Enroll Course: https://www.udemy.com/course/linux-performance-monitoring-analyzing/
In the world of IT, especially for system administrators and DevOps engineers, ensuring the smooth and efficient operation of Linux servers is paramount. Recently, I had the opportunity to dive deep into the ‘Linux Performance Monitoring & Analysis – Hands On!!’ course on Udemy, and I must say, it’s an exceptional resource for anyone looking to gain mastery over this critical domain.
This course is meticulously structured, taking you from the fundamental concepts of performance monitoring to advanced analysis and tuning techniques. It kicks off with a solid introduction to why performance monitoring is crucial and then systematically guides you through essential command-line tools. We explored the ubiquitous `ps` and `top` commands for process monitoring, delving into memory usage and file system utilization. The inclusion of GNOME System Monitor as a visual aid is a nice touch for those who prefer a GUI approach.
The real strength of this course lies in its hands-on approach. The practical lab sessions are invaluable. We got to grips with the powerful `sysstat` package, dissecting the capabilities of `iostat`, `mpstat`, and `pidstat`. Understanding `sar` and its numerous advantages was a significant takeaway, with detailed explanations of collective and individual CPU usage, memory and swap space, I/O activities, run queue, load average, and network statistics. The ability to report `sar` data from specific times is a game-changer for historical analysis.
Beyond the core monitoring tools, the course broadened our horizons to include system monitoring with `cockpit` and `performance co-pilot`, offering modern interfaces for system management. We also learned to effectively use `vmstat`, `free`, `lsof`, and `tcpdump` for network packet analysis. The detailed breakdown of `sar` output for various statistics, from CPU to network, is particularly well-explained.
What truly sets this course apart is its comprehensive coverage of hardware and kernel-level tuning. Learning to retrieve CPU information, DMI information using `dmidecode`, and peripheral information with `hwloc` and `lshw` provides a holistic view of system resources. The sections on the `/proc` and `/sys` file systems, kernel tunables, and modifying them persistently using `sysctl` are essential for fine-tuning performance. The practical lab sessions on tuning profiles and managing resource limits with `ulimit` are incredibly beneficial.
Process management is another area where the course excels. Understanding the nuances of `ps` commands, process states (like ‘D’, ‘S’, ‘T’, ‘Z’), and effective use of kill commands are covered in depth. The practical labs on finding files using `find` commands and identifying top processes consuming CPU and memory are highly practical.
Finally, the hands-on labs on `lsof` to list open files and `fuser` to identify processes using files, along with detailed `tcpdump` analysis for network packet statistics, provide the skills needed to diagnose and resolve real-world issues like high CPU or memory utilization.
**Recommendation:**
If you are serious about optimizing Linux server performance, troubleshooting bottlenecks, and gaining a deep understanding of your system’s inner workings, this course is an absolute must-have. The instructor’s clear explanations and the abundance of practical exercises make complex topics accessible and actionable. It’s an investment that will undoubtedly pay dividends in your daily sysadmin or DevOps tasks.
Enroll Course: https://www.udemy.com/course/linux-performance-monitoring-analyzing/