VPS Performance Optimization: Advanced Techniques for UK Businesses 2024
Maximizing your VPS performance is crucial for business success in today's competitive digital landscape. This comprehensive guide covers advanced optimization techniques specifically tailored for UK businesses, helping you achieve superior speed, reliability, and efficiency from your virtual private server.
Understanding VPS Performance Fundamentals
Key Performance Metrics
Response Time Metrics
- TTFB (Time to First Byte): Server processing time
- Page Load Time: Complete page rendering duration
- API Response Time: Backend service performance
- Database Query Time: Data retrieval efficiency
Resource Utilization
- CPU Usage: Processor load and efficiency
- Memory Consumption: RAM allocation and usage
- Disk I/O: Storage read/write performance
- Network Bandwidth: Data transfer rates
Availability Metrics
- Uptime Percentage: Service availability
- Error Rates: Failed request frequency
- Concurrent Users: Simultaneous user capacity
- Throughput: Requests processed per second
Performance Bottlenecks Identification
Common Bottlenecks
- CPU Limitations: High processing demands
- Memory Constraints: Insufficient RAM allocation
- Storage Issues: Slow disk I/O operations
- Network Latency: Connectivity delays
- Database Performance: Query optimization needs
- Application Code: Inefficient programming
Server-Level Optimization Techniques
Operating System Optimization
Linux Kernel Tuning
Network Stack Optimization:
# Increase network buffer sizes
echo 'net.core.rmem_max = 134217728' >> /etc/sysctl.conf
echo 'net.core.wmem_max = 134217728' >> /etc/sysctl.conf
echo 'net.ipv4.tcp_rmem = 4096 65536 134217728' >> /etc/sysctl.conf
echo 'net.ipv4.tcp_wmem = 4096 65536 134217728' >> /etc/sysctl.conf
# Enable TCP window scaling
echo 'net.ipv4.tcp_window_scaling = 1' >> /etc/sysctl.conf
# Apply changes
sysctl -p
File System Optimization:
# Increase file descriptor limits
echo '* soft nofile 65536' >> /etc/security/limits.conf
echo '* hard nofile 65536' >> /etc/security/limits.conf
# Optimize file system mount options
# Add to /etc/fstab:
# /dev/vda1 / ext4 defaults,noatime,nodiratime 0 1
Memory Management:
# Optimize swap usage
echo 'vm.swappiness = 10' >> /etc/sysctl.conf
# Improve memory allocation
echo 'vm.dirty_ratio = 15' >> /etc/sysctl.conf
echo 'vm.dirty_background_ratio = 5' >> /etc/sysctl.conf
Process and Service Optimization
Systemd Service Tuning:
# Optimize systemd journal
echo 'SystemMaxUse=100M' >> /etc/systemd/journald.conf
echo 'MaxRetentionSec=1week' >> /etc/systemd/journald.conf
# Restart journald
systemctl restart systemd-journald
Cron Job Optimization:
# Schedule resource-intensive tasks during off-peak hours
# Example: Database maintenance at 2 AM
0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/db-maintenance.sh
# Use ionice for I/O intensive tasks
0 3 * * * ionice -c 3 /usr/local/bin/backup-script.sh
Web Server Optimization
Nginx Performance Tuning
Core Configuration:
# /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
user nginx;
worker_processes auto;
worker_rlimit_nofile 65535;
events {
worker_connections 4096;
use epoll;
multi_accept on;
}
http {
# Basic optimizations
sendfile on;
tcp_nopush on;
tcp_nodelay on;
keepalive_timeout 30;
keepalive_requests 1000;
# Gzip compression
gzip on;
gzip_vary on;
gzip_min_length 1024;
gzip_types
text/plain
text/css
text/xml
text/javascript
application/javascript
application/xml+rss
application/json;
# Buffer sizes
client_body_buffer_size 128k;
client_max_body_size 10m;
client_header_buffer_size 1k;
large_client_header_buffers 4 4k;
output_buffers 1 32k;
postpone_output 1460;
}
SSL/TLS Optimization:
# SSL configuration
ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
ssl_ciphers ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA512:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA512:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384;
ssl_prefer_server_ciphers off;
ssl_session_cache shared:SSL:10m;
ssl_session_timeout 10m;
ssl_session_tickets off;
# OCSP stapling
ssl_stapling on;
ssl_stapling_verify on;
Apache Performance Tuning
MPM Configuration:
# /etc/apache2/mods-available/mpm_prefork.conf
<IfModule mpm_prefork_module>
StartServers 8
MinSpareServers 5
MaxSpareServers 20
ServerLimit 256
MaxRequestWorkers 256
MaxConnectionsPerChild 10000
</IfModule>
Module Optimization:
# Disable unnecessary modules
a2dismod status
a2dismod info
a2dismod autoindex
# Enable performance modules
a2enmod expires
a2enmod headers
a2enmod deflate
a2enmod cache
a2enmod cache_disk
Database Optimization
MySQL/MariaDB Performance Tuning
Configuration Optimization:
# /etc/mysql/mysql.conf.d/mysqld.cnf
[mysqld]
# Memory settings
innodb_buffer_pool_size = 1G # 70-80% of available RAM
innodb_log_file_size = 256M
innodb_log_buffer_size = 16M
innodb_flush_log_at_trx_commit = 2
# Connection settings
max_connections = 200
max_connect_errors = 1000000
wait_timeout = 28800
interactive_timeout = 28800
# Query cache (MySQL 5.7 and earlier)
query_cache_type = 1
query_cache_size = 128M
query_cache_limit = 2M
# Temporary tables
tmp_table_size = 64M
max_heap_table_size = 64M
# MyISAM settings
key_buffer_size = 256M
read_buffer_size = 2M
read_rnd_buffer_size = 16M
sort_buffer_size = 8M
Index Optimization:
-- Identify missing indexes
SELECT
CONCAT(db,'.',tbl) as 'Table',
CONCAT(ROUND(read_pct,2),'%') as 'Reads',
CONCAT(ROUND(write_pct,2),'%') as 'Writes'
FROM (
SELECT db, tbl,
ROUND((SUM(sql_select)+SUM(sql_insert_select)+SUM(sql_update)+SUM(sql_delete))/(SUM(sql_select)+SUM(sql_insert)+SUM(sql_insert_select)+SUM(sql_update)+SUM(sql_delete)+SUM(sql_replace))*100,2) AS read_pct,
ROUND((SUM(sql_insert)+SUM(sql_update)+SUM(sql_delete)+SUM(sql_replace))/(SUM(sql_select)+SUM(sql_insert)+SUM(sql_insert_select)+SUM(sql_update)+SUM(sql_delete)+SUM(sql_replace))*100,2) AS write_pct
FROM mysql.table_stats GROUP BY db, tbl
) AS t ORDER BY read_pct DESC;
-- Add composite indexes for common queries
CREATE INDEX idx_user_status_created ON users (status, created_at);
CREATE INDEX idx_orders_customer_date ON orders (customer_id, order_date);
PostgreSQL Optimization
Configuration Tuning:
# /etc/postgresql/13/main/postgresql.conf
# Memory settings
shared_buffers = 256MB
effective_cache_size = 1GB
work_mem = 4MB
maintenance_work_mem = 64MB
# Checkpoint settings
checkpoint_completion_target = 0.9
wal_buffers = 16MB
default_statistics_target = 100
# Connection settings
max_connections = 200
Query Optimization:
-- Enable query statistics
CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS pg_stat_statements;
-- Identify slow queries
SELECT
query,
calls,
total_time,
mean_time,
rows
FROM pg_stat_statements
ORDER BY total_time DESC
LIMIT 10;
-- Analyze table statistics
ANALYZE;
-- Update table statistics
VACUUM ANALYZE;
Application-Level Optimization
Caching Strategies
Redis Implementation
Installation and Configuration:
# Install Redis
apt update && apt install redis-server
# Configure Redis
# /etc/redis/redis.conf
maxmemory 512mb
maxmemory-policy allkeys-lru
save 900 1
save 300 10
save 60 10000
Application Integration:
<?php
// PHP Redis example
$redis = new Redis();
$redis->connect('127.0.0.1', 6379);
// Cache database queries
function getCachedData($key, $callback, $ttl = 3600) {
global $redis;
$cached = $redis->get($key);
if ($cached !== false) {
return json_decode($cached, true);
}
$data = $callback();
$redis->setex($key, $ttl, json_encode($data));
return $data;
}
// Usage
$users = getCachedData('users:active', function() {
return Database::query('SELECT * FROM users WHERE active = 1');
}, 1800);
?>
Memcached Setup
# Install Memcached
apt install memcached php-memcached
# Configure Memcached
# /etc/memcached.conf
-m 256
-p 11211
-u memcache
-l 127.0.0.1
Content Delivery Network (CDN) Integration
CloudFlare Configuration
DNS Setup:
# Point domain to CloudFlare
# Update nameservers to:
# ns1.cloudflare.com
# ns2.cloudflare.com
Optimization Settings:
// CloudFlare Page Rules
// Rule 1: Cache everything for static assets
// Pattern: *.yourdomain.com/assets/*
// Settings: Cache Level = Cache Everything, Edge Cache TTL = 1 month
// Rule 2: Bypass cache for admin areas
// Pattern: *.yourdomain.com/admin/*
// Settings: Cache Level = Bypass
AWS CloudFront Setup
{
"DistributionConfig": {
"CallerReference": "uk-vps-cdn-2024",
"Origins": {
"Quantity": 1,
"Items": [
{
"Id": "uk-vps-origin",
"DomainName": "your-vps-ip.com",
"CustomOriginConfig": {
"HTTPPort": 80,
"HTTPSPort": 443,
"OriginProtocolPolicy": "https-only"
}
}
]
},
"DefaultCacheBehavior": {
"TargetOriginId": "uk-vps-origin",
"ViewerProtocolPolicy": "redirect-to-https",
"Compress": true,
"CachePolicyId": "managed-caching-optimized"
}
}
}
Code Optimization Techniques
PHP Performance
OPcache Configuration:
; /etc/php/8.1/fpm/conf.d/10-opcache.ini
opcache.enable=1
opcache.enable_cli=1
opcache.memory_consumption=256
opcache.interned_strings_buffer=16
opcache.max_accelerated_files=10000
opcache.revalidate_freq=2
opcache.fast_shutdown=1
opcache.validate_timestamps=0 ; Production only
PHP-FPM Tuning:
; /etc/php/8.1/fpm/pool.d/www.conf
[www]
user = www-data
group = www-data
listen = /run/php/php8.1-fpm.sock
listen.owner = www-data
listen.group = www-data
; Process management
pm = dynamic
pm.max_children = 50
pm.start_servers = 10
pm.min_spare_servers = 5
pm.max_spare_servers = 20
pm.max_requests = 1000
; Performance settings
request_terminate_timeout = 300
rlimit_files = 65536
rlimit_core = 0
Node.js Optimization
PM2 Configuration:
// ecosystem.config.js
module.exports = {
apps: [{
name: 'uk-app',
script: './app.js',
instances: 'max',
exec_mode: 'cluster',
env: {
NODE_ENV: 'production',
PORT: 3000
},
max_memory_restart: '1G',
node_args: '--max-old-space-size=1024',
log_date_format: 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm Z',
error_file: './logs/err.log',
out_file: './logs/out.log',
log_file: './logs/combined.log'
}]
};
Express.js Optimization:
const express = require('express');
const compression = require('compression');
const helmet = require('helmet');
const rateLimit = require('express-rate-limit');
const app = express();
// Security and compression
app.use(helmet());
app.use(compression());
// Rate limiting
const limiter = rateLimit({
windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000, // 15 minutes
max: 1000 // limit each IP to 1000 requests per windowMs
});
app.use(limiter);
// Static file caching
app.use(express.static('public', {
maxAge: '1d',
etag: true
}));
// Disable unnecessary headers
app.disable('x-powered-by');
Monitoring and Performance Analysis
System Monitoring Tools
Prometheus and Grafana Setup
Prometheus Configuration:
# /etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml
global:
scrape_interval: 15s
evaluation_interval: 15s
rule_files:
- "rules/*.yml"
scrape_configs:
- job_name: 'node-exporter'
static_configs:
- targets: ['localhost:9100']
- job_name: 'nginx-exporter'
static_configs:
- targets: ['localhost:9113']
- job_name: 'mysql-exporter'
static_configs:
- targets: ['localhost:9104']
Grafana Dashboard:
{
"dashboard": {
"title": "UK VPS Performance",
"panels": [
{
"title": "CPU Usage",
"type": "graph",
"targets": [
{
"expr": "100 - (avg by (instance) (rate(node_cpu_seconds_total{mode=\"idle\"}[5m])) * 100)",
"legendFormat": "CPU Usage %"
}
]
},
{
"title": "Memory Usage",
"type": "graph",
"targets": [
{
"expr": "(1 - (node_memory_MemAvailable_bytes / node_memory_MemTotal_bytes)) * 100",
"legendFormat": "Memory Usage %"
}
]
}
]
}
}
Custom Monitoring Scripts
Performance Monitoring Script:
#!/bin/bash
# /usr/local/bin/performance-monitor.sh
LOGFILE="/var/log/performance.log"
TIMESTAMP=$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')
# CPU Usage
CPU_USAGE=$(top -bn1 | grep "Cpu(s)" | awk '{print $2}' | awk -F'%' '{print $1}')
# Memory Usage
MEM_USAGE=$(free | grep Mem | awk '{printf "%.2f", $3/$2 * 100.0}')
# Disk Usage
DISK_USAGE=$(df -h / | awk 'NR==2 {print $5}' | sed 's/%//')
# Load Average
LOAD_AVG=$(uptime | awk -F'load average:' '{print $2}')
# Network Connections
NET_CONNECTIONS=$(netstat -an | wc -l)
# Log results
echo "$TIMESTAMP,CPU:$CPU_USAGE%,MEM:$MEM_USAGE%,DISK:$DISK_USAGE%,LOAD:$LOAD_AVG,CONN:$NET_CONNECTIONS" >> $LOGFILE
# Alert if thresholds exceeded
if (( $(echo "$CPU_USAGE > 80" | bc -l) )); then
echo "High CPU usage: $CPU_USAGE%" | mail -s "VPS Alert: High CPU" [email protected]
fi
if (( $(echo "$MEM_USAGE > 85" | bc -l) )); then
echo "High memory usage: $MEM_USAGE%" | mail -s "VPS Alert: High Memory" [email protected]
fi
Application Performance Monitoring
New Relic Integration
<?php
// PHP New Relic integration
if (extension_loaded('newrelic')) {
newrelic_set_appname('UK VPS Application');
// Custom metrics
newrelic_custom_metric('Custom/Database/QueryTime', $query_time);
newrelic_custom_metric('Custom/Cache/HitRate', $cache_hit_rate);
// Transaction naming
newrelic_name_transaction('user/profile/view');
}
?>
Custom Performance Logging
// Node.js performance logging
const performanceLogger = {
logRequest: (req, res, next) => {
const start = Date.now();
res.on('finish', () => {
const duration = Date.now() - start;
const logData = {
timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
method: req.method,
url: req.url,
statusCode: res.statusCode,
duration: duration,
userAgent: req.get('User-Agent'),
ip: req.ip
};
console.log(JSON.stringify(logData));
// Alert on slow requests
if (duration > 5000) {
console.error(`Slow request detected: ${req.url} took ${duration}ms`);
}
});
next();
}
};
app.use(performanceLogger.logRequest);
Security Optimization
Firewall Configuration
UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) Setup
# Enable UFW
ufw enable
# Default policies
ufw default deny incoming
ufw default allow outgoing
# Allow essential services
ufw allow ssh
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp
# Rate limiting for SSH
ufw limit ssh
# Allow specific IP ranges (UK ISPs)
ufw allow from 81.0.0.0/8 to any port 22
ufw allow from 86.0.0.0/8 to any port 22
# Block common attack vectors
ufw deny from 192.168.0.0/16
ufw deny from 10.0.0.0/8
ufw deny from 172.16.0.0/12
Fail2Ban Configuration
# /etc/fail2ban/jail.local
[DEFAULT]
bantime = 3600
findtime = 600
maxretry = 3
ignoreip = 127.0.0.1/8 ::1
[sshd]
enabled = true
port = ssh
logpath = /var/log/auth.log
maxretry = 3
bantime = 3600
[nginx-http-auth]
enabled = true
filter = nginx-http-auth
logpath = /var/log/nginx/error.log
maxretry = 3
bantime = 3600
[nginx-limit-req]
enabled = true
filter = nginx-limit-req
logpath = /var/log/nginx/error.log
maxretry = 10
bantime = 600
SSL/TLS Optimization
Let's Encrypt with Certbot
# Install Certbot
apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
# Obtain SSL certificate
certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com
# Auto-renewal setup
echo "0 12 * * * /usr/bin/certbot renew --quiet" | crontab -
SSL Configuration Optimization
# Strong SSL configuration
ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
ssl_ciphers ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA512:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA512:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA384;
ssl_prefer_server_ciphers off;
ssl_session_cache shared:SSL:10m;
ssl_session_timeout 10m;
ssl_session_tickets off;
# HSTS
add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=63072000; includeSubDomains; preload";
# OCSP stapling
ssl_stapling on;
ssl_stapling_verify on;
resolver 8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4 valid=300s;
resolver_timeout 5s;
Backup and Disaster Recovery
Automated Backup Solutions
Database Backup Script
#!/bin/bash
# /usr/local/bin/db-backup.sh
BACKUP_DIR="/var/backups/mysql"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
RETENTION_DAYS=7
# Create backup directory
mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR
# MySQL backup
mysqldump --all-databases --single-transaction --routines --triggers > $BACKUP_DIR/mysql_backup_$DATE.sql
# Compress backup
gzip $BACKUP_DIR/mysql_backup_$DATE.sql
# Upload to cloud storage (AWS S3)
aws s3 cp $BACKUP_DIR/mysql_backup_$DATE.sql.gz s3://your-backup-bucket/mysql/
# Clean old backups
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "mysql_backup_*.sql.gz" -mtime +$RETENTION_DAYS -delete
# Log backup completion
echo "$(date): MySQL backup completed - mysql_backup_$DATE.sql.gz" >> /var/log/backup.log
File System Backup
#!/bin/bash
# /usr/local/bin/file-backup.sh
SOURCE_DIR="/var/www"
BACKUP_DIR="/var/backups/files"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
EXCLUDE_FILE="/etc/backup-exclude.txt"
# Create exclude file
cat > $EXCLUDE_FILE << EOF
*.log
*.tmp
/var/www/*/cache/*
/var/www/*/tmp/*
/var/www/*/uploads/temp/*
EOF
# Create incremental backup using rsync
rsync -av --delete --exclude-from=$EXCLUDE_FILE $SOURCE_DIR/ $BACKUP_DIR/current/
# Create dated snapshot
cp -al $BACKUP_DIR/current $BACKUP_DIR/snapshot_$DATE
# Upload to cloud storage
tar -czf - -C $BACKUP_DIR snapshot_$DATE | aws s3 cp - s3://your-backup-bucket/files/snapshot_$DATE.tar.gz
# Clean old snapshots
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "snapshot_*" -mtime +7 -exec rm -rf {} \;
echo "$(date): File backup completed - snapshot_$DATE" >> /var/log/backup.log
Performance Testing and Benchmarking
Load Testing Tools
Apache Bench (ab) Testing
# Basic load test
ab -n 1000 -c 10 http://yourdomain.com/
# POST request testing
ab -n 100 -c 5 -p post_data.txt -T application/x-www-form-urlencoded http://yourdomain.com/api/endpoint
# SSL testing
ab -n 500 -c 5 https://yourdomain.com/
wrk Load Testing
# Install wrk
git clone https://github.com/wg/wrk.git
cd wrk
make
sudo cp wrk /usr/local/bin/
# Basic test
wrk -t12 -c400 -d30s http://yourdomain.com/
# Custom script testing
wrk -t12 -c400 -d30s -s script.lua http://yourdomain.com/
Custom wrk Script:
-- script.lua
wrk.method = "POST"
wrk.body = '{"key": "value"}'
wrk.headers["Content-Type"] = "application/json"
function response(status, headers, body)
if status ~= 200 then
print("Error: " .. status)
end
end
Database Performance Testing
MySQL Benchmark
# sysbench installation
apt install sysbench
# Prepare test database
sysbench oltp_read_write --table-size=100000 --mysql-db=testdb --mysql-user=testuser --mysql-password=testpass prepare
# Run benchmark
sysbench oltp_read_write --table-size=100000 --mysql-db=testdb --mysql-user=testuser --mysql-password=testpass --time=60 --threads=8 run
# Cleanup
sysbench oltp_read_write --mysql-db=testdb --mysql-user=testuser --mysql-password=testpass cleanup
UK-Specific Optimization Considerations
Geographic Optimization
UK ISP Optimization
# Optimize for major UK ISPs
# BT, Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, Plusnet
# DNS optimization for UK users
echo "nameserver 1.1.1.1" > /etc/resolv.conf
echo "nameserver 8.8.8.8" >> /etc/resolv.conf
echo "nameserver 208.67.222.222" >> /etc/resolv.conf
Time Zone Configuration
# Set UK timezone
timedatectl set-timezone Europe/London
# Verify timezone
timedatectl status
# Configure NTP for UK servers
echo "server 0.uk.pool.ntp.org" >> /etc/ntp.conf
echo "server 1.uk.pool.ntp.org" >> /etc/ntp.conf
echo "server 2.uk.pool.ntp.org" >> /etc/ntp.conf
Compliance and Regulatory Optimization
GDPR Compliance Performance
<?php
// Efficient GDPR data handling
class GDPROptimizer {
private $redis;
public function __construct() {
$this->redis = new Redis();
$this->redis->connect('127.0.0.1', 6379);
}
// Cache consent status
public function getCachedConsent($userId) {
$key = "gdpr:consent:" . $userId;
$cached = $this->redis->get($key);
if ($cached === false) {
$consent = $this->fetchConsentFromDB($userId);
$this->redis->setex($key, 3600, json_encode($consent));
return $consent;
}
return json_decode($cached, true);
}
// Efficient data deletion
public function deleteUserData($userId) {
// Use database transactions for consistency
$this->db->beginTransaction();
try {
// Delete from multiple tables efficiently
$this->db->exec("DELETE FROM user_data WHERE user_id = ?", [$userId]);
$this->db->exec("DELETE FROM user_logs WHERE user_id = ?", [$userId]);
$this->db->exec("DELETE FROM user_sessions WHERE user_id = ?", [$userId]);
// Clear cache
$this->redis->del("gdpr:consent:" . $userId);
$this->redis->del("user:data:" . $userId);
$this->db->commit();
return true;
} catch (Exception $e) {
$this->db->rollback();
throw $e;
}
}
}
?>
Troubleshooting Common Performance Issues
High CPU Usage
Diagnosis Commands
# Identify CPU-intensive processes
top -o %CPU
htop
# Check CPU usage by process
ps aux --sort=-%cpu | head -10
# Monitor CPU usage over time
sar -u 1 10
# Check for CPU throttling
dmesg | grep -i "cpu clock throttled"
Solutions
# Optimize process priorities
nice -n 19 cpu-intensive-command
renice 19 -p PID
# Limit CPU usage with cpulimit
cpulimit -l 50 -p PID
# Use systemd to limit service resources
# /etc/systemd/system/myservice.service.d/override.conf
[Service]
CPUQuota=50%
MemoryLimit=512M
Memory Issues
Memory Analysis
# Check memory usage
free -h
cat /proc/meminfo
# Identify memory-hungry processes
ps aux --sort=-%mem | head -10
# Check for memory leaks
valgrind --tool=memcheck --leak-check=full ./your-application
# Monitor memory usage
sar -r 1 10
Memory Optimization
# Clear system caches (use carefully)
echo 1 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches # Page cache
echo 2 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches # Dentries and inodes
echo 3 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches # All caches
# Optimize swap usage
sysctl vm.swappiness=10
# Configure OOM killer
echo -1000 > /proc/PID/oom_score_adj # Protect important processes
Disk I/O Bottlenecks
I/O Monitoring
# Monitor disk I/O
iostat -x 1 10
iotop
# Check disk usage
df -h
du -sh /*
# Find large files
find / -type f -size +100M 2>/dev/null
# Monitor file system performance
sar -d 1 10
I/O Optimization
# Optimize mount options
# /etc/fstab
/dev/vda1 / ext4 defaults,noatime,nodiratime,commit=60 0 1
# Use ionice for I/O scheduling
ionice -c 3 -p PID # Idle class
ionice -c 1 -n 4 -p PID # Real-time class
# Configure I/O scheduler
echo deadline > /sys/block/vda/queue/scheduler
Conclusion
Optimizing VPS performance requires a comprehensive approach covering server configuration, application tuning, monitoring, and ongoing maintenance. For UK businesses, additional considerations around data sovereignty, compliance, and local user experience make performance optimization even more critical.
Key Performance Optimization Strategies:
✅ System-Level Tuning: Optimize OS, web server, and database configurations ✅ Application Optimization: Implement caching, CDN, and code improvements ✅ Monitoring and Analysis: Use comprehensive monitoring tools and metrics ✅ Security Integration: Balance security with performance requirements ✅ UK-Specific Considerations: Optimize for local users and compliance ✅ Continuous Improvement: Regular testing, monitoring, and optimization
Remember that performance optimization is an ongoing process. Regular monitoring, testing, and adjustment ensure your VPS continues to deliver optimal performance as your business grows and requirements evolve.
Ready to optimize your VPS performance? UKNode's managed VPS solutions include performance optimization as standard, with UK-based experts who understand the specific requirements of British businesses. Our team can help you implement these advanced techniques and maintain peak performance.
Need help optimizing your VPS performance? Our UK-based performance specialists can audit your current setup and implement custom optimization strategies. Contact us at [email protected] for a comprehensive performance assessment.
