Hosting resources and CloudLinux limits: CPU, RAM, processes, IO
PrintPeople often ask what "unlimited" really covers on shared hosting. On TopHost plans the answer is simple: monthly traffic, the number of domains and the number of mailboxes have no cap. What is capped is the capacity your account can use at any one moment: disk space, CPU, RAM, processes and disk speed. CloudLinux gives every account its own share of these on the shared server. You can follow all of it in cPanel under Metrics, then Resource Usage. This article explains what each figure means and what to do when you get close to a limit.
The plan families
- Web Hosting SSD (Standart, Classic, Proffi, Elite, Corporate, Enterprise): Nginx and Apache web server, Node.js and Python applications, Softaculous with about 450 scripts and CMSs.
- WordPress Hosting (WP Standard up to WP Ultra) and Business Hosting (Business Standard up to Business Performance): LiteSpeed web server with LiteSpeed Cache, WP Toolkit and automatic WordPress installation.
Every plan runs on NVMe SSD storage with cPanel, free SSL certificates, Imunify360 and daily backups. The exact space, CPU and memory figures for each plan are listed on the plans page at tophost.md when you order.
CloudLinux: your own resources on a shared server
Shared hosting means many websites on one machine. To stop a busy neighbour or a runaway script from dragging your site down, the servers run CloudLinux, an operating system built for exactly this kind of hosting. It splits the server into separate spaces called LVE (Lightweight Virtual Environment), and each account gets, inside its own space, the share of resources its plan provides. There is nothing for you to install or switch on; it is already working.
- Isolation. No account can eat into another's resources. A problem on someone else's site stays there, and your site cannot slow its neighbours down either.
- Your own PHP version. In Select PHP Version you choose the version and extensions your site needs, regardless of other accounts. The steps: PHP version selection.
- Node.js and Python apps. On plans that include them, the Setup Node.js App and Setup Python App tools in cPanel are part of CloudLinux as well.
What has a limit and what each limit means
| Figure | What it measures | What happens at the ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| Disk space | Website files, databases and e-mail, all counted together | Uploads fail and new e-mail can no longer be delivered |
| CPU | Processor power used by the account, as a percentage: 100% is one full core, 200% is two | Requests queue up and pages take noticeably longer to load |
| RAM (physical memory) | Memory taken by all of the account's processes, mostly PHP and the database; from 1 to 5 GB depending on the plan | A process asking for more is stopped and the visitor may get an error or a blank page |
| Entry processes (EP) | How many PHP requests are being served at the same moment | The next visitor sees "Resource Limit Is Reached" or a 503 error |
| Total processes (NPROC) | Every process the account runs: the website, cron jobs, SSH sessions | New scripts and commands simply do not start |
| IO and IOPS | IO: megabytes per second read and written; IOPS: separate disk operations per second | File work such as plugin backups, imports and unpacking archives slows down |
| Inodes | The number of files and folders in the account, e-mail included | If the plan has an inode limit and it is used up, no new files can be created |
No cap on
- monthly traffic;
- domains and subdomains;
- mailboxes.
Sending e-mail does follow some rules, though: up to 400 messages per hour per hosting account, messages up to 50 MB, and no more than 50 mailbox logins per hour. The full list is in Restrictions on the use of the mail service.
Checking your usage
- The right-hand column of the cPanel home page shows used disk space and current CPU, memory and process figures.
- Open Metrics, then Resource Usage. The first page tells you whether there were any issues recently. From the details you reach a graph for each limit, an hourly and daily history, and the moments when a ceiling was reached.
- Look at the Faults column, which counts how often the account ran into a limit. A handful of isolated cases a month is nothing to worry about. If you see dozens or hundreds, match the times of the peaks with what was happening on the site: a cron job, a plugin's backup run, a product import, a newsletter or sale, or a bot crawling the site. It is the fastest way to find the cause.
When a limit is reached
The server keeps running and so do the other sites. Nothing is deleted. Only your site slows down, or briefly shows "Resource Limit Is Reached" or a 503 error, until usage falls again. How to deal with that page: The Resource Limit Is Reached message explained. A full disk is the most disruptive case, as it stops uploads and incoming mail; see Disk space in cPanel: what uses it and how to free it safely.
TopHost monitors every account. If yours keeps using a lot of resources, we will get in touch. If usage gets so high that it can destabilise the server, the account may be suspended or the script responsible disabled without notice, as set out in the Terms and Conditions. Acting early saves trouble.
Getting close to the limits: what to do
First use Resource Usage to see which resource runs out, then optimise. That is often enough.
- Cache your pages. On WordPress Hosting and Business Hosting, turn on LiteSpeed Cache. On Web Hosting SSD (Nginx and Apache), use a caching plugin that works with that server.
- Swap wp-cron for a real cron job at a sensible interval, such as every 15 minutes, instead of running on every page view.
- Keep your CMS and plugins updated, and drop heavy or pointless ones: built-in statistics, overlapping security plugins, page builders you no longer use. For WordPress, updating is easiest from cPanel with WP Toolkit; the WordPress dashboard is the alternative. Other common sources of load: Reasons for creating a load on the server by website scripts.
- Rein in bots that hammer the site. How to spot them: Bot traffic: how to recognise and limit it.
- Run a recent PHP version that your site supports; newer versions are usually faster.
Still hitting the limits after all that? Then the site has simply outgrown its plan:
- move to a larger plan in the client area: Services, pick the plan, then Upgrade/Downgrade;
- for large projects or special applications, a VPS gives you dedicated resources;
- if you are not sure which plan fits, open a ticket with the site address and we will help you choose.
Frequently asked questions
Can another site on the server slow mine down?
Not by using up resources. CloudLinux keeps each account in its own space, so a crowded neighbour runs into its own limits, not yours. If your site is slow, look at your account's Resource Usage first.
Do 20 entry processes mean 20 visitors at once?
No. A process is only busy while a page is being built, often for well under a second. If a page takes 0.3 seconds, one process can serve several visitors every second, and with caching many requests never reach PHP at all. A well-tuned site therefore handles far more visitors than its process count suggests.
I see a few 503 errors a month. Do I need a bigger plan?
Not necessarily. A short peak, during a backup or a campaign for example, is usually solved with caching and by moving heavy tasks to a quiet hour. A bigger plan makes sense when the limits are reached every day even after optimisation.
Where do I find the exact limits of my plan?
On the plans page at tophost.md, and for your own account in cPanel under Resource Usage, where usage is shown next to the limits.
