Help a hobbyist: How do I diagnose "Out of memory: Killed process" freezes?

Our Neighbors CentOS
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Background: During covid lockdown, in a fit of hyperfixation, I learned Linux and built a CentOS web server all in one go. I since had to return to my day job, but I periodically add new websites to my server, and I love having the freedom and control to run my own instance. (It’s running on a VPS on Vultr, if that matters.)

Periodically, maybe a couple times a day? I get a string of errors that say " Out of memory: Killed process ####" and my server freezes.

Not generally a big deal, since I am running a bunch of websites for myself (my band, my writing), none of them are paying clients, none of them get very much traffic — all hobbyist stuff. I usually just reset the server from the Vultr page and that’s that.

My question is: How do I diagnose what causes this? If it’s just a matter of needing more memory, I will upgrade my VPS. But if it’s a bug somewhere, or an error in my setup, I’d rather fix it than resort to “throwing money at it.”

I don’t want someone to step in and fix it for me, I want to learn how to do it myself. But I have googled around a little about this without finding any step-by-step instructions.

Screenshot attached…

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

Screenshot 2024-12-05 at 4.43.29 PM
Screenshot 2024-12-05 at 4.43.29 PM1592×728 160 KB

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Please post text as pre-formatted text not screen shots, using the </> button.

You can see that mysqld is being killed. That is because it used lots of memory.

Your server needs more memory to run the work load you put on it I assume. Or maybe you need to tune mysqld to use less memory.

My guess is you have been adding web services without increasing the resources of your VM.

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Sorry for the screenshot faux pas! Will post code next time.

This is very helpful and gave me exactly what I need to move forward (i.e., 1: upgrade RAM, 2: tune mysqld, or 3: a combination of both).

A quick Google search tells me that disabling MySQL Performance Schema can solve the problem outright, so I’m going to try there and see if it persists.

Thanks so much!

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Fyi there is a solution button on each reply you can use instead of editing the title. It is the :ballot_box_with_check: like icon.

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Whoo boy, I’m rusty at using the forums. Thanks, and apologies again for any faux pas.

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Go on then tick the reply with the solution :slight_smile: