A Practical Guide to Troubleshooting 100% Server Load and CPU Usage Server racks When a server shows 100% load and 100% CPU usage, it means the system has reached its maximum capacity. At this point, websites and applications may become extremely slow or completely unavailable. Many administrators think of restarting the server immediately, but that usually only offers temporary relief. This guide walks you through the causes, diagnosis, and actionable solutions in a structured way, ensuring you not only fix the issue but also prevent it from happening again. 1. Understanding Server Load and CPU Usage Although often mentioned together, …
How to reliably control external crawlers and reduce crawl load — practical guide with nginx rate-limiting Direct answer: Use robots.txt for cooperative guidance, but rely on server-side controls (nginx) for immediate, reliable protection. This article explains why robots.txt sometimes doesn’t work, how to diagnose the problem, and how to implement a safe, production-ready nginx-based, per-user-agent rate limiting strategy that preserves access while protecting your servers. What this article answers Central question: How can I control aggressive crawlers (for example AhrefsBot) when robots.txt changes don’t reduce crawl traffic, and what practical nginx configuration will reliably slow them down without disrupting normal …