Temporary spikes vs sustained high usage

Not all high-usage moments are equal. Understanding the difference between a temporary spike and sustained high usage tells you whether to relax or take action.

Temporary spikes are brief bursts of high usage that drop straight back to normal. They are completely normal and happen constantly on a healthy site - every time a page is built, an order is placed or a scheduled task runs. Even a spike that briefly touches your limit is usually harmless, because DirhamGuard simply holds you at the ceiling for a moment and then everything continues. If your graph shows tall, thin spikes with plenty of low activity in between, there is nothing to worry about.

Sustained high usage is different. This is when your usage sits at or near the ceiling for long stretches - minutes or hours rather than seconds. This is what actually makes a site feel slow, because requests are being capped continuously rather than momentarily. On the graph it looks like a long flat top rather than a sharp spike.

The rule of thumb:

• Sharp, short spikes - ignore them; they are the system working normally.
• Long, flat plateaus at the limit - investigate. Look for the cause (traffic growth, bots, a heavy plugin, an uncached shop) and then optimise or upgrade.

If you are not sure which pattern you are looking at, our UAE-based team will happily interpret your graph. Send a screenshot to support@dirhamaday.ae or message WhatsApp +971 58 553 6767.