How to monitor usage of system resources in a period of time using atop?

Question

How to check what process loads CPU, memory and other system resources in a period of time using atop utility?

Answer

1. Connect to the server via SSH

2. Install atop package:

   • For RHEL/CentOS :

     # yum install epel-release

     # yum install atop

   • For Debian/Ubuntu :

     # apt-get install atop

3. Start atop service to begin automatic system resources logging:

   # service atop start

   Note: atop automatically creates a task in cron to begin logging at midnight if it is not running.

4. Adjust interval to the preferences:

   • For RHEL/CentOS :

     Open the file /etc/sysconfig/atop and modify the line and set required interval (in seconds):
     INTERVAL=60

   • For Debian/Ubuntu :

     Open the file /etc/init.d/atop (or /etc/default/atop, or /usr/share/atop/atop.daily) and modify the line and set required interval (in seconds):
     INTERVAL=60

5. Logged data might be opened via the command:

   # atop -r /var/log/atop/atop_*****

   Replace *** with actual log value (date). To move between intervals use arrow buttons or hotkeys t and Shift+T .

   Note: For more information on available hotkeys refer to the atop manual page.

6. To disable atop use the following commands:

   # mv /etc/cron.d/atop /root/atop

   # service atop stop