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Compare load average with the number of CPU cores

harmlessProcessesdebian, ubuntu
user@server
uptime && nproc

uptime shows the average load over the last 1, 5 and 15 minutes, and nproc the number of available CPU cores. If the load stays above the core count, processes are waiting for CPU time or IO. If only the 1 minute value rises, it is a short spike.

Note: Linux also counts processes waiting for the disk. High load with low CPU usage therefore usually points to an IO problem.

Also searched as

  • is my load average too high
  • how to interpret load average
  • how many cpu cores does the server have
  • check if server is overloaded

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