pidstat – Monitor System Resource Usage of Processes

The pidstat command is used to monitor the resource usage of processes on a Linux system. It provides a real-time view of system resource usage by individual processes, including CPU usage, memory usage, disk I/O, and network I/O. This command is particularly useful for identifying resource-intensive processes and troubleshooting system performance issues.

Overview

The pidstat command is used to monitor the resource usage of processes on a Linux system. It can be used to monitor the CPU usage, memory usage, disk I/O, and network I/O of individual processes, as well as system-wide resource usage statistics. The command can be run in real-time, allowing users to monitor system performance and identify resource-intensive processes.

Syntax

The basic syntax of the pidstat command is as follows:

pidstat [options] [interval] [count]

Where:

• options: Specifies any additional options for the command.
• interval: Specifies the interval between updates in seconds.
• count: Specifies the number of updates to display before exiting.

Examples

To display real-time CPU usage statistics for all processes, run the following command:

pidstat -u

To display real-time memory usage statistics for all processes, run the following command:

pidstat -r

To display real-time disk I/O statistics for all processes, run the following command:

pidstat -d

To display real-time network I/O statistics for all processes, run the following command:

pidstat -n

Specific Use Cases

The pidstat command is particularly useful for identifying resource-intensive processes and troubleshooting system performance issues. It can be used to:

• Monitor CPU usage by process and identify processes that are using excessive CPU resources.
• Monitor memory usage by process and identify processes that are using excessive memory resources.
• Monitor disk I/O by process and identify processes that are performing excessive disk I/O operations.
• Monitor network I/O by process and identify processes that are performing excessive network I/O operations.

Options

The following table lists all available options for the pidstat command:

Option	Description
-u	Display CPU usage statistics.
-r	Display memory usage statistics.
-d	Display disk I/O statistics.
-n	Display network I/O statistics.
-h	Display help information.
-V	Display version information.
-p	Display statistics for the specified process IDs only.
-t	Display task-level statistics instead of process-level statistics.
-h	Display help information.
-V	Display version information.

Troubleshooting Tips

If the pidstat command is not displaying any output, ensure that the correct options are being used. For example, if you are trying to display CPU usage statistics, ensure that the -u option is being used. If you are trying to display memory usage statistics, ensure that the -r option is being used.

If the pidstat command is still not displaying any output, ensure that the correct process IDs are being used. The pidstat command can be used to display statistics for specific process IDs using the -p option.

Notes

• The pidstat command requires root privileges to run.
• The pidstat command is part of the sysstat package, which may need to be installed on some Linux distributions before the command can be used.