Plesk Server Configurations for High Traffic Sites

Introduction

High traffic websites can enhance their performance through proper server configurations. In this article, we will explore server optimization and troubleshooting methods using the Plesk control panel.

Step 1: Diagnosing the Issue

Server performance under high traffic can often lead to issues. Therefore, it is crucial to check the server status first. Use the following commands to analyze your server's performance:

• top: Displays real-time process status and CPU usage.
• htop: A more advanced process viewer. (Installation: sudo apt install htop)
• dmesg: Check kernel messages to identify hardware issues.

Example output from top:

PID USER PR NI VIRT RES SHR S %CPU %MEM TIME+ COMMAND
1234 www-data 20 0 123456 7890 4321 S 0.5 0.1 0:00.10 apache2

Step 2: Optimizing Server Resources

To optimize server resources, review your web server and database settings.

Apache Settings

Edit the /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf file:

MaxRequestWorkers 150
KeepAlive On
KeepAliveTimeout 5

MySQL Settings

Edit the /etc/mysql/my.cnf file:

innodb_buffer_pool_size = 1G
query_cache_size = 64M
max_connections = 200

Step 3: Restarting Services

To apply the changes, you need to restart the relevant services:

• sudo systemctl restart httpd - Restart the Apache server.
• sudo systemctl restart mysql - Restart the MySQL database.

Conclusion

Optimizing server configurations using Plesk for high traffic sites is crucial for enhancing performance. By following the steps outlined above, you can increase your server's efficiency and minimize downtime.