TOP
August 6, 2008We 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.
- At the command-line, type top.
- Activate multiple sections by using “shift+a”
- 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
- To add color to section 1:Def.
- Press “a” to toggle to section 1:Def.
- 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.
- Highlight the sort fields in section 1:Def.
- Press “a” to toggle to section 1:Def.
- Make sure color is activated by pressing “z”.
- 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.


