vmstat
Sifting through complex command-line tools and interpreting raw data isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and thankfully, it doesn’t have to be. Whether you prefer a quick glance at system performance or a deep dive into specific metrics, there’s a monitoring solution that fits your skill level and needs.You can run the following command to view your CPU usage activity:If you’re looking for a more streamlined and user-friendly approach, especially for long-term tracking and analysis, RunCloud offers a powerful alternative.The Virtual Memory Statistics (vmstat) command offers a concise view of system performance, including CPU usage, memory, swap space, and I/O statistics. It’s especially useful for identifying bottlenecks affecting CPU performance, such as memory constraints or excessive swapping. You can use this command by executing the following code snippet in your terminal:
Table of Contents
- 1 What Causes High CPU Utilization?
- 2 How to Check High CPU Utilization on Linux?
- 3 FAQs on Linux CPU Usage
- 3.1 How to check CPU power consumption in Linux?
- 3.2 Why is my CPU 100% usage?
- 3.3 How to find CPU utilization in OS?
- 3.4 How do I check if my CPU is running properly?
- 3.5 How do I make sure my CPU is running at its best?
- 3.6 How do I fix excessive CPU usage?
- 3.7 How to check how many CPU cores you have in Linux?
What Causes High CPU Utilization?
If you have been running your server for a long time, several services might be running on it. Resource-intensive tasks like video encoding, database operations, or complex calculations can temporarily spike CPU usage in normal operations. However, when high utilization persists, it often means underlying issues that need attention.You can execute the following command to see the CPU usage history on your computer:The dashboard displays historical CPU usage patterns through intuitive graphs, making it easier to identify trends and anomalies. You can also configure alerts for when CPU usage exceeds defined thresholds, and it provides detailed metrics about individual processes and system resources.Sometimes, normal maintenance tasks can lead to temporary CPU spikes. Activities like system backups, virus scans, or package updates typically demand more processing power. However, scheduling these tasks during off-peak hours and properly configuring their resource usage can help minimize their impact on system performance. The simplest way is to use the top command in the terminal, which shows real-time system statistics, including CPU usage per process. Alternatively, RunCloud’s monitoring dashboard provides an easy-to-read interface showing CPU usage trends over time.Learn more & get started with RunCloud.
How to Check High CPU Utilization on Linux?
Suggested read: How To Monitor Your Web App’s RAM & CPU Usage with Netdata
Method 1: Check CPU Usage with the ‘top’ Command
One of the most common culprits is poorly optimized code or applications that create infinite loops, memory leaks, or inefficient database queries. Web applications, particularly those running PHP or Python processes, can consume excessive CPU resources if they’re not properly configured or handling too many concurrent requests.iostat
mpstat
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the world of Linux CPU monitoring, from basic command-line tools to advanced monitoring solutions.Keeping your server running smoothly is essential for your business, but let’s be honest: traditional server management can be a real headache.Unlike command-line tools, RunCloud’s monitoring solution retains historical data and provides insights without requiring constant terminal access.
There are several ways to track CPU usage on your Linux system. Let’s look at a few of the most common methods.The iostat command provides CPU statistics and input/output statistics for devices and partitions. While it is primarily known for I/O monitoring, it also offers CPU reporting capabilities, which include breakdowns of user time, system time, idle time, and I/O wait time.Content management systems such as WordPress might also strain the CPU when plugins or themes are poorly coded or when caching isn’t properly implemented.Ensure your system is running the latest kernel version, has proper cooling, and uses tools like cpupower to manage CPU frequency scaling. Also, regularly update your BIOS and consider enabling performance mode in your CPU governor settings.
Method 3: Monitor CPU Usage with the ‘mpstat’ Command
For example, if a quad-core system shows a load average of 8.0, it means the system is overloaded with twice as many processes as it can handle efficiently, leading to degraded performance. A load average of 1.0 on a single-core system means the CPU is exactly at capacity, while on a quad-core system, a load of 4.0 would represent full capacity. When the load average exceeds the number of CPU cores, it indicates that processes are competing for resources and may need to wait their turn, potentially causing system slowdown.
Suggested read: How to Find Most Used Disk Space Directories and Files in Linux
Method 4: Use the ‘sar’ Command to Check CPU Usage
The top command is one of the most fundamental and widely used tools for real-time system monitoring in Linux. It provides a dynamic view of system performance, showing processes sorted by CPU usage, memory consumption, and other resources. You can run it on your computer by executing the following command in your shell:Let’s start by understanding what CPU usage really means in Linux and how to monitor it effectively using various tools and techniques. By the end of this guide, you’ll have a solid grasp of monitoring, analyzing, and tracking your Linux system’s CPU performance.You can quickly check your CPU cores by running nproc for logical core count or lscpu for detailed CPU architecture information, including physical and virtual cores. For a more detailed view, you can also read /proc/cpuinfo.However, juggling these individual commands and analyzing their output can still be time-consuming.
Method 5: Check CPU Usage with the ‘iostat’ Command
Suggested read: How to Check Running Processes in Linux Using ps, top, htop, and atop Commands You can monitor CPU temperature using sensors command and check system logs (dmesg or /var/log/syslog) for any hardware-related errors or throttling messages. RunCloud’s monitoring can also alert you if CPU performance metrics deviate from normal patterns.First, identify the resource-hungry processes using top or RunCloud’s monitoring dashboard. Then, either optimize the application code, adjust configuration settings, or terminate unnecessary processes. If needed, consider implementing resource limits using groups.In Linux systems, CPU load represents the average number of processes that are either currently executing or waiting for system resources (CPU, disk I/O, etc.) over a specific time period. Unlike CPU usage percentage, which shows immediate processor utilization, the load average gives you a broader view of system demand over time.
Method 6: Monitor CPU Usage with the ‘vmstat’ Command
The System Activity Reporter (sar) command is a powerful tool for collecting, reporting, and storing system activity information. It can display historical CPU performance data and create detailed reports about system resource usage. The sar command can show CPU utilization data from the current day or from stored system activity files, which makes it invaluable for analyzing performance trends over time.Suggested read: Best 9 htop Alternatives for Linux, Mac & Windows in 2024 top
Is your Linux server sluggish? Are you wondering why your web applications aren’t performing as expected? Understanding CPU usage and monitoring system performance is a must for every Linux administrator and developer.High CPU usage typically occurs when resource-intensive processes like runaway scripts, malware, or poorly optimized applications consume excessive processing power. You can identify the culprit using top or htop commands to see which processes are consuming the most CPU resources.The mpstat command is part of the sysstat package, and provides CPU statistics for each available processor. This tool is particularly valuable for multi-core systems as it shows per-processor utilization, including user time, system time, idle time, and I/O wait time. You can view your CPU usage statistics by running the following command:Suggested read: What are Linux Logs? What Are They & How To Use Them Malicious activities can also significantly increase CPU usage. Cryptojacking malware, which hijacks system resources to mine cryptocurrency, is an increasingly common cause of high CPU utilization. Similarly, DDoS attacks or brute-force attempts can flood servers with requests, forcing the CPU to process an overwhelming amount of traffic. You can monitor CPU power consumption using tools like powertop or by reading from /sys/class/power_supply/ for battery-powered devices. For a quick check, installing and running turbostat will show detailed power and frequency statistics of your CPU.Let’s dive right in!
FAQs on Linux CPU Usage
How to check CPU power consumption in Linux?
Why is my CPU 100% usage?
How to find CPU utilization in OS?
How do I check if my CPU is running properly?
How do I make sure my CPU is running at its best?
How do I fix excessive CPU usage?
How to check how many CPU cores you have in Linux?
sar
In the above example, we can see that each row provides a snapshot of the CPU utilization metrics in 10-minute increments. If you want to customize the output, then you can pass the appropriate flags as the input. For example, sar -u 2 5 shows CPU usage updated every 2 seconds for 5 iterations.
