Website "freezes" for 20-30 seconds - php-cgi mem high?

I am running a Debian Squeeze server using lighttpd.

Users are reporting occasional random "freezes" of up to 20-30 seconds. I think that memory usage is high

mlines@bigjimny:/var/log$ free -m

total used free shared buffers cached

Mem: 988 977 11 0 4 505

-/+ buffers/cache: 468 520

Swap: 255 112 143

Longview reports php-cgi as being the largest user (by an order of magnitude)

php-cgi mlines 10 209 KB/s 95% 401 MB

Not being familiar with these systems is this where I should start looking and what should I be looking for?

2 Replies

While I haven't worked with the setup you have specifically, my suggestion would be to search through logs for any abnormal spikes of repeated error messages. A freeze of up to 20-30 seconds should stand out in either the lighttpd or php-cgi logs.

@mlines:

I think that memory usage is high

mlines@bigjimny:/var/log$ free -m

total used free shared buffers cached

Mem: 988 977 11 0 4 505

-/+ buffers/cache: 468 520

Swap: 255 112 143

You're using less than half your memory. http://www.linuxatemyram.com/

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