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mhost
Asked: 2010-02-09 14:32:26 +0800 CST

linux log memory hogging issue

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We have a VPS server (it's using Virtuozzo). On a few occasions now, our VPS memory was fully used up and no new connections could be made to the server on SSH, SMTP, or POP. The only thing that works is connecting to the web service. Luckily, plesk is running on the VPS and we have been able to reboot it through plesk (as well as see that the RAM is 100% used).

I would like to find what process is causing this. I have a feeling it's MySQL, but don't really know. Is there some sort of logging I could implement that would help me find out what was the cause of this next time it happens?

Thanks.

linux memory memory-leak

2 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    In situations such as yours I have run ps aux from cron every minute so I could look back and find the memory hog. Put the following in your crontab:

    * * * * * (date ; ps aux) >> $HOME/ps-aux

    Caution: this may build a large log file over time.

    After your next crash, you can look back through the file looking for processes that use a lot of memory (the "%MEM", "VSZ", and "RSS" columns would be where to look).

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  2. Have you tried anything like atop?

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