Resolve memory shortages in VPS
This section explains how to solve "memory shortage," which greatly affects the operation of VPS servers.
Posted at: 2023.2.21
Causes of Insufficient Memory on VPS
Insufficient memory in a VPS server is a highly critical trouble that can adversely affect the performance of the server instance.
Most VPS servers run out of memory because the VPS runs out of memory resources due to the large number of applications and processes running on the VPS.
Running out of memory can cause VPS delays, freezes, crashes, or other problems.
How to deal with insufficient memory in a VPS
There are two ways to avoid running out of memory
- optimize the server program
- select a VPS with adequate memory capacity
Optimize server programs to eliminate VPS memory shortages
Monitoring Memory Usage
The first question is, "Why is my VPS running out of memory?" The first step is to find the cause.
On Linux and other operating systems, you can use commands such as free and top to check the current memory usage. Also, check the memory used by each program, as some programming languages have functions to check how much memory is consumed by each program to be executed.
If you find a program that uses a lot of memory, find ways to reduce memory usage.
Setting up a swap space
Swap space is a function that uses HDD, SSD, or other storage devices as virtual memory, and is included in most operating systems. Swap space is used in the same way as memory in the event of memory shortage.
By creating a swap space, memory can be increased without having to upgrade the VPS plan.
However, because it uses storage, processing speed may be slower than memory, so additional memory may be desirable.
Stopping Unnecessary Processes
A server can process (process) a variety of programs simultaneously, but if unnecessary processes remain, memory is wasted. Stopping unneeded processes can reduce memory consumption.
For example, you can stop unused applications and services, terminate unnecessary background processes, etc.
Clear caches and buffers
Operating systems use caches and buffers to use memory efficiently. This is a necessary feature to optimize the server, but in some cases, it is cached for a larger amount and for a longer period of time than we expect.
If memory is running low, you can free up memory by clearing these temporary data.
If you still experience insufficient memory, increase the amount of physical memory.
If you are still experiencing insufficient memory after taking these steps, you can conclude that the VPS memory is overwhelmingly insufficient for what you are trying to do with the VPS and the programs/applications you are trying to run.
In that case, the only solution is to increase the physical memory of the VPS.
Please read the following article on how to increase VPS memory.
