1-2 minute no response from server

[inxile]

I'm trying to debug an issue with our server (CentOS 5.4, LiteSpeed 4.0.12 and PHP 5.3.1). Every day, as often as every 10-15 minutes, we see an unresponsive request for a web page lasting between 1-2 minutes. After that the page loads as normal. Sometimes the server is slow and continues to be for a few minutes, other times it is as fast as normal after that.

Logs show dozens, sometimes hundreds of 'lsphp5' processes. It appears as if either the memory or processing is nearly maxed out.

I could use some help trying to find out what exactly is causing this issue. Is it a configuration issue, or a known issue with v4.0.12?

Any help in determining where the issue could be would be very much appreciated!