Understanding load average
For a Linux administrator, load average is one of the most important concepts you'll ever learn. While you may know already that this number represents how much load your system is experiencing, it also represents trending performance as well. Using this number, you'll be able to determine whether your system is being overwhelmed or it's recovering and calming down. Essentially, the load average consists of three numbers, each representing the average load of the system over a specific time frame. The first number represents one minute, the second represents five minutes, and the third represents 15 minutes. There are many ways in which you can view your load average, and it will also be displayed in most system monitors ...
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Read now
Unlock full access