Have you ever had your VPS go down unexpectedly and felt stressed? I know I have! It’s such a terrifying feeling to see your website down all of the sudden. But don't worry, there are some simple things you can do.
Keep Calm and Check
The first thing I do is to keep calm. Panicking won’t make the situation any better.
• Check server status – Check your VPS providers status page.
• Ping your server – Check to see if your server is responding.
• Consider any recent changes - Did you install a plugin, or recently update a plugin? That may be the source of the issue.
Have Backups at the Ready
Do you hope that nothing breaks in your application? That's risky. Always have backups.
• Automatic backups – Many VPS providers provide this option.
• Another copy - Store a backup outside of your server.
• Test your backups - Make sure they actually function.
Once I restored my blog from a backup which took 15 minutes. Huge relief!
Letting People Know What's Happening
If you have users on your site, you need to tell them.
• Social media updates – They are quick and easy.
• Email alerts – These are good for paid users.
• Status page – It informs users, while minimizing the number of messages from you.
Fixing the Problem, Step-by-Step
Do not try random things, this will make things worse. Relaying on the service above, I follow these steps:
1. Check server logs – Server logs can tell you what went wrong.
2. Restart services – Sometimes a simple reboot is all you need.
3. Contact support – If you can't figure it out, contact your provider.
Some problems seem daunting, but are actually simple to fix. This is why a step-by-step process works best.
Learn from the Outage
After your VPS is back, figure out what caused it.
It's stressful to have a VPS failure, but you can handle it, and you'll undoubtedly get through it just fine. Settle down, keep backups, communicate with users, and fix the problem methodically. You learn something from every VPS failure, and you will be better prepared for the next one and maybe even smile when you fix it!
Keep Calm and Check
The first thing I do is to keep calm. Panicking won’t make the situation any better.
• Check server status – Check your VPS providers status page.
• Ping your server – Check to see if your server is responding.
• Consider any recent changes - Did you install a plugin, or recently update a plugin? That may be the source of the issue.
Have Backups at the Ready
Do you hope that nothing breaks in your application? That's risky. Always have backups.
• Automatic backups – Many VPS providers provide this option.
• Another copy - Store a backup outside of your server.
• Test your backups - Make sure they actually function.
Once I restored my blog from a backup which took 15 minutes. Huge relief!
Letting People Know What's Happening
If you have users on your site, you need to tell them.
• Social media updates – They are quick and easy.
• Email alerts – These are good for paid users.
• Status page – It informs users, while minimizing the number of messages from you.
Fixing the Problem, Step-by-Step
Do not try random things, this will make things worse. Relaying on the service above, I follow these steps:
1. Check server logs – Server logs can tell you what went wrong.
2. Restart services – Sometimes a simple reboot is all you need.
3. Contact support – If you can't figure it out, contact your provider.
Some problems seem daunting, but are actually simple to fix. This is why a step-by-step process works best.
Learn from the Outage
After your VPS is back, figure out what caused it.
- Find the reason – Was it an update, traffic spike, or attack?
- Make improvements – Add security or monitoring tools.
- Write it down – Next time, you’ll fix it faster.
It's stressful to have a VPS failure, but you can handle it, and you'll undoubtedly get through it just fine. Settle down, keep backups, communicate with users, and fix the problem methodically. You learn something from every VPS failure, and you will be better prepared for the next one and maybe even smile when you fix it!