atop
atop is an advanced real-time monitoring utility for Linux, providing detailed data collection on CPU load, memory usage, disk activity, network performance, and running processes. Unlike standard tools such as top, htop, iostat, it not only offers extended insights into each process but also allows logging system statistics for further analysis.
Key Features of atop
- Monitoring of all processes, including terminated ones.
- Displaying CPU load per core.
- Analysis of disk, memory, and network usage.
- Logging data for post-analysis.
- Filtering processes by load and resource usage.
- Identifying system bottlenecks (IO, CPU, RAM, network).
Installing atop
For most Linux distributions:
Debian, Ubuntu:
sudo apt install atop
RHEL, CentOS:
sudo yum install atop
Arch Linux:
sudo pacman -S atop
After installation, you can start atop with the command:
atop
How to Use atop?
When launched, atop displays a table with the following metrics:
- PRC — total number of processes.
- CPU — processor load (including I/O wait).
- MEM — memory and swap usage.
- NET — network interface activity.
- DSK — disk I/O operations.
Useful Commands
Monitor with updates every 5 seconds:
atop 5
Log data to a file every 10 seconds:
sudo atop -w /var/log/atop.log 10
View saved logs for a specific time:
sudo atop -r /var/log/atop.log
Filter by a specific process:
atop -p PID
How Does atop Compare to Other Tools?
| Feature | top | htop | atop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detailed process analysis | Partially | Partially | Yes |
| Monitoring of terminated processes | No | No | Yes |
| Logging for analysis | No | No | Yes |
| Network and disk data | No | No | Yes |
| Filtering flexibility | Moderate | Good | Excellent |
Conclusion
atop is a powerful Linux monitoring tool, highly useful for system administrators and DevOps engineers. It helps identify bottlenecks in server performance and logs data for effective troubleshooting.
Serverspace Knowledge Base
In the Serverspace knowledge base, you can find additional guides on using atop, as well as in-depth reviews of other Linux monitoring and administration tools. Additionally, it provides articles explaining key terms to help you better understand server management.