If you find that your server instance is not working as expected, there are a few things that you can do to troubleshoot the cause. The steps required to troubleshoot this will vary depending on what OS you have installed and the issue that you’re experiencing with the server. This article will cover the required steps for a Linux based server with cPanel, however some of these steps can be utilized on a Linux server without cPanel.
Top Command
The first thing that you can do is login to your server via SSH and check the output of the top command. Top is a command line utility that can be used to check the load of your server. To check top, issue the following command via SSH.
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top |
You should see output similar to the following:
The load is generally displayed in the upper right hand corner, as you can see in the image below:
The resources of the server instance will ultimately determine what type of load is acceptable, however if you see a load higher than 10, and the server is performing slowly you’ll need to further investigate what is causing the load.
Process Manager (WHM)
If you have WHM you can use check the load of the server simply by logging in, as the load is generally displayed on the main page.
For a more in depth look at each process and their resource usage you can use the Process Manager in WHM.
- Search for “process” in the search bar
- Select Process Manager under System Health
With the Process Manager you can Kill processes or trace them, as well as simply get an idea of the resource utilization of each process.
Check Apache
The next step is to check the Apache web server to see if it is running. This can be done a few ways depending on your OS and if you’re using cPanel. Let’s take a look at a few common ways to check if Apache is running.
CentOS 6
You can check if Apache is running in CentOS 6 by issuing the following command while logged in via SSH:
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service httpd status |
If this command returns that Apache is stopped, you can start it using this command:
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service httpd start |
You can also restart Apache at anytime by using the following:
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service httpd restart |
CentOS 7
To check Apache’s status in CentOS 7 please issue the following command:
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systemctl status httpd |
If the output of this command states that Apache is stopped, you can start it by issuing this command:
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systemctl start httpd |
You can also restart the Apache web server via this command:
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systemctl restart httpd |
WHM
You can check Apache’s status by utilizing the steps below. Please note that you’ll need to be logged into WHM before continuing.
- Search for “apache” in the search bar
- Select Apache Status under the Server Status section
You can also restart Apache from within WHM.
- Search for “apache” in the search bar
- Select HTTP Server (Apache) under the Restart Services section
- Select Yes
Apache should now be restarting.
Reboot the server
In some cases you just need to reboot the server, as the old adage states “have you tried turning it off and back on again?” can hold very true. Rebooting the server can be accomplished a few ways; via SSH, through WHM (if purchased) and through the Hostwinds client area.
SSH
To reboot the server via SSH you’ll first need to be logged in to the server as the root user through SSH. Once logged in as root, issue the following command:
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reboot -h now |
Or
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shutdown -h now |
Either command should suffice to gracefully reboot the server.
WHM
To reboot the cloud instance using WHM, you’ll first need to login to WHM.
- Search for “reboot” in the search bar
- Select Graceful Server Reboot
- Click Proceed
The server should now be rebooting.
Hostwinds Client Area
First you’ll need to login to the Hostwinds client area to proceed.
- Login to your Client Area
- Select Cloud Control >> Cloud Portal
- This will take you into your Cloud Portal. From here, you can select the Reboot option from the Actions dropdown next to the server you wish to reboot.
Note: If you have an older VPS, you will need to select Services >> My Services from your Client Area home page, and selecting “Manage” next to the server you wish to reboot. Once you scroll down, you’ll notice a Reboot option that you can select 
The server should now be rebooting.