Setting LVE Resource Limits with CloudLinux Manager

Knowledgebase Article

Setting LVE Resource Limits with CloudLinux Manager

If you're running CloudLinux OS on your Kualo server, you have the ability to access the CloudLinux LVE Manager via WHM.

This powerful tool allows you to set resource limits for each of your users, ensuring optimal system stability and performance.

For Fully Managed customers, we've already set an overall limit on your WHM account to ensure that you don't exceed the total resources available on the server. We will have set this to additionally leave sufficient resources for the core operating system to function smoothly. In this article, we'll delve into how you can set individual resource limits for each of your users, and why this is important for maintaining a stable and high-performing server environment.

Why Set Resource Limits?

Resource limits help prevent any single user from monopolising the server's resources, thereby ensuring a smooth and stable experience for all users. This is particularly important if you're hosting multiple websites or applications on your server.

Types of Limits You Can Set and Their Impact

Limit Type	Description	Recommendation	Impact of Hitting Limit
CPU	The percentage of CPU that can be used by each LVE. 100% is equal to one CPU core.	Yes - with a minimum of 100%.	Website may become slow or unresponsive.
Memory	The amount of RAM in MB.	Yes - with a minimum of 512MB RAM.	Out-of-memory errors, website crashes.
Number of Processes (nPROC)	The total number of processes that can be run in the LVE.	Yes - with a minimum of 60 Processes.	Unable to spawn new processes, affecting website functionality.
Entry Processes (EP)	The number of entry processes (e.g., HTTPD processes).	Yes - at 1/3 your NPROC Setting	Users may experience 508 errors when visiting the website.
IO	The IO speed in KB/s.	Optional	Slow file read/write operations, affecting website load times.
IOPS	Input/Output operations per second.	Optional.	Slow database queries and file operations.

Note: While the idea of imposing limits might initially seem restrictive, it's a crucial step for maintaining server stability and ensuring a reliable service for all clients. Without these safeguards, the server becomes vulnerable to instability, potentially affecting multiple clients due to the actions of just a few. If you find that you have accounts reaching its limits, it's a sign that the account may need more resources, or more optimisation is needed. If the site is already fully optimised, upgrading to a higher-tier package is a straightforward process.

Methodologies for Setting Limits

Managing resource limits effectively is crucial for server stability and performance. We recommend setting limits based on WHM packages, as this approach provides a clear and straightforward way to understand and manage the resources allocated to each user. It also simplifies the process of upgrading or downgrading resources as needed. While you can set 'on-the-fly' limits for individual users, this method can become burdensome when managing multiple accounts. Default limits serve as a safety net, ensuring that clients on custom packages without pre-defined limits are still regulated.

Using WHM Packages

Access CloudLinux LVE Manager: Log in to your WHM and navigate to the CloudLinux LVE Manager.
Go to Packages Tab: Here, you'll find options to set limits for each package you have created in WHM.
Set Limits: Choose the package you want to modify and set the desired limits for CPU, IO, IOPS, Memory, nPROC, and EP.
Save Changes: Once you've set the limits, make sure to save your changes.

On-the-Fly Limits

Access CloudLinux LVE Manager: Log in to your WHM and navigate to the CloudLinux LVE Manager.
Go to Users Tab: Here, you'll find options to set limits for individual users.
Set Limits: Choose the user you want to modify and set the desired limits.
Save Changes: Don't forget to save your changes after setting the limits.

Setting Default Limits

Access CloudLinux LVE Manager: Log in to your WHM and navigate to the CloudLinux LVE Manager.
Go to Options Tab: Here, you'll find options to set default limits.
Set Default Limits: Choose the limits you want to set as default.
Save Changes: Make sure to save your changes.

Assessing Usage in the Resource Usage Utility in cPanel

Log in to cPanel: Access your cPanel account.
Navigate to Resource Usage: You'll find this under the 'Metrics' section.
View Usage: Here, you can see the resource usage for each user, helping you make informed decisions about setting or modifying limits.

Suggested Resource Limits

We're often asked what limits users should set in CloudLinux LVE Manager. The reality is that the limits that should be set will depend on various factors:

The specification of your server. The more RAM and cores you have, the more resources you may be able to offer your sites.
The number of sites you host on the server. The fewer sites you host, the more resources each site could be afforded.
The requirements of each site. Ideally each website should have sufficient resources to meet their operational requirements.

With this in mind, we'll consider some typical settings. This assumes you're hosting several sites on the server and wish to create packages that are suitable for small, mid-range and large hosting customers.

Type of Site	CPU (%)	IO (KB/s)	IOPS	Memory (MB)	nPROC	EP
Small / Brochure Sites	100-200%	Not Limited	Not Limited	512MB - 1GB	60	20
Mid-Range / E-commerce	200-300%	Not Limited	Not Limited	2GB - 3GB	150	50
Higher Range E-commerce	300-500%	Not Limited	Not Limited	4GB - 8GB	300	100

Note: These are just guidelines. We strongly recommend consulting with us to tailor these limits to your specific server resources.

Conclusion

Effective resource management is key to maintaining a stable and high-performing server environment. CloudLinux LVE Manager provides a robust platform for setting these limits. By following best practices and setting sensible limits based on your server's capabilities, you can ensure optimal performance for all users.

For more information or consultation, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're here to help you make the most of your server resources.