We pick the top ten Top tools
Still Number 1: Top
Despite all the advantages of the programs we just looked at, the Linux Magazine jury's favorite is the legacy and legendary Unix tool Top by William LeFebvre and others.
Top is installed everywhere, it is comprehensively documented, and it gives you the more or less identical controls and behavior on any conceivable Unix and on BSD, Linux, many embedded systems, and Mac OS X. The tool, which has been an administrative evergreen since 1984, runs on mainframes, workstations, desktops, and clusters.
Version 3.7, or Beta 3.8 of unixtop, is available for download [15]. But who needs to download when your favorite distribution already includes the tool and even installs it as part of the minimal installation?
Administrators will be familiar with the various switches, options, and parameters. The man page fills several screens – again thanks to the number of operating systems Top supports.
Conclusion
Any Linux or Unix book that covers system administration provides at least a few pages on the essential Top utility. The original Top is still number one today, but the winner shouldn't get complacent: Talented newcomers – some of them specialists, others simply modern clones of the original – are getting closer to center stage. Htop, for instance, is shaping up nicely.
Infos
- Xrestop: http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/xrestop
- X resource extension library: http://linux.die.net/man/3/xres
- Ntop: http://www.ntop.org
- Pksh: http://pksh.tecsiel.it
- ApacheTop: http://spork.qfe3.net/apachetop/
- Ptop: http://ptop.projects.postgresql.org
- Ptop screenshots: http://ptop.projects.postgresql.org/screenshots
- Dnstop: http://dns.measurement-factory.com/tools/dnstop
- Iftop: http://www.ex-parrot.com/~pdw/iftop
- Iftop manual: http://www.fifi.org/cgi-bin/man2html/usr/share/man/man8/iftop.8.gz
- Mytop: http://jeremy.zawodny.com/mysql/mytop
- PowerTop by Lesswatts.org: http://www.lesswatts.org/projects/powertop
- Atop: http://www.atcomputing.nl/Tools/atop
- Htop: http://htop.sourceforge.net
- Top: http://sourceforge.net/projects/unixtop
« Previous 1 2 3 4
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
MNT Seeks Financial Backing for New Seven-Inch Linux Laptop
MNT Pocket Reform is a tiny laptop that is modular, upgradable, recyclable, reusable, and ships with Debian Linux.
-
Ubuntu Flatpak Remix Adds Flatpak Support Preinstalled
If you're looking for a version of Ubuntu that includes Flatpak support out of the box, there's one clear option.
-
Gnome 44 Release Candidate Now Available
The Gnome 44 release candidate has officially arrived and adds a few changes into the mix.
-
Flathub Vying to Become the Standard Linux App Store
If the Flathub team has any say in the matter, their product will become the default tool for installing Linux apps in 2023.
-
Debian 12 to Ship with KDE Plasma 5.27
The Debian development team has shifted to the latest version of KDE for their testing branch.
-
Planet Computers Launches ARM-based Linux Desktop PCs
The firm that originally released a line of mobile keyboards has taken a different direction and has developed a new line of out-of-the-box mini Linux desktop computers.
-
Ubuntu No Longer Shipping with Flatpak
In a move that probably won’t come as a shock to many, Ubuntu and all of its official spins will no longer ship with Flatpak installed.
-
openSUSE Leap 15.5 Beta Now Available
The final version of the Leap 15 series of openSUSE is available for beta testing and offers only new software versions.
-
Linux Kernel 6.2 Released with New Hardware Support
Find out what's new in the most recent release from Linus Torvalds and the Linux kernel team.
-
Kubuntu Focus Team Releases New Mini Desktop
The team behind Kubuntu Focus has released a new NX GEN 2 mini desktop PC powered by Linux.