HOSTDOG shared hosting runs on CloudLinux, which assigns dedicated resource limits to every account. This guide explains how to check your resource usage — CPU, physical memory, I/O throughput, entry processes, and disk space — so you can spot bottlenecks and take action before they affect your site.
What you will need
- An active HOSTDOG shared hosting account
- Access to your hosting control panel (how to log in)
Understanding the resource metrics
Before diving into the control panel, here is what each metric means:
| Metric | What it measures | Impact when exceeded |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Processing power used by your scripts and applications | Pages load slowly or return 508/503 errors |
| Physical memory (RAM) | Memory consumed by PHP processes, databases, etc. | Scripts crash or processes are killed |
| I/O throughput | Speed at which your account reads/writes to disk | File operations and database queries slow down |
| Entry processes | Number of simultaneous connections your account handles | New visitors see 503 errors until a slot opens |
| Disk usage | Total storage consumed by files, databases, and email | Cannot upload files, receive email, or create backups |
Check resource usage in your control panel
Navigate to the HOSTDOG homepage and click the Log in button in the top-right corner. From your client area, go to your hosting service and click Login to Control Panel.
Look for Resource Usage (or CPU and Concurrent Connection Usage) in the Metrics section of your control panel. This page shows graphs of your account's resource consumption over the past 24 hours, 7 days, and 30 days.
Each graph shows your actual usage (coloured line) against your plan limit (horizontal line at the top). Key things to look for:
- Spikes touching the limit line — temporary high usage, often caused by traffic bursts, cron jobs, or crawlers.
- Sustained high usage (80%+) — your site is regularly approaching its limits and may need optimisation or a plan upgrade.
- Faults count — the number of times your account hit the limit and was throttled. Frequent faults indicate a persistent resource problem.
Check disk space usage
Disk usage is displayed on the main control panel dashboard (usually in the right-hand sidebar or statistics section). It shows:
- Total disk space used vs. your plan limit
- Number of MySQL databases and email accounts
- Bandwidth consumed in the current billing period
To see which directories or files consume the most space, open Disk Usage in the Files section. This breaks down storage consumption by folder, helping you identify large backup files, log files, or unused data that can be cleaned up.
What to do if usage is high
- High CPU — deactivate unused plugins, enable caching, update to a newer PHP version. See What to do if your website is slow.
- High memory — reduce the number of simultaneous PHP processes. Heavy WordPress plugins and e-commerce sites are common culprits.
- High I/O — optimise database queries, reduce disk-intensive cron jobs, and use application-level caching.
- High entry processes — enable page caching so static HTML is served instead of executing PHP for every request.
- Disk full — delete old backups, clear log files, empty email trash folders, and remove unused files.
If optimisation is not enough, consider upgrading your hosting plan for higher resource limits. For more about how limits work, see Understanding CloudLinux resource limits (LVE).