The Tool Desk
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What atop monitors on a VPS
Atop is an ASCII full-screen Linux performance monitor capable of reporting the activity of all processes. Unlike a simple process list, it presents a system summary and the processes responsible for the current load in the same time-based view. The monitor covers:
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- CPU: overall utilization and process CPU consumption.
- Memory and swap: system pressure plus per-process memory fields.
- Disks: system transfer and wait activity, with per-process disk accounting where the kernel and privileges permit it.
- Network interfaces: system-level traffic; per-process network attribution requires optional
netatopsupport.
The normal interactive sample interval is 10 seconds. Each refresh is a new observation, so a process that is busy for only a few seconds can be missed unless you shorten the interval or retain background logs. Atop suppresses unchanged processes by default to keep the screen readable; that is useful during a busy incident, but it means a quiet process may not appear until you switch to an all-process or activity-focused display.
Install atop on the VPS
Use the distribution package first
Install the package supplied by your Linux distribution whenever one is available. On Debian or Ubuntu, the package is commonly named atop:
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sudo apt update
sudo apt install atopThe package normally installs the executable, a service or timer for background logging, and the distribution’s default configuration. Confirm the installed version and available options with:
atop -V
man atop
man atopsarPackage names and service layouts differ on other distributions. Check the package manager and the installed service definition rather than copying Debian paths unchanged.
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The upstream build documentation lists zlib, ncurses and glib as runtime/build dependencies. On a systemd host, the documented installation target is:
make installFor a SysV-init system, use:
make sysvinstallBuilding yourself gives you the upstream release rather than the distribution’s packaging choices, but you then own upgrades, service integration and log rotation. Keep the source version and build options recorded so the monitoring behavior can be reproduced during an incident.
Start a live monitoring session
- Connect to the VPS over SSH and run
atop:
atop- Allow at least two refreshes before deciding what is abnormal. The first screen is a point-in-time sample; the next screen shows whether a value is rising, falling or stable.
- Read the system summary at the top before inspecting individual processes. Check CPU, memory and swap, disk activity and network-interface counters in that order when the symptom is unknown.
- Move to the process section and identify the rows contributing to the stressed resource. The display emphasizes active processes and may hide unchanged rows.
- Open the interactive help (the key shown as help in your build) to see the exact sorting and view controls. Resource-specific views and sorting keys let you focus on CPU, memory, disk or network pressure; key names can vary slightly between releases.
To change the cadence, pass an interval in seconds. To collect a fixed number of samples, add a count:
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atop 5 60This requests five-second samples for 60 refreshes. A short interval makes brief spikes easier to catch but increases screen updates and the amount of data written if you also log the session. Use a longer interval for routine observation and a shorter one while reproducing a known burst.
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Read the screen in the order that finds a cause
1. CPU and load
Start with total CPU use and the split between user work, kernel work and idle or waiting time. A high total can mean application computation, kernel activity, or many runnable tasks competing for a small VPS allocation. Sort or switch to the CPU-focused process view, then compare the leading rows over successive samples. A one-sample leader is less useful than a process that remains near the top for several intervals.
Inspect the command line and elapsed behavior of the leading process. A worker that steadily consumes CPU suggests sustained application demand; a process that appears only during one refresh suggests a short job, timer or burst. Record the process ID and command line before restarting anything.
2. Memory and swap
Check available memory and swap activity together. A VPS can show moderate process percentages while still suffering reclaim pressure if the host has little free memory. In the process list, sort by memory and compare resident usage across several samples. Growth that continues between samples is more significant than a large but stable cache or service footprint.
When investigating a suspected leak, save the process ID, resident-memory values and timestamps. Replay historical samples later to distinguish a gradual increase from a one-time allocation. Do not infer a leak from one screen.
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3. Disk wait and transfers
Look at system disk activity and wait time before blaming a particular application. High wait with low CPU can indicate saturated or slow storage. Then use the per-process disk view to find readers and writers. Debian’s documentation notes that per-process disk-transfer data requires root privileges and kernel storage-accounting support; without those prerequisites, the process columns may be unavailable or incomplete.
Separate throughput from latency in your diagnosis. A process performing many small operations can cause a noticeable wait even when aggregate bytes per second look modest. Compare successive samples and, for an intermittent event, use the raw log rather than a single live screen.
4. Network activity
Atop reports traffic for network interfaces at the system level. That tells you whether the VPS is receiving or sending a burst and which interface is involved. Per-process network attribution is optional: it requires the netatop module and daemon support. Install and enable that component only when process-level network ownership is necessary and your kernel supports it. Without it, do not treat an absent per-process network value as proof that no process is communicating.
Capture evidence while the incident is happening
Write a raw logfile
Start a raw recording with:
sudo atop -w /var/log/atop/manual-incident.rawThe file contains compressed system and process counters rather than a screenshot. Stop a normal recording with the documented quit command inside atop. Avoid kill -9: the atop manual warns that forced termination prevents it from stopping process accounting cleanly, allowing the accounting file to grow excessively.
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Replay the recording
Open a raw file interactively with:
atop -r /var/log/atop/manual-incident.rawReplay uses the same screen and navigation as a live session, but the samples are read from disk. You can pause at the suspected time, move between samples and apply the resource-specific sorting controls to identify which process changed before and after the spike.
Limit replay to a time window
For a large daily file, use the beginning and ending time options documented by atop:
atop -r /var/log/atop/atop_YYYYMMDD -b HH:MM
atop -r /var/log/atop/atop_YYYYMMDD -b HH:MM -e HH:MMReplace the date and times with the incident’s local time as represented by the host. Confirm the server timezone before correlating these samples with application or web-server logs; a timezone mismatch can make a correct process appear to precede the event.
Extract machine-readable values
Use the parsable-output option when you need selected metrics for a script or a ticket rather than an interactive screen:
atop -r /var/log/atop/atop_YYYYMMDD -PCombine the replay time bounds and the metric selections documented in your installed atop manual. Keep the exact command in the incident record, because parsable fields and selectors are version-dependent.
Where atop stores historical logs
When the distribution logger is enabled, Debian’s current package documentation uses:
/var/log/atop/atop_YYYYMMDDThe files contain compressed raw system and process data. Debian documents a default logging interval of 600 seconds and 28 retained generations. Those are Debian package defaults, not universal atop behavior. Inspect /etc/default/atop, the installed service or timer, and the log-rotation configuration on another distribution before relying on the same path, interval or retention.
| Setting | Debian documented default | What to verify elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Directory | /var/log/atop |
Service configuration and distribution log policy |
| Filename | atop_YYYYMMDD |
Date format and timezone used by the package |
| Sample interval | 600 seconds | Logger environment or service arguments |
| Retention | 28 generations | Rotation count, compression and disk-space limits |
Check that the logger is actually running before an incident. A directory with old files does not prove that today’s samples are being written. Verify the service status, check the modification time of the current file, and perform a test replay.
Match common symptoms to an investigation
A CPU spike
- Run a live session at a shorter interval while the spike is reproducible.
- Use the CPU-focused process sort and note the process ID, command line and duration across multiple samples.
- Check whether one process is sustained or several processes rise together, which points to different remedies.
- If the spike has ended, replay the daily raw log and inspect the samples around the reported timestamp.
Memory pressure or a steadily growing process
- Compare available memory, swap activity and the top process-memory rows.
- Capture repeated samples rather than relying on a single resident-size value.
- Replay earlier samples to establish whether growth is gradual, periodic or tied to a deployment or scheduled task.
- Correlate the process ID and command line with the service manager before taking action.
Disk wait or apparent storage saturation
- Confirm system-level disk activity and wait first.
- Use per-process disk fields only when storage accounting is enabled and you have the required privileges.
- Compare read/write behavior across samples to distinguish a sustained workload from a flush or backup burst.
- Use the raw log for events that occur outside an SSH session.
Unexpected network load
- Identify the busy interface and whether traffic is inbound or outbound.
- Use system-level counters to establish the timing and scale of the event.
- Add
netatopsupport when you must attribute traffic to individual processes and the kernel permits it. - Do not claim process ownership from interface counters alone.
Permissions and missing fields
Run the interactive monitor as an ordinary user for the information your distribution exposes, but use root privileges when the documented per-process disk-transfer fields require them. Storage accounting must also be enabled in the kernel. If those conditions are absent, the system disk totals can still be useful while process-level disk attribution remains unavailable.
Per-process network load is a separate capability. It depends on the optional netatop module and daemon, not merely on launching atop as root. Install, load and supervise that component according to the package documentation for your kernel; otherwise use atop’s interface-level network view.
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Operational limits and sensible complements
Atop is designed around a terminal display and raw logfile replay. Its documentation does not provide a web dashboard, alert routing, or fleet-wide management layer. For a single VPS or for hands-on incident work, that narrow scope is an advantage: the process attribution and replayable counters stay close to the host. For many servers, automated alerts, long-term aggregation or team dashboards, pair atop with separate tooling that supplies those functions.
Plan storage for the retention policy you choose. A shorter interval records more detail and consumes more space; a longer interval reduces overhead but can miss brief bursts. Keep the raw files long enough to cover the slowest incident-reporting cycle, and test that old files can still be replayed after rotation.
A repeatable VPS monitoring routine
- Install and verify: install the distribution package or build with the documented target, then run
atop -Vand read the local manuals. - Confirm collection: check the logger service, current file timestamp and configured interval and retention.
- Observe live: run
atop, read the system summary, then inspect the process list responsible for the stressed resource. - Focus the view: use the help-documented sorting and resource views for CPU, memory, disk or network.
- Record identifiers: capture process IDs, command lines, timestamps and the host timezone before restarting or killing a service.
- Investigate after the fact: replay with
atop -r, narrow with-band-e, and use-Pwhen a parsable extract is more useful than a screen. - Escalate missing detail correctly: add root access, kernel storage accounting or
netatoponly when the missing per-process field requires it. - Stop cleanly: exit atop normally so process accounting closes and the raw file remains bounded.
Atop compared with a basic live process viewer
| Capability | Atop | Basic live viewer |
|---|---|---|
| Live terminal visibility | Full-screen system and process activity with repeated samples | Usually focused on a current process list |
| CPU and memory attribution | System summary plus process fields and sorting | Usually available, but often without atop’s integrated replay workflow |
| Disk and network context | System disk and interface activity; optional per-process detail | Varies by program and installed kernel support |
| Historical investigation | Raw files replayed with atop -r |
Usually requires a separate recorder |
| Parsable extraction | -P supports documented parsable output |
Varies; often screen-oriented |
| Alerting and dashboards | Not provided by atop itself | Usually not provided either |
The practical reason to choose atop is the combination of a low-friction terminal view, process-level context and a native raw-log replay path. It is not a replacement for an alerting or fleet-management platform.
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