Monitoring system performance is crucial for maintaining efficiency and diagnosing issues. Two powerful Linux tools, htop and atop, provide real-time insights into system resource usage. In this guide, we will explore how to use these tools to monitor CPU, memory, disk, and process activity effectively.

Installing htop and atop

To install these tools, use the following commands:

sudo apt install htop atop   # For Debian-based systems
sudo yum install htop atop   # For RHEL-based systems

Using htop for Process Monitoring

htop is an interactive process viewer that provides an improved interface over top.

• Launch htop with:
  

  htop

• Use arrow keys to navigate through processes.
• Press F3 to search for a process.
• Press F9 to kill a process.
• Press F6 to sort processes by CPU, memory, or other criteria.

Using atop for System-Wide Monitoring

atop provides detailed reports on system resource usage over time.

• Start atop with:
  

  atop

• Key highlights:
  • Press m for memory statistics.
  • Press d for disk usage.
  • Press n for network activity.
  • Press c for command-line details of processes.

Recording System Activity with atop

To record system performance for future analysis, use:

sudo atop -w /var/log/atop.log 10

This records system activity every 10 seconds. To review logs later, run:

sudo atop -r /var/log/atop.log

Conclusion

Both htop and atop are essential tools for system administrators. While htop provides an interactive view for real-time monitoring, atop offers in-depth historical analysis, making troubleshooting easier.

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