Cannot Allocate Memory Error

If you're seeing "cannot allocate memory" errors when running updates on your KVM VPS, the issue is typically caused by missing swap space.

Common Error Message

Cannot allocate memory

The Solution: Create Swap Space

This error occurs when your VPS runs out of available memory during operations like system updates. The solution is to create swap space, which acts as additional virtual memory.

Follow our detailed Missing Swap guide to create your swap space.

Why This Happens

SolusVM KVM templates sometimes don't configure swap space correctly during initial setup. Without swap, your VPS can only use its allocated RAM. When operations require more memory than available RAM, you'll see memory allocation errors.

Common Scenarios

System Updates

Package managers may require significant memory

Compilation

Building software from source can be memory-intensive

Database Operations

Large queries or imports may exceed available RAM

Application Installation

Installing new software packages

Quick Fix

The quick solution is to run these commands via SSH:

Create swap space

swapoff /dev/vda2
mkswap /dev/vda2
swapon /dev/vda2

After creating swap, try your operation again. It should now complete successfully.

Preventing Future Issues

To ensure swap is always available after reboots, add this line to /etc/fstab:

/etc/fstab entry

/dev/vda2  none  swap  sw  0  0

Note for Cloud Users

This issue is specific to SolusVM KVM VPS. Cloud instances typically handle swap configuration automatically.

Still Having Issues?

If you continue to see memory errors after creating swap space, you may need to:

Upgrade VPS

Consider a plan with more RAM

Increase Swap

Use GParted ISO to resize swap partition

Optimize Apps

Reduce memory usage of running services

Need Help?

Contact our support team if you need assistance diagnosing memory issues or upgrading your VPS.

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