CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-006)TroubleshootingEasy
A technician is troubleshooting a Linux server that has recently become unresponsive. They suspect a process might be consuming excessive resources. Which of the following commands would best identify processes consuming the most CPU and memory in real-time?
- Atop
- Bps aux
- Chtop
- Dvmstat
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. top
`top` provides a dynamic real-time view of running processes, sorted by CPU usage by default, making it ideal for identifying resource hogs. `htop` is a more user-friendly version of `top` but `top` is the core utility.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. `ps aux` provides a static snapshot of processes, not a real-time dynamic view.
- C. `htop` is an interactive process viewer that is an enhanced alternative to `top`, but `top` is the specified core utility for this exam's scope.
- D. `vmstat` reports virtual memory statistics, not individual process resource consumption.
top command
The `top` command provides a dynamic real-time view of a running Linux system, showing process activity, CPU usage, memory usage, and other system statistics.
- Displays processes sorted by CPU usage by default.
- Interactive; allows sorting by different columns (e.g., memory, PID).
- Includes system-wide statistics like load average and uptime.
Memory trick: Topping the charts with CPU and memory usage.