If you can't connect to your server via SSH or your website is down, follow this step-by-step guide to diagnose and fix the issue.
Step 1: Check Server Status in your dashboard
Log in to your bithost server dashboard and check:
- Is the server running? If it shows "stopped" or "offline", start it.
Step 2: Ping the Server
From your local machine:
ping YOUR_SERVER_IP
- If ping responds - the server is online but a specific service (SSH, Nginx) may be down
- If ping times out - the server may be offline, crashed, or the firewall is blocking ICMP
Step 3: Check if SSH Is Running
From the web console:
systemctl status sshd
If it's stopped:
systemctl start sshd
If SSH is running but you still can't connect from outside, check the firewall:
ufw status
Make sure port 22 (or your custom SSH port) is allowed.
Step 4: Check if Your Website/App Is Running
For Nginx:
systemctl status nginx
If stopped:
systemctl start nginx
Check for config errors:
nginx -t
For other services (MySQL, your app, etc.):
systemctl status mysql
systemctl status your-app-name
Step 5: Check System Resources
A server often becomes unresponsive when it runs out of RAM or disk space:
# RAM and swap
free -h
# Disk space
df -h
# CPU load
uptime
Out of Disk Space
If disk is 100% full, the server may be unresponsive. Free up space:
# Find and clear large log files
du -sh /var/log/*
truncate -s 0 /var/log/syslog
# Remove old packages
apt autoremove -y
apt clean
Out of Memory
Check for OOM (out of memory) kills in the logs:
dmesg | grep -i "oom"
journalctl -k | grep -i "killed process"
If a process was killed, restart it and consider upgrading your RAM.
Step 6: Reboot the Server
If you can't identify the issue, a reboot often resolves it:
From your bithost server dashboard: Use the Restart button.
Wait 1–2 minutes, then try connecting again.
Step 7: Check the System Logs
After restoring access, review logs to find the root cause:
journalctl -xe --since "1 hour ago"
cat /var/log/syslog | tail -100
Common Causes and Fixes
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Ping fails, console works | Firewall blocking traffic | Open required ports in UFW |
| SSH refuses connection | SSHD stopped or port blocked | Restart SSHD, check firewall |
| Website down but SSH works | Nginx/app crashed | Restart Nginx, check error logs |
| Server unresponsive entirely | OOM, disk full, kernel panic | Reboot via control panel, check logs |
| "Too many authentication failures" | Too many SSH key attempts | Add IdentitiesOnly yes to SSH config |
Prevention
- Enable automated backups - restore quickly if all else fails
- Set up uptime monitoring (e.g. UptimeRobot) to be alerted immediately
- Configure log rotation to prevent logs from filling your disk
- Keep server software up to date to avoid crashes from known bugs
Questions? Email us at [email protected] - we reply in under 2 hours, 7 days a week.