A website hosting server is the brain of your application. It handles all the crucial aspects of your application/website. Keeping this in mind you should always closely keep an eye out for any anomaly arising and react to it to keep your website/application running and to avoid situations mentioned at the start. We've compiled a list of necessary server performance monitoring parameters that will help you have a better idea about the performance and health. Following are basic metrics you should monitor using a server monitoring software.
1. Central Processing Unit of Server
The brain of the server hardware is the CPU i.e Central Processing Unit. The CPU is that part of the system which carries out the instructions programmed in an application which is to be run by the server. It manages this by carrying out primary mathematical operations like division, multiplication, addition etc along with other arithmetical operations. If you find your CPU at 100% operation level for several hours than that is a negative point. Depending upon the reason that is causing this spike you should react and try to keep the operation level below 75%.
2. Random Access Memory of Server
Random access memory is a type of data storage chip. A server loads frequently required information in the RAM to improve its speed hence improving the overall speed of the application. RAM is flash technology based device. Adding another RAM is a useful way to increase the performance of the server.
3. Disk of Server
The part of the server hardware that is used to store all the date is called hard disk. It consists of several magnetically charged discs that rotate and have magnetic heads arranged strategically to access the data stored. It is a permanent data storage device and the data is not deleted unless you decide to consciously delete it. Server uses hard disk to temporary store data called as Cache. Low amount of free space available to the server is one of the main reason that causes file fragmentation which affects server performance.
4. Performance issues and hardware faults.
Lastly, these are the hardware components of a server system that you should also monitor to have normal running system.
a). FAN - Moving parts in a server heat up the system due to a phenomenon called eddy currents. Heating of the system above a certain level can damage the system. A fan is provided at pre-determined locations which helps cool down the system by circulating fresh air. RPM i.e. rounds per minute of fan is a parameter that you should always look out for. You should also monitor overall log of fan RPM to prevent a major issue.
b). PSU - Power supply unit, as the name suggests is the system that converts Alternating Current to low-voltage regulated Direct Current for several inner components of the server. Globally, SMPS i.e Switch Mode Power Supply is used. You need to monitor the voltage and amperage to prevent system damage.
c). Temperature - Temperature of the motherboard and overall system is another factor that can cause irreversible damage or it can badly affect your server's performance.
d). Environmental and miscellaneous Components - Other smaller but important factors that you should monitor is the humidity level of the air surrounding the server. Other components to be monitored are Chassis Intrusion Detection, CMOS Battery and Disk Array health.
Conclusion - Optimal server health status and tools used to monitor the performance of the server provide you with complete picture of the server farm. By collecting data from server monitoring tools you can compile a report on the server capacity to achieve higher efficiency.
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