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How can I troubleshoot basic problems with my Dedicated Server?

Here are a few things you can check on your end to perform basic troubleshooting to determine the cause of different particular problems:

Check your connection to the server. Use the command line (Go to Start > Run> and type 'cmd', then press Enter) to execute these commands:

ping [IP of the server]. You can also try with larger packets to check any packet loss.
tracert [IP of the server] or use an application like 'mtrace' (Linux/Unix) or WINmtr to check for packet loss on each step.
you can also make a basic trace or a ping from http://www.dnsstuff.com to compare results with an east coast server.

If the trace does not go out of you server, there is a problem with your host file, or your ISP. If the trace goes for several loops but never gets to our servers, a router might be down or denying routing. If the routing gets to our servers, check step 2.

Check the resource usage:

In Windows: login to Remote Desktop and open the Task Manager - there you should see the RAM and CPU usage as well as the network levels.
In Unix/Linux - login to ssh and run the 'top' command. Here is a reference on the load average: http://www.teamquest.com/resources/gunther/display/5/index.htm.
to check the netusage execute the 'netstat -s' command

Note: The statistics under the Plesk Control Panel are not dynamic and as precise, so use the ssh command 'top' (Unix/Linux) or the "task manager" (Windows) for the actual numbers.

If the resources are used on 100% for extended periods, the server might slow down drastically. If that is not the case, go to step 3.

Check the log files:

On Linux/Unix:

cat /var/log/httpd/error_log
cat /var/log/httpd/access_log
cat /var/log/messages
cat /var/log/boot.log

On Windows:

Go to Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer > and check:

System log: for hardware issues;
Application log: for software/configuration issues;
Access log: for unauthorized access attempts, unsolicited and SPAM message attempts.

How to speed up:

If the site was running fast before and no changes were made, but starts to work slow and the usage of the swap file and RAM is higher than usual, check the 'netstat-s' for inactive connections and sessions. To close them try restarting the used services:

through PLESK- go to Server > Service Management, and restart the service.
through SSH - either use service [the name of the service] - like 'httpd' for apache; 'proftpd' for FTP; or 'mysqld' for SQL. To restart all services on a machine with PLESK use the following commands: service psa stopall; service psa startall; service psa start;
through IIS - go to Start > All Programs > Administrative tools > Services, then right-click on IIS and click on Restart
as a final solution with a reboot:

under PLESK - go to Server and click on Reboot at the bottom
under SSH - do: 'sync; sync; sync; reboot'
under Windows - Go to Start, click on the 'Shut down' button an choose Restart.

This will usually fix the problem by clearing the swap file an closing the latent connections/sessions. If the problem persists, check with our Dedicated Customer Care department or your developers for further assistance.

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