Introduction

If your website or domain is taking longer than usual to load, one possible reason could be high server load. Monitoring the server load helps you identify whether the system is under heavy usage, overloaded by processes, or affected by services such as Apache or MySQL.

This article explains how to check the server load on a Linux CentOS server using a few simple and useful command-line tools.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • Access to your Linux CentOS server
  • SSH/root access or a user account with sufficient privileges
  • Basic knowledge of running commands in the terminal

Implementation

1. Check Running Processes Using top

The top command displays the most active processes on the server in real time.

Command:

top -c

Purpose:

  • Displays CPU and memory usage
  • Shows currently running processes
  • Helps identify which process is consuming the most resources

This is one of the most commonly used commands to troubleshoot performance issues on a Linux server.

2. Check Server Load Average Using w

The w command shows who is logged in and the current system load average.

Command:

w

Purpose:

  • Displays the load average of the server
  • Shows currently logged-in users and their activity

You may see output similar to:

load average: 0.50, 1.20, 2.10

These values represent the average server load over:

  • 1 minute
  • 5 minutes
  • 15 minutes

A consistently high load average may indicate that the server is under heavy stress.

3. Check MySQL Processes Using mysqladmin proc

If your website is database-driven, MySQL activity may also contribute to high server load.

Command:

mysqladmin proc

Purpose:

  • Displays currently running MySQL processes
  • Helps identify slow or long-running database queries

If your website is heavily connected to the database, excessive MySQL queries can increase the server load and slow down website performance.

4. Check Apache Processes Using pidof

The pidof command can be used to identify the number of Apache (httpd) processes running on the server.

Command:

pidof httpd

Purpose:

  • Displays the Process IDs (PIDs) of Apache processes
  • Helps determine how many Apache processes are currently active

A high number of Apache processes may indicate:

  • Heavy website traffic
  • Too many simultaneous connections
  • Resource-intensive web requests

5. Check Resource Fault Count Using /proc/user_beancounters

The following command is useful in certain VPS environments to check resource usage and fail counts.

Command:

cat /proc/user_beancounters

Purpose:

  • Displays resource limits and fault/fail counts
  • Helps identify whether any process or resource has exceeded its allocated limit

If a process or service is causing resource issues, the corresponding fail count may help you identify the source of the problem.

Conclusion

Checking server load is one of the first steps in troubleshooting a slow website or high resource usage issue.

Using the commands below, you can quickly identify the possible cause of server slowness:

  • top -c → View active processes
  • w → Check server load average
  • mysqladmin proc → Monitor MySQL activity
  • pidof httpd → Check Apache process count
  • cat /proc/user_beancounters → Identify resource fault counts

Regularly monitoring your server can help you detect issues early and maintain better website performance and stability.

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