How can I limit CPU usage on my Linode?
Linode
Linode Staff
I have a process that's using a lot of CPU, and would like to limit that. How can I do it?
1 Reply
tommydavidson
Linode Staff
You can manually limit CPU usage of a process with cpulimit:
# For Debian/Ubuntu-based systems:
apt-get install cpulimit
# For Redhat-based systems:
yum install epel-release
yum install cpulimit
# Limit usage of a process to 80% based on PID, executable filename, or
# absolute path:
cpulimit --pid=$PID --limit=80
cpulimit --exe=$EXECTUABLE_FILENAME --limit=80
cpulimit --path=/path/to/process_to_limit
If limiting a process using its PID, you can find that using top or ps:
# Using top:
top
# Using ps
# Either of these commands is valid. The second command will capture
# the PID you're looking for in a variable called `$PID`
ps aux | grep $PROCESSNAME | head -n1
PID=$(ps aux | awk '/$PROCESS_NAME/{print $2}' | head -n1)
This article from TecMint gives a bit more information about cpulimit and how to use it.