Receiving Cpu/Server Overload notices

[kamm]

Hi,

I'm suddenly getting Cpu/Server Overload emails which I've never received before.

Top looks fine and my own server load logs aren't showing any significant spikes.

How can I tell what's causing this?

Is extracpus = 0 the default setting?

If I increase extracpus, what should I increase it to?

IMPORTANT: Do not ignore this email.
This is cPanel cpuwatch on host.xxxxxxx.com!
While processing, the cpu has been
maxed out for more than a 6 hour period. The current load/uptime line on the server at the time of
this email is
08:00:03 up 284 days, 15:51, 0 users, load average: 1.01, 0.25, 0.07
You should check the server to see why the load is so high and take
steps to lower the load. If you want stats to continue to run even with a high load; Edit
/var/cpanel/cpanel.config and change extracpus to a number larger then 0 (run
/usr/local/cpanel/startup afterwards to pickup the changes).

 

[ddeo]

Hi, I am also just receiving these messages for the first time. See below for exact message. My loads also seem pretty low and I have not changed the setting that is called for in the email.

My other problem is that since the overload warnings warning have been issued, my nightly back ups have not been running. My back ups have been running every night at 1AM for months with no hiccups but now they don't run. I checked the setting and nothing has changed there.

Can anyone shed some light on why my back ups aren't running and if indeed I should worry about server over loads?

Thanks, Ddeo

IMPORTANT: Do not ignore this email.
This is cPanel cpuwatch on {myipaddress}!
While processing, the cpu has been
maxed out for more than a 6 hour period. The current load/uptime line on the server at the time of
this email is
09:30:09 up 1 day, 0 min, 0 users, load average: 1.06, 0.68, 0.48
You should check the server to see why the load is so high and take
steps to lower the load. If you want stats to continue to run even with a high load; Edit
/var/cpanel/cpanel.config and change extracpus to a number larger then 0 (run
/usr/local/cpanel/startup afterwards to pickup the changes).

 

[kamm]

Hmm... I just noticed my backups didn't run last night either. I've never seen them fail before.

 

[scotch333]

similar problem that I am interested in getting my brain around...

I am getting the same issue for the first time on my server as well. I have done some searching around the net to get some answers and have come up with some info but not, I suspect, enough.

So what I've got is this...

1. An explanation of server loads - http://servertune.com/kbase/entry/67/ - its from a company trying to sell a program but is useful for pros and cons.

2. The following thread that talks about changeing the cpu load average - (they say 5 or 10) dep on your CPU - http://forums.cpanel.net/showthread.php?t=91117&highlight=cpuwatch

So the simple answer may be simply upping the cpu load, but I am hoping that someone can help us newbies with the following...

in one of the threads, this is mentioned "paste the output of top c command when the load is high" - top c command threw me - am i right in thinking this is basically the info seen by clicking on the load averages?

if so - when I go in there what is a 'bad' % to see running.

Finally - how the heck do I work out what is causing the issue and (yes, I know this is REALLY basic) where can I find my server logs.

Sorry guys, I really am new at this and am trying to learn.

Thanks!

 

[kamm]

We upped the extracpus setting from 0 to 2 yesterday and rebooted the server.

No more cpuwatch notices, but backups are still failing.

This is the entire backup log from last night...

[cpbackup] Started at Sat Jan 24 01:00:02 2009
[cpbackup] Running account backup with target : /backup/cpbackup/daily
pkgacct started.
pkgacct version 8.3 - user : XXXXXXXX - archive version: 3 - running with uid 0
Copying Reseller Config...Done
Copying Suspension Info (if needed)...Done
Copying SSL Certificates, CSRS, and Keys...Done
Copying Counter Data....Done
Copying Bandwidth Data.......XXXXXXXXo.com...Done
Copying Dns Zones.......XXXXXXXXo.com...Done
Copying Mail files....Done
Copying frontpage files....Done
Copying proftpd file....Done
Copying www logs.............
.........
Done
Copy userdata............
Copy custom virtualhost templates............
Done
Leaving timeout safety mode
Copying mailman lists....Done
Copying mailman archives....Done
Copying homedir....

 

[SB-Nick]

Hello,

Please paste the full backup log so we can help you to troubleshoot this.
You have copied just few lines and there is no error on them.

 

[kamm]

That is the entire log from last night - all 781 bytes of it.

81K Jan 21 01:36 1232496001.log
781 Jan 24 01:00 1232755202.log

It simply stops at the line...
Copying homedir....
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