TOP

We know that top is a very powerful tool for monitoring running processes. We looked at printing output to file from top. Now we investigate the power of mutliple sections during an active session of top.

1. At the command-line, type top.
2. Activate multiple sections by using “shift+a”
3. The interface will now display four sections. Use the lower-case “a” to toggle between sections. Notice in the top left hand corner you will see the active section identifier: 1:Def, 2:Job, 3:Mem, 4:Usr
4. To add color to section 1:Def.
   1. Press “a” to toggle to section 1:Def.
   2. Press “z” to toggle color on and off. Notice that you can toggle from one section to the other to add a different color scheme to each section.
5. Highlight the sort fields in section 1:Def.
1. Press “a” to toggle to section 1:Def.
2. Make sure color is activated by pressing “z”.
3. Press “”x” to toggle the highlight feature of the sort fields. You may not recognize the highlighting right away, but by holding down the left Shift key and using the < and > keys, you can move the sort field left and right respectively.
   
   With just a little practice you can turn top into a major partner when troubleshooting your systems.