Question How to prevent Plesk Panel Slow

[kek]

Server operating system version

Ubuntu 22.04

Plesk version and microupdate number

18.0.59

Hi, saw countless threads on Plesk Panel being slow even on an 8 GB Linux server with a new website and zero traffic.

Wanted to clear up some things:

1. When the Plesk panel gets slow, does it affect websites getting slow too in the front end?

2. Does adding SWAP memory make Plesk fast? If I have a 2 GB server, how much to add as SWAP memory?

3. Why even on default settings Plesk panel get buggy and slow sometimes? I guess automatic updates? Can we turn off automatic updates and update manually?

4. What are the things we can do to make sure Plesk does not get slow?

 

[Peter Debik]

1. When the Plesk panel gets slow, does it affect websites getting slow too in the front end?

No.

2. Does adding SWAP memory make Plesk fast? If I have a 2 GB server, how much to add as SWAP memory?

No.

3. Why even on default settings Plesk panel get buggy and slow sometimes?

It doesn't. There must be another cause on the server. You could run
# top
on the command line to see the current cpu load and watch which processes consume the most time. You could run
# MYSQL_PWD=`cat /etc/psa/.psa.shadow` watch "ps aux | sort -nrk 3,3 | head -n 20 && echo "\ " && mysqladmin proc status -u admin"
to see an auto-updated list of the top 20 processes including the current database transactions.
Use
# iotop
to check the current disk transactions as these could also slow the server down. Also check
# free
to see the real RAM usage (it's o.k. if there is a lot in "cache").

I guess automatic updates? Can we turn off automatic updates and update manually?

A variety of update settings can be done in "Tools & Settings" > "Plesk" > "Update Settings". Updates do not slow down the server more than other transactions. They only slow down the server as something is done that consumes cpu time. But there are many other reasons why a server can be slow as other processes are also doing things.

4. What are the things we can do to make sure Plesk does not get slow?

Get a fast dedicated server. If you have a virtual server, the cpu and disk load of the host system might also influence the performance.

 

[kek]

Get a fast dedicated server. If you have a virtual server, the cpu and disk load of the host system might also influence the performance.

Thanks Peter for the reply. When starting, most people don't have the budget for dedicated servers. This is why they use DO or Vultr's basic servers.

And if the VPS server has 4 GB RAM, then SWAP needs to be 4 GB too?

 

[Peter Debik]

SWAP should be at least half the size of RAM.
If your server makes use of SWAP regularly, you need more RAM. SWAP is an emergency solution for the rare case when RAM absolutely does not suffice. You might see a rare and small SWAP use like 80 KB, maybe 1 MB or so, that'll be alright. But when it is used with significant volume, you need more RAM.