.0 1432 280 ? D 13:17 0:00 CROND