[CentOS] [Fwd: Server is overloaded, any tips?]

[Walt Reed]

On Tue, Dec 12, 2006 at 09:36:08AM -0800, Administrator said:
> Yesterday our website was acting a little odd, and i received a few
> email complaints. Running 'top' showed that we had a very high load
> average, today the load average is even higher!
> 
> load average: 13.18, 12.49, 10.48
> 
> It is pretty unlikely that our site grew in popularity that quickly, and
> taking a look at the log file it was saying that a certain directory was
> not found, when in fact it was just a mod-re-write rule and was not
> supposed to exist. The website works fine... i am stumped and the error
> log is getting quite big! Does anyone have any tips on how to find the
> problem and address it accordingly (quickly)?
> Many thanks

Patient: Doctor, I am ill, but I can't tell you any details. What can I
do to feel better?

Doctor: Well, it would be helpful if you give me some more details, or
I could ask you about 10,000 questions and we can be here all month...

Seriously, please read:
http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Essays/smart-questions.html

Then look at your log files. The contents will probably give you your
answer anyway.

Thanks.