CPU usage in a VM is over 100%

cpu-usageubuntu-16.04

I have installed an Ubuntu server 16.04 in a VM from vultr (my plan is 2 CPU, 4GB RAM) and I noticed today in the admin panel that the CPU usage the last month is over 100% (currently is in 103%).

In the server a web server is deployed (Apache) and some small WordPress sites are hosted.

How is possible to use over 100% than you have? Is this a sign that I should upgrade to a higher plan with more resources?

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Best Answer

If you should be worried or not depends on what the data represents. If it's per cpu then you have a "100%" for every cpu. Say, if the server it's a quad processor you could have a total load of 400%.

That said, it's possible to have an overload or spikes because the processes are putted on queue. Here you ave a simple but good reading

http://blog.scoutapp.com/articles/2009/07/31/understanding-load-averages

A single-core CPU is like a single lane of traffic. Imagine you are a bridge operator ... sometimes your bridge is so busy there are cars lined up to cross. You want to let folks know how traffic is moving on your bridge. A decent metric would be how many cars are waiting at a particular time. If no cars are waiting, incoming drivers know they can drive across right away. If cars are backed up, drivers know they're in for delays.

Before upgrading i would check top and optimize apache and php processes.

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