This manual describes version 2.10 of System Monitor.
Copyright © 2005 Davyd Madeley
Copyright © 2004 Sun Microsystems
Copyright © 2003, 2004 Chee Bin HOH
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Feedback
To report a bug or make a suggestion regarding the System Monitor applet or this manual, follow the directions in the GNOME Feedback Page.
| Revision History | |
|---|---|
| Revision Version 2.10 | March 2005 |
| Revision Version 2.8 | August 2004 |
|
GNOME Documentation Project | |
| Revision System Monitor Applet Manual V2.1 | February 2004 |
|
GNOME Documentation Project | |
| Revision System Monitor Applet Manual V2.0 | July 2003 |
|
GNOME Documentation Project | |
Abstract
System Monitor displays system load information in graphical format in a panel.
Table of Contents
The System Monitor displays system load information in graphical format in a panel. You can configure System Monitor to display the following information for your system:
Usage of CPU (central processing unit) time
Memory usage
Network traffic
Usage of swap space
Average system load
Disk load
To configure the System Monitor applet, right-click on the applet, then choose . Under Monitored Resources you can choose which graphics you want to display:
Processor
Select this option to display the graph for CPU usage.
Memory
Select this option to display the graph for memory usage.
Network
Select this option to display the graph for network traffic.
Swap Space
Select this option to display the graph for swap-space usage.
Load
Select this option to display the graph for average system load.
Harddisk
Select this option to display the graph for disk usage.
To display the current usage of a system resource, position the mouse pointer over the corresponding graph in the applet. A tooltip displays the current usage as a percentage.
To display additional system monitor information, right-click on the applet, then choose to start the System Monitor application.
The System Monitor application enables you to monitor system processes and usage of system resources. You can use the System Monitor application to modify the behavior of your system.
In the right-click menu, go to . Under Options, use the System monitor width spin box to specify the width of each System Monitor graph in pixels.
In the right-click menu, go to . Under Options, use the System monitor update interval spin box to specify the interval at which you want to update the graphs in milliseconds.
To change the colors in a graph, perform the following steps:
Right-click on the applet, then choose .
Select the relevant tab in the Colors area of the System Monitor Preferences dialog.
Click on the relevant color selector button in the selected tabbed section.
On the Pick a Color dialog, use the color wheel or spin boxes to choose the line color for the selected parameter.
Click .
The tabbed section for each resource provides color selection buttons that you can use to change the color of the parameters for each resource.
Processor
Select this tab to display the color buttons for the following parameters:
Parameter
Description
User
Processor time used by non-kernel activities
System
Processor time used by kernel activities
Nice
Processor time used by low-priority processes
IOWait
Processor time used waiting for I/O
Idle
Unused processory capacity
Memory
Select this tab to display the color buttons for the following parameters:
Parameter
Description
User
Memory used by non-kernel activities
Shared
Memory used by more than one application
Buffers
Memory used to temporarily store sent or received data
Cached
Memory used to store data for fast access
Free
Memory not currently in use
Network
Select this tab to display the color buttons for the following parameters:
Parameter
Description
SLIP
Serial Line Internet Protocol network connection
PLIP
Parallel Line Internet Protocol network connection
Ethernet
Ethernet network connection
Other
Network connection other than SLIP, PLIP, or Ethernet
Background
No network connection
Swap Space
Select this tab to display the color buttons for the following parameters:
Parameter
Description
Used
Swap space being used by the system
Free
Swap space that is free to be used
Load
Select this tab to display the color buttons for the following parameters:
Parameter
Description
Average
System Load
Background
that is, no load
Harddisk
Select this tab to display the color buttons for the following parameters:
Parameter
Description
Read
Disk read rate
Write
Disk write rate
Background
Idle disk time