I'm trying to set up a web server EC2 instance, but I'm running into a frustrating issue. I initially created a working EC2 instance using the AlmaLinux AMI, which serves as an SSH client for another EC2 instance in the same VPC. I set it up with a user data script to install the necessary packages and configurations. While the first instance runs great, the second web server instance fails after several hours, with instance status checks failing and the website going down. I made sure to create an AMI of the first instance and used another user data script for the second instance, but it only works temporarily. The web server instance is a t3.medium with 4GB RAM, and I really don't understand why it fails if it was working fine initially. I'm looking for ways to stop this web server instance from breaking down over time and would appreciate any insights you might have!
5 Answers
It could also be an issue with CPU balance or memory exhaustion. Consider switching to a different instance type to see if that resolves the issues. Sometimes just a slightly larger instance can make a huge difference in performance.
You might want to look into swap space. By default, EC2 instances don’t have swap, which can lead to issues with applications exhausting RAM. I’ve seen NextJS apps run into this problem where they end up halting due to memory exhaustion. Adding a swap file might help.
My bet is on memory leakage. Something in your web server setup might be holding on to memory. There are various tools available for monitoring memory use over time in Linux. Keep an eye on that, as it can be a sneaky way for an instance to eventually crash.
It sounds like you might be running out of CPU credits on the t3 instance. Once you use up your credits, performance can drop, causing your server to freeze. Check the metrics to see your CPU usage, and if you’re frequently hitting the ceiling, you might need to upscale your instance or manage your workload better.
Check your Linux logs to see if there’s any indication of a memory leak. It’s common for applications to consume RAM without releasing it, especially on low-memory instances. CloudWatch metrics could also help you keep an eye on CPU usage, CPU credits, and network bandwidth.
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