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Understanding CPU Usage
Hi, I'm trying to understand CPU usage limits on my ramnode VPS.
Their AUP states:
Client agrees not to run any processes on his or her VPS which use the equivalent of a full CPU core (1.0 load average) or more for an extended period of time. An extended period of time will generally mean one (1) hour, but will depend upon the load average and ...[]
I process large XML/CSV datafeeds into a MySQL db every night using PHP, I added some code to check load and pause while it's over 0.8.
the graph looks like this: 
The VPS has 4 cores and 1GB RAM plus SSD storage.
4 cores is the most I can have with the host, I'd like to possibly process the data quicker than I am currently (not essential).
Am I approaching this limit adequately? have I got it completely wrong? Often this process can take 4 or more hours.
Comments
The answer to this question should come from your VPS provider. @Nick_A
What i know is that Ramnode is crazy about CPU usage. Choose any other host if you hit their "limits".
I've only ever hit limits once on a different vps with them, for CPU usage, after an email from them I dealt with it quick.
I'm more interested to know if I'm unnecessarily limiting the processing speed, have I understood things correctly?
I may be wrong, it's been a long day.
But if your limiting your process to a load of 1.0, weather you have 1 or 4 cores you really shouldn't see any difference in speed. A load of around 1.0 is the full use of one CPU core, your leaving 75% of your resources on average ideal.
As others have said you may be better waiting for a reply from Nick.
@Adam1 - We'd be happy to discuss it via ticket.
@Profforg - Do you have a ticket ID we can review?
I never used your service. This is what i know from my clients or people i work with.
I have opened a ticket previously but got a pretty vague response, saying that my load is fine and I'm not exceeding the limit, although I guess my question could have been considered vague.
tid=963990
@Adam1 - I think the staff member just answered the question as posed. We can get into more detail in that ticket if you'd like.
You never used our service but are calling us "crazy"? Doesn't sound like much basis to make such a claim. Please PM me any ticket IDs from your clients or colleagues who were treated in a crazy manner and I'll personally review them.
Well all I really want to know is if I'm capping too much, or can I increase the limit to 2.0 and process the data in half the time, or am I out of luck and will have to look at a dedicated server if I want to do things any quicker.
Surely 4 cores, means you can sustain a load of 4.0 ?
@dediserve I would think so.
@Adam1 Try to import without any restrictions but pause the process for 30/60/90s for every 500 or 1000 records. Test and see what works the best for you and the limitation of the VPS.
I have a VPS with @Nick_A and I am able to import/export 2500 mysql records (32 column tables with images url, product url--for e-commerce site) without issues.
Well, I kinda assumed that because the cost is double for approx double the spec, that I would be able to use the extra cores for long periods too. After all, I could split the money over 4 single core VPS's and do so under the AUP, which is why I think I may not understand the terminology correctly.
It's crazy to manage resources proportionate to what people pay to try to ensure some sort of consistent level of service? What dimension have I entered?
More factors to load than just CPU
I've just recently found this article, which should answer some of your questions.
Of course, but my point was that load of 4.0 would indicate 4 cores in use 100% each