Here are a few guidelines to help you interpret the results: For example, vmstat -S m will display output in megabytes.īy analyzing the output of vmstat, you can identify potential system bottlenecks and performance issues. Replace ‘unit’ with the desired unit of measurement (k: kilobytes, K: 1000 bytes, m: megabytes, M: 1000000 bytes).

Display output in a specific unit: vmstat -S unit.

This command shows disk activity statistics, such as reads, writes, and I/O operations. This command displays a more detailed, field-by-field report on the system’s virtual memory usage.

Display only specific fields: vmstat -s.

This command adds a timestamp to each line of output, making it easier to track changes over time. This command reports the active and inactive memory in the system, providing more insight into memory usage patterns.

Display active and inactive memory: vmstat -a.

Display only CPU-related information: vmstat -c.

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

Display continuous updates every 2 seconds: vmstat 2.

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

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. To display basic system statistics, simply run the command without any options: vmstat Understanding vmstat Output By default, vmstat will continue running indefinitely. count: The number of updates to display before exiting.delay: The time interval (in seconds) between updates.options: Flags that modify the behavior of the command or specify the type of information to display.

Monitor cpu and memory usage in linux