Monitoring Server Performance with Top and HTOP

Introduction

Monitoring your server's performance is crucial for maintaining optimal functionality and resource management. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to use Top and HTOP to view system processes, CPU usage, and memory consumption, enabling you to effectively manage your Linux VPS.

Step-by-Step Guide

Using Top

Top is a default command-line utility in Linux that provides real-time system stats. Follow these steps to use Top:

1. Open your terminal and type the following command to start Top:

   top

2. Once Top is running, you can view information such as CPU and memory usage, running processes, and load averages.
3. To exit Top, press the q key.

Using HTOP

HTOP is an interactive process viewer for Unix systems, an enhanced version of Top. Here’s how to install and use HTOP:

1. Install HTOP using the following command if it's not already installed:

   sudo apt install htop

2. Launch HTOP by typing:

   htop

3. HTOP provides a more user-friendly visual representation of system resources. You can navigate using arrow keys and use function keys for operations.
4. Press F10 to quit HTOP.

Advanced Features of HTOP

• Use function keys (F1-F10) to perform various actions like sorting processes, searching, or sending signals to processes.
• HTOP allows you to scroll horizontally and vertically to view complete process parameters and additional system metrics.

Conclusion

By using Top and HTOP, you can efficiently monitor the performance of your Linux VPS. Regular monitoring helps identify bottlenecks and ensures that your server is running smoothly. Experiment with both tools to determine which best meets your monitoring needs.

Disclaimer

Ensure you have proper authorization to monitor server performance and access system resources. Improper handling of processes can affect server stability.