CompTIA Tech+ (FC0-U71)Applications and SoftwareMedium
A technician is troubleshooting a Linux server that is experiencing performance issues. The server is running several critical services, and the technician suspects that one or more processes are consuming excessive CPU or memory. Which command-line utility should the technician use to view real-time system performance data, including CPU and memory usage by individual processes?
- Agrep
- Bls
- Ctop
- Dping
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. top
The `top` utility in Linux provides a dynamic, real-time view of running processes, displaying crucial information like CPU usage, memory consumption, process ID (PID), and user. It is the primary tool for identifying resource-intensive processes.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. `grep` searches for patterns in text files or output and is not a performance monitoring tool.
- B. `ls` lists directory contents and is not used for monitoring system performance.
- D. `ping` tests network connectivity to a host and is unrelated to local process performance.
Linux 'top' command
A command-line utility in Linux that provides a dynamic real-time view of a running system, including process activity, CPU usage, and memory consumption.
- Displays processes ranked by CPU usage by default.
- Shows total CPU and memory statistics.
- Interactive; allows sorting and killing processes.
- Essential for troubleshooting system performance bottlenecks.
Memory trick: 'top' shows you the 'top' hungry processes.