The Manage Services section in Cloudways Velocity allows you to view and control the main services that support your Node.js application.
From this section, you can check the status of each service and perform available actions such as Stop or Restart.
These controls can help you refresh an unresponsive service, apply changes, or troubleshoot application issues without running server commands.
Cloudways Velocity provides application process management directly from the Platform, allowing you to manage your Node.js service without opening a terminal.
Important:
These services are essential to your application. Stopping or restarting them may temporarily interrupt your application or affect specific features. Only perform an action when necessary.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, make sure that:
You have an active Cloudways Velocity application.
You can access the application through the Cloudways Platform.
You understand which application feature depends on the service you want to manage.
Access the Manage Services Section
Log in to the Cloudways Platform.
From the left navigation menu, select Velocity.
Select My Applications.
Choose the application you want to manage.
From the application management menu, select Manage Services.
The page displays the current status and available controls for the services used by your application.
Understand Service Statuses and Controls
Each service card displays its current operating status.
Running
A green indicator and the Running status mean that the service is active and operating.
Stopped
The Stopped status means that the service is not currently running. Any application feature that depends on it may not work until the service is started or restored.
Restart
The Restart action stops the service and starts it again automatically.
Restarting a service may help when it:
Becomes unresponsive.
Does not reflect a recent configuration change.
Is experiencing a temporary issue.
Needs to reload its processes.
Cloudways also uses service restarts in its Flexible hosting environment to clear stuck services and troubleshoot application errors. However, only the controls displayed for your Velocity application should be used here.
Stop
The Stop action shuts down the selected service.
Stopping an essential service can make the application or one of its features unavailable. Use this action carefully and only when required.
Note:
The resource limits or capacity of supported services may be increased based on your application requirements. Availability may depend on the selected plan, application configuration, and required service.
Manage the Available Velocity Services
The Manage Services section gives you direct control over the main services supporting your Cloudways Velocity application.
Use these controls carefully. Restarting a service can resolve temporary issues, but stopping PM2, Redis, or another essential service may affect application availability or functionality.
Imunify360
Imunify360 is a security service that helps protect the hosted environment against malicious activity and malware-related threats.
Cloudways Velocity includes malware protection powered by Imunify360 as part of its managed security components.
Available action
Restart: Restarts the Imunify360 service if it becomes unresponsive or requires a refresh.
Avoid restarting this service unnecessarily because it supports the security protection applied to your application environment.
NGINX
NGINX is the web server and reverse proxy that receives incoming requests and directs them to your Node.js application.
In simple terms, NGINX acts as the entry point between application visitors and the process running your application.
Available action
Restart: Reloads the NGINX service.
Restart NGINX when advised during troubleshooting or when the service does not respond correctly. Your application may be temporarily unavailable while the service restarts.
PM2
PM2 is the process manager responsible for keeping your Node.js application process running.
It helps manage the application process and allows it to be stopped or restarted from the Cloudways Platform. Cloudways provides dashboard-based process controls so users can manage their Node.js application without using terminal commands.
Available actions
Stop: Stops the Node.js application process.
When PM2 is stopped, the application may become unavailable because its main process is no longer running.
Restart: Stops and starts the application process again.
Restart PM2 when:
The application becomes unresponsive.
A process appears to be stuck.
A recent change requires the application process to reload.
Cloudways Support recommends restarting it during troubleshooting.
Important:
Restarting PM2 may briefly interrupt active application requests.
Redis
Redis is an in-memory data service. It stores frequently accessed information in memory so the application can retrieve it quickly.
Depending on how your application is built, Redis may be used for:
Caching.
User sessions.
Queues.
Temporary application data.
Real-time application features.
The information icon beside Redis explains that Redis typically keeps its dataset in memory.
Available actions
Stop: Stops the Redis service. Do not stop Redis unless you know that your application does not currently depend on it. Features that use Redis may stop working, and temporary data stored only in memory may be affected.
Restart: Restarts the Redis service. Restart Redis when it becomes unresponsive or when advised during troubleshooting.
Important:
Restarting or stopping Redis may interrupt sessions, queues, caching, or other application functions that depend on it.
Restart a Service
Open Velocity → My Applications.
Select the required application.
Navigate to Manage Services.
Locate the service you want to restart.
Select Restart.
Wait for the service status to return to Running.
Open your application and confirm that it is working correctly.
Avoid refreshing the page repeatedly while the service action is being processed.
Stop a Service
Navigate to the application’s Manage Services section.
Locate the service you want to stop.
Select Stop.
Confirm the action if a confirmation message appears.
Check the service status after the action is complete.
Warning:
Do not stop PM2 or Redis on a production application unless the action is required and you understand its impact.
Best Practices
Restart only the service related to the issue instead of restarting every service.
Check the Monitoring and Logs sections before restarting a service.
The available information may help identify whether the problem is related to application code, traffic, resource usage, or the service itself.
Avoid stopping services during periods of high traffic because users may experience failed or interrupted requests.
After restarting a service, verify your application, API endpoints, background processes, and any features that depend on Redis.
Contact Cloudways Support when a service does not return to the Running status or repeatedly stops.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does restarting a service delete my application?
No. Restarting a service does not delete your application or its deployed files. However, active processes or requests may be interrupted briefly.
What happens when I stop PM2?
PM2 manages the running Node.js application process. Stopping it may make the application unavailable until the process is restored.
Should I stop Redis if my application does not use caching?
Redis may also be used for sessions, queues, or temporary application data. Confirm that your application does not depend on Redis before stopping it.
Why can I restart NGINX but not stop it?
The Platform displays only the actions that are supported for each Velocity service. NGINX is an essential request-handling service, so the interface provides a restart control rather than a stop control.
What should I do if a service remains stopped?
Refresh the page after waiting briefly. If the service does not return to the Running status, review the application logs and contact Cloudways Support.
When should I restart Imunify360?
Restart it only when the service appears unresponsive or when Cloudways Support advises you to do so.
That's it! We hope this article was helpful.