vmstat – Monitoring Memory & Processes In Linux with Examples

In the world of Linux system administration, monitoring and understanding the performance of your system is crucial for ensuring its smooth operation. One such essential monitoring tool is ‘vmstat’ – a versatile command-line utility that provides insightful statistics about a Linux system’s memory, processes, IO, and CPU usage.

In this article, we will delve into the usage and various options of the vmstat command, explore practical examples, and learn how to interpret the output to diagnose potential performance issues.

What is vmstat?

Virtual Memory Statistics (vmstat) is a Unix/Linux utility that collects and displays information about the system’s memory, CPU, processes, and IO operations. It is a powerful and easy-to-use tool for understanding how your system is utilizing its resources, identifying bottlenecks, and diagnosing performance issues.

Installation

vmstat comes pre-installed on most Linux distributions. However, if it’s not already installed, you can easily get it by installing the ‘sysstat’ package:

• For Debian/Ubuntu-based systems:

  sudo apt-get install sysstat 
  

• For RHEL/CentOS/Fedora-based systems:

  sudo yum install sysstat 
  

Basic Usage

The basic syntax of the vmstat command is as follows:

• options: Flags that modify the behavior of the command or specify the type of information to display.
• delay: The time interval (in seconds) between updates. The default is 1 second.
• count: The number of updates to display before exiting. By default, vmstat will continue running indefinitely.

To display basic system statistics, simply run the command without any options:

vmstat 

Understanding vmstat Output

The output of the vmstat command is displayed in a tabular format, with each row representing a snapshot of the system’s state at a specific time.

The columns in the output are:

1. Procs
   • r: The number of runnable processes (running or waiting for run time).
   • b: The number of processes in an uninterruptible sleep state.
2. Memory
   • swpd: The amount of virtual memory used (in KB).
   • free: The amount of idle memory (in KB).
   • buff: The amount of memory used as buffers (in KB).
   • cache: The amount of memory used as cache (in KB).
3. Swap
   • si: The amount of memory swapped in from disk (in KB/s).
   • so: The amount of memory swapped out to disk (in KB/s).
4. IO
   • bi: The number of blocks received from a block device (blocks/s).
   • bo: The number of blocks sent to a block device (blocks/s).
5. System
   • in: The number of interrupts per second, including the clock.
   • cs: The number of context switches per second.
6. CPU
   • us: The percentage of time spent running non-kernel code (user time).
   • sy: The percentage of time spent running kernel code (system time).
   • id: The percentage of time spent idle.
   • wa: The percentage of time spent waiting for IO.

Practical Examples

• Display continuous updates every 2 seconds:

  vmstat 2 
  

• Monitor system statistics every 2 seconds for a total of 5 updates:

  vmstat 2 5 
  

• Display only CPU-related information:

  vmstat -c 
  

• Display active and inactive memory:

  vmstat -a 
  

  This command reports the active and inactive memory in the system, providing more insight into memory usage patterns.

• Display timestamps:

  vmstat -t 
  

  This command adds a timestamp to each line of output, making it easier to track changes over time.

• Display only specific fields:

  vmstat -s
  

  This command displays a more detailed, field-by-field report on the system’s virtual memory usage.

• Display disk statistics:

  vmstat -d
  

  This command shows disk activity statistics, such as reads, writes, and I/O operations.

• Display output in a specific unit:

  vmstat -S unit
  

  Replace ‘unit’ with the desired unit of measurement (k: kilobytes, K: 1000 bytes, m: megabytes, M: 1000000 bytes). For example, vmstat -S m will display output in megabytes.

Interpreting vmstat Output

By analyzing the output of vmstat, you can identify potential system bottlenecks and performance issues. Here are a few guidelines to help you interpret the results:

• High runnable processes (procs ‘r’ column): If the number of runnable processes is consistently high, it may indicate that your system is experiencing high CPU load, and you may need to optimize your applications or upgrade your CPU.
• High uninterruptible sleep processes (procs ‘b’ column): A high number of processes in uninterruptible sleep may indicate that your system is experiencing IO bottlenecks, which can be caused by slow disk access or insufficient memory.
• Memory usage (memory columns: swpd, free, buff, cache): Monitor the memory usage to ensure that your system has enough free memory. If the ‘swpd’ value is consistently high, it may indicate that your system is using too much swap space, which can significantly degrade performance. Consider optimizing your applications or adding more physical memory.
• Swap activity (swap columns: si, so): Frequent swapping can lead to poor performance. If the ‘si’ and ‘so’ values are consistently high, it may indicate that your system is using too much swap space. You may need to optimize your applications or add more physical memory.
• IO activity (IO columns: bi, bo): High IO activity can cause performance bottlenecks. If the ‘bi’ and ‘bo’ values are consistently high, it may indicate that your system is experiencing heavy disk activity. Consider optimizing your applications, upgrading your storage system, or distributing the load across multiple disks.
• CPU usage (CPU columns: us, sy, id, wa): Monitor the CPU usage to ensure that your system is not overburdened. High ‘us’ and ‘sy’ values indicate that the CPU is spending a significant amount of time executing user and system processes. If these values are consistently high, consider optimizing your applications or upgrading your CPU. High ‘wa’ values indicate that the CPU is spending a lot of time waiting for IO, which can be a sign of IO bottlenecks.

Conclusion

vmstat is a powerful and versatile monitoring tool for Linux systems, providing valuable insights into memory, processes, IO, and CPU usage. By understanding the output of vmstat and using it to diagnose potential performance issues, you can optimize your system and ensure that it runs smoothly and efficiently.