All websites found on the web depend on certain resources, such as disk space and monthly traffic, provided by the web server where they are physically hosted on. Dynamic websites, in particular, representing the majority of sites on the web today, are more server resource consuming than regular static web pages.
What are Load Stats?
Using server-side scripting to handle various operations such as processing contact form inputs or billing requests, video and audio streaming, etc., dynamic sites require significant server resources, such as CPU and memory (server RAM), to operate online. This may cause load to the server if the processes are not run within the limits pre-defined by hosting providers. For that reason, website owners need to have access to Load statistics enabled for each one of their web pages, so as to keep track of their server load activity and avoid any service interruptions.
Load Stats Interface
The Load statistics are generally represented in a web-based interface, displaying real time information about the server usage levels for your websites over a certain period of time (in most cases – per day, per month and per year). The dynamically generated information is most often arranged in a simple table with the period of time and server resource types featured as table column values.
Load Stats Parameters
The basic server resources generally listed in Load stats tables include:
CPU Time - the period of time needed for the CPU of the server where your websites are to process your scripts.
CPU Usage - the average server load generated by your scripts during a certain period of time (an hour, a day or a month). It is calculated by comparing your CPU time to the total CPU time (100%), which is assumed to be 34560 seconds.
Execution Time - the execution time of your scripts, including all other neighbour operations related to the process.
Average Memory - the amount of RAM that is used for the execution of your scripts.
Processes - the number of processes that are run on the server over a certain time period. There is no limit on the number of processes executed.
Depending on their server configuration and capacity, hosting providers set their own limits on CPU and memory. In most cases, those values vary according to the different plan configuration types within a provider’s offering. In this light, you should be aware of the CPU/RAM limits set by your host for your specific plan and refer to the Load Statistics interface they provide on a regular basis to make sure that those limits are not exceeded. Otherwise, you are running the risk of having your web hosting account suspended due to CPU overload and of having your websites go offline.
How to use the Load Statistics
The Load Statistics interface, usually integrated into the Control Panel offered by the hosts, is supposed to be as readable and user-friendly as possible. Its main purpose is to be informative to users, keeping them up to date with their usage of server resources. For instance, all plans offered by NTC Hosting come with a Load Stats interface, which is part of a complex Control Panel-integrated Live Stats section, including also MySQL Stats, Traffic Stats, Bandwidth Stats, Access & Error Logs, etc.
Load Statistics with NTC Hosting
From the Load Stats subsection you will be able to monitor in real time your server usage levels (including CPU usage/time, execution time, average memory, executed processes) and keep track of their progress on a daily, monthly and yearly basis. In addition, an hourly statistics option will give you a detailed overview of your server load usage at 6-hour intervals, specifying the names of all completed processes, their corresponding CPU timings and memory usage.