Top 4 Linux Monitoring Tools Every Sysadmin Should Use

Below are four highly used Linux monitoring tools that can help accurately and quickly diagnose system problems.

1. iotop

If you want to know how much I/O resources certain processes are using, use iotop .

The iostat command also shows I/O status, but it monitors system‑level I/O, whereas iotop monitors at the process level, revealing which process consumes I/O.

2. htop

htop is an enhanced version of the traditional top , offering better visual representation and easier understanding of the current system state.

It clearly shows CPU usage per core, unlike the more opaque top . Memory usage is also displayed clearly, with both percentage data and bar graphs, making it far more readable.

Operations are more convenient; for example, you can terminate processes without typing their IDs and even stop multiple processes at once.

Overall, htop provides many handy features and is recommended as a replacement for top .

3. IPTraf

IPTraf is a powerful tool for diagnosing network issues, capable of monitoring all network traffic on the system.

You can set filters for specific ports or transport types.

IPTraf works like a lightweight Wireshark .

It allows detailed operations such as statistical breakdown of traffic by packet size:

Tools like tcpdump or tshark have similar functions, but IPTraf is easier to use with a menu‑driven interface.

4. Monit

Monit is a highly flexible monitoring tool with many configuration options, supporting various thresholds and performance alerts.

It can monitor processes, ports, files, and other targets, and allows dynamic alert modes.

For example, you can monitor a process to ensure it stays running; if it crashes, Monit can restart it, and if it repeatedly fails, it can send an alert instead of restarting.

Monit also provides a lightweight web interface:

Whether managing a single server or many, Monit is a powerful monitoring tool that is extremely simple and efficient to use.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading; hope this helps you.

Translation compiled from: https://medium.com/better-programming/4-linux-monitoring-tools-you-should-use-38a136e68639