# Monitoring resource limits in cPanel

> Check the Resource Usage tool in cPanel to see when your account hit CPU, memory or process limits and what caused it.

Source: https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/cpanel/logs-and-statistics/monitoring-resource-limits-in-cpanel/

Shared hosting accounts use **CloudLinux** to monitor and regulate resource usage. This ensures fair distribution of server resources and helps maintain stability. cPanel provides tools to view when your account has hit resource limits and what processes caused it.

## Why Monitor Resource Limits?

- Detect when your site is consuming too much CPU, memory, or I/O.
- Identify problematic scripts or database queries.
- Prevent downtime caused by exceeding limits.
- Optimize performance and avoid account suspension.

## Steps to Monitor Resource Limits

1. **Log in to cPanel.**
2. On the **Tools page → Metrics section**, click **Resource Usage**.
3. cPanel displays a summary:

   - **No issues in the past 24 hours** → Your account did not trigger limits.
   - **Your site has been limited** → At least one resource limit was triggered.
   - **Your site might hit limits soon** → Warning that usage is approaching thresholds.
4. Click **Details** or the **Current Usage tab** to view graphs and tables.

   - Adjust **Timeframe** and **Time Unit** to analyze different intervals.
   - Use the **Snapshot tab** to view specific times when limits were exceeded.

## Example Snapshot

- **Process List tab** shows:

  - **PID** → Process ID.
  - **CMD** → Command executed.
  - **CPU** → CPU usage percentage.
  - **MEM** → Memory usage in MB.
- Example:

  ```
  bad_script.php exceeded CPU capacity twice (102% and 101%)
  ```
- This helps pinpoint inefficient scripts or queries.

> **Important Notes:**
- CloudLinux checks processes every minute (not every second). Short spikes may be missed.
- Database and HTTP queries can also trigger limits, check the **Database Queries** and **HTTP Queries** tabs.
- Managed VPS and Dedicated Server accounts do not use CloudLinux resource limits.