Dstat, NetHogs, and nload
Charly's Column – Traffic Monitors
Every sys admin has a few favorite tools that they always carry with them, if only because they do not want to be without these often overlooked treasures. The gems dangling from Charly's key ring include Dstat, NetHogs, and nload.
On my laptop there is a list of topics I want to write about in the near or distant future. There are tools, tricks, and hacks that I often and gladly use, but which I cannot convert into enough text for a whole column. This explains why three small utilities share this column today.
Dstat
Let's start with Dstat [1]. Last issue, I described how to get details about the installed hardware (especially RAM) from Linux. I was promptly asked how to detect "hogs" as quickly and easily as possible – processes that grab resources (such as CPU, RAM, etc.) without so much as a by your leave. I will keep this short, because I have already written about this topic [2]. My secret weapon looks like this:
# dstat -cdn -D sda -N enp2s0 -C total --top-cpu --top-io --top-mem -f 5
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 Now Available
The latest Linux kernel is now available with several new features/improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Microsoft Makes Surprising WSL Announcement
In a move that might surprise some users, Microsoft has made Windows Subsystem for Linux open source.
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.