Quick answer: Over SSH, run htop (or top) for CPU and memory, free -h for RAM, and df -h for disk. These three commands answer 90% of "is my server overloaded?" questions.
Overview
Regular checks show whether your workload still fits the plan or it's time to upgrade resources. All tools below are standard on Ubuntu, Debian, AlmaLinux and Rocky.
Before you start
- SSH access to the VPS.
- Optionally install extras:
apt install -y htop sysstat # Ubuntu / Debian dnf install -y htop sysstat # AlmaLinux / Rocky
Step-by-step guide
- CPU and processes:
Sort by CPU with F6; load average is shown top-right — sustained load above your vCPU count means saturation.htop - Memory:
Look at available, not free — Linux uses spare RAM for cache and releases it on demand.free -h - Disk space and I/O:
Highdf -h iostat -xz 5%utilin iostat = the disk is the bottleneck. - Quick one-shot view:
uptime vmstat 5 5
Common issues
- "RAM is almost full!" — usually cache. If
availableinfree -his healthy, you're fine (see high RAM troubleshooting). - Load average high but CPU% low? Processes are waiting on disk I/O — check
iostat. - Disk full? Find what eats space with
ncdu /— see how to check disk space.
When to contact support
If usage looks normal but performance is still poor, or you consistently max out the plan, open a support ticket — we'll help interpret the numbers or suggest an upgrade (NVMe VPS and Power VPS plans suit I/O- and CPU-hungry workloads).
Frequently asked questions
What load average is too high?
Sustained load above your vCPU count means the CPU is saturated — e.g. load 8 on a 4-vCPU VPS is heavy queuing.
Why does Linux show almost no free RAM?
Linux uses spare RAM for disk cache and releases it on demand. Look at the "available" column of free -h instead.
How do I know if the disk is the bottleneck?
Run iostat -xz 5 — consistently high %util or long await times point to disk I/O; NVMe plans help I/O-heavy workloads.
Related articles
- How to troubleshoot high CPU load
- How to troubleshoot high RAM usage
- How to check disk space
- How to install basic server monitoring
Ready to get started? Order a VPS at Cloud2Y →
