{"id":14167,"date":"2023-04-24T18:27:19","date_gmt":"2023-04-24T18:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/howto\/?p=14167"},"modified":"2023-10-12T19:19:32","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T19:19:32","slug":"how-to-check-ram-on-ubuntu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/howto\/how-to-check-ram-on-ubuntu\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Check RAM Usage on Ubuntu"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"How<\/p>\n

In Ubuntu<\/a>, you can check the RAM (Random Access Memory) usage of your system with multiple methods available via both the GUI (Graphical User Interface) and the command line. Checking the memory usage on Ubuntu server is quite a straightforward process.<\/p>\n

Understanding the amount of memory used and available is essential for troubleshooting and optimizing your web server<\/a> performance since RAM is a vital system component that provides fast read and write access to a storage medium. Regularly monitoring this metric can aid in diagnosing potential system issues, optimizing server performance, and determining the necessity for a RAM upgrade.<\/p>\n

In this quick guide, we will elucidate various prevalent methods to inspect RAM usage on Ubuntu, employing an array of commands and tools, ensuring you have a comprehensive understanding of how to monitor it on your Linux system.<\/p>\n

Let’s get started!<\/p>\n

Option 1: Check RAM Using the “free” Command<\/h2>\n

The “free” command displays the amount of free and used memory in the system. To use this command, open a terminal and type the following command:<\/p>\n

\r\nfree\r\n<\/pre>\n
The output will display the total amount of RAM, used RAM, free RAM, and shared memory. The output will also show the buffers and cached memory.<\/p>\n
\r\nroot@geeks:~# free\r\n              total        used        free      shared  buff\/cache   available\r\nMem:       16424164      966948    14938512       81844      518704    15102152\r\nSwap:             0           0           0\r\n<\/pre>\n
Option 2: Check RAM Using the “top” Command<\/h2>\n
The “top” command displays the system processes and their resource usage, including RAM usage. To use this command, open a terminal and type the following command:<\/p>\n
\r\ntop\r\n<\/pre>\n
The output will display the list of processes running on the system, including their PID, user, CPU usage, and RAM usage. You’ll see memory usage displayed as KiB Mem and KiB Swap.<\/p>\n
\r\ntop - 13:23:44 up 20 days, 21:24,  1 user,  load average: 0.00, 0.00, 0.00\r\nTasks: 176 total,   1 running, 109 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie\r\n%Cpu(s):  0.0 us,  0.0 sy,  0.0 ni,100.0 id,  0.0 wa,  0.0 hi,  0.0 si,  0.0 st\r\nKiB Mem : 16424164 total, 11720752 free,  1438952 used,  3264460 buff\/cache\r\nKiB Swap:        0 total,        0 free,        0 used. 14579664 avail Mem\r\n\r\n  PID USER      PR  NI    VIRT    RES    SHR S  %CPU %MEM     TIME+ COMMAND\r\n 2416 root      20   0   42812   3960   3304 R   0.3  0.0   0:00.02 top\r\n    1 root      20   0  225268   8920   6560 S   0.0  0.1   0:46.62 systemd\r\n    2 root      20   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:00.60 kthreadd\r\n    4 root       0 -20       0      0      0 I   0.0  0.0   0:00.00 kworker\/0:0H\r\n    6 root       0 -20       0      0      0 I   0.0  0.0   0:00.00 mm_percpu_wq\r\n    7 root      20   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:01.82 ksoftirqd\/0\r\n    8 root      20   0       0      0      0 I   0.0  0.0   3:09.90 rcu_sched\r\n    9 root      20   0       0      0      0 I   0.0  0.0   0:00.00 rcu_bh\r\n   10 root      rt   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:00.73 migration\/0\r\n   11 root      rt   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:04.07 watchdog\/0\r\n   12 root      20   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:00.00 cpuhp\/0\r\n   13 root      20   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:00.00 cpuhp\/1\r\n   14 root      rt   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:03.22 watchdog\/1\r\n   15 root      rt   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:00.76 migration\/1\r\n   16 root      20   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:00.92 ksoftirqd\/1\r\n   18 root       0 -20       0      0      0 I   0.0  0.0   0:00.00 kworker\/1:0H\r\n   19 root      20   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:00.00 cpuhp\/2\r\n   20 root      rt   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:03.19 watchdog\/2\r\n   21 root      rt   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:00.77 migration\/2\r\n   22 root      20   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:00.90 ksoftirqd\/2\r\n   24 root       0 -20       0      0      0 I   0.0  0.0   0:00.00 kworker\/2:0H\r\n   25 root      20   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:00.00 cpuhp\/3\r\n   26 root      rt   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:03.11 watchdog\/3\r\n   27 root      rt   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:00.78 migration\/3\r\n   28 root      20   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:00.96 ksoftirqd\/3\r\n   30 root       0 -20       0      0      0 I   0.0  0.0   0:00.00 kworker\/3:0H\r\n   31 root      20   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:00.00 cpuhp\/4\r\n   32 root      rt   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:03.04 watchdog\/4\r\n   33 root      rt   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:00.80 migration\/4\r\n   34 root      20   0       0      0      0 S   0.0  0.0   0:00.90 ksoftirqd\/4                                              \r\n<\/pre>\n
Option 3: Check RAM Using the “htop” Command<\/h2>\n
The “htop” command is an enhanced version of the “top” command, which displays the system processes and their resource usage in a more user-friendly way. To use this command, open a terminal and type the following command:<\/p>\n
\r\napt-get install htop\r\nhtop\r\n<\/pre>\n
The output will display the list of processes running on the system, including their PID, user, CPU usage, and RAM usage.<\/p>\n
\r\n  1  [                                                0.0%]   5  [                                                0.0%]\r\n  2  [|                                               0.7%]   6  [|                                               0.7%]\r\n  3  [                                                0.0%]   7  [                                                0.0%]\r\n  4  [                                                0.0%]   8  [                                                0.0%]\r\n  Mem[||||||||||||||||                         1.48G\/15.7G]   Tasks: 63, 127 thr; 1 running\r\n  Swp[                                               0K\/0K]   Load average: 0.00 0.00 0.00\r\n                                                              Uptime: 20 days, 21:21:36\r\n\r\n  PID USER      PRI  NI  VIRT   RES   SHR S CPU% MEM%   TIME+  Command\r\n 1145 root       20   0 32248  4808  3876 R  0.7  0.0  0:00.37 htop\r\n 1112 root       20   0  870M 26976 10148 S  0.7  0.2  1h11:32 \/usr\/bin\/python3 \/usr\/bin\/fail2ban-server -xf start\r\n  472 root       19  -1  395M  251M  239M S  0.7  1.6  3:42.68 \/lib\/systemd\/systemd-journald\r\n 1213 root       20   0  870M 26976 10148 S  0.7  0.2 10:29.64 \/usr\/bin\/python3 \/usr\/bin\/fail2ban-server -xf start\r\n 1721 root       20   0  103M  6812  5840 S  0.7  0.0  0:00.01 sshd: [accepted]\r\n 1201 mysql      20   0 9094M 1047M 17700 S  0.0  6.5 47:05.51 \/usr\/sbin\/mysqld --daemonize --pid-file=\/run\/mysqld\/mysqld.pid\r\n 1234 root       20   0  870M 26976 10148 S  0.0  0.2 10:27.77 \/usr\/bin\/python3 \/usr\/bin\/fail2ban-server -xf start\r\n 1214 root       20   0  870M 26976 10148 S  0.0  0.2 10:17.40 \/usr\/bin\/python3 \/usr\/bin\/fail2ban-server -xf start\r\n 1235 root       20   0  870M 26976 10148 S  0.0  0.2 12:40.85 \/usr\/bin\/python3 \/usr\/bin\/fail2ban-server -xf start\r\n 1056 messagebu  20   0 50412  4736  3768 S  0.0  0.0  1:24.34 \/usr\/bin\/dbus-daemon --system --address=systemd: --nofork --no\r\n 1087 root       20   0  282M  6568  5776 S  0.0  0.0  0:40.59 \/usr\/lib\/policykit-1\/polkitd --no-debug\r\n 1541 mysql      20   0 9094M 1047M 17700 S  0.0  6.5  0:53.64 \/usr\/sbin\/mysqld --daemonize --pid-file=\/run\/mysqld\/mysqld.pid\r\n 7150 www-data   20   0  434M  106M 91368 S  0.0  0.7  0:03.17 \/usr\/sbin\/apache2 -k start\r\n 3028 www-data   20   0 88640 15588  6100 S  0.0  0.1 15:07.81 nginx: worker process\r\n17259 www-data   20   0  432M  105M 92360 S  0.0  0.7  0:02.17 \/usr\/sbin\/apache2 -k start\r\n 1240 root       20   0  870M 26976 10148 S  0.0  0.2  5:13.80 \/usr\/bin\/python3 \/usr\/bin\/fail2ban-server -xf start\r\n27244 mysql      20   0 9094M 1047M 17700 S  0.0  6.5  0:20.36 \/usr\/sbin\/mysqld --daemonize --pid-file=\/run\/mysqld\/mysqld.pid\r\n 1239 root       20   0  870M 26976 10148 S  0.0  0.2  4:09.77 \/usr\/bin\/python3 \/usr\/bin\/fail2ban-server -xf start\r\n 1238 root       20   0  870M 26976 10148 S  0.0  0.2  4:07.15 \/usr\/bin\/python3 \/usr\/bin\/fail2ban-server -xf start\r\n 1244 root       20   0  870M 26976 10148 S  0.0  0.2  4:07.28 \/usr\/bin\/python3 \/usr\/bin\/fail2ban-server -xf start\r\n 1538 mysql      20   0 9094M 1047M 17700 S  0.0  6.5  1:39.13 \/usr\/sbin\/mysqld --daemonize --pid-file=\/run\/mysqld\/mysqld.pid\r\n  984 root       20   0  103M  7120  6128 S  0.0  0.0  0:00.04 sshd: root@pts\/0\r\n 1539 mysql      20   0 9094M 1047M 17700 S  0.0  6.5  1:09.05 \/usr\/sbin\/mysqld --daemonize --pid-file=\/run\/mysqld\/mysqld.pid\r\n10277 mysql      20   0 9094M 1047M 17700 S  0.0  6.5  0:45.94 \/usr\/sbin\/mysqld --daemonize --pid-file=\/run\/mysqld\/mysqld.pid\r\n 1540 mysql      20   0 9094M 1047M 17700 S  0.0  6.5  1:14.24 \/usr\/sbin\/mysqld --daemonize --pid-file=\/run\/mysqld\/mysqld.pid\r\n<\/pre>\n
Option 4. Check RAM Using the `vmstat` Command<\/h2>\n
vmstat is a tool that reports virtual memory statistics. It provides information about processes, memory, paging, block IO, traps, and CPU activity.<\/p>\n
To use vmstat, simply type:<\/p>\n
\r\nvmstat\r\n<\/pre>\n
Look at the “swpd” (swap used) and “free” (free memory) columns for details on memory usage.<\/p>\n
\r\nroot@geeks:~# vmstat\r\nprocs -----------memory---------- ---swap-- -----io---- -system-- ------cpu-----\r\n r  b   swpd   free   buff  cache   si   so    bi    bo   in   cs us sy id wa st\r\n 0  0      0 11715776 193944 3070816    0    0     0     9    0    3  0  0 100  0  0\r\n<\/pre>\n
Option 5. Check RAM Using the `cat` Command with `\/proc\/meminfo`<\/h2>\n
The \/proc\/meminfo file contains detailed information about the system’s memory usage.<\/p>\n
To view its contents, use:<\/p>\n
cat \/proc\/meminfo<\/pre>\n
This will display a detailed breakdown of your system’s memory, including total, free, used, and other memory-related statistics.<\/p>\n
\r\nroot@geeks:~# cat \/proc\/meminfo\r\nMemTotal:       16424164 kB\r\nMemFree:        11727596 kB\r\nMemAvailable:   14587452 kB\r\nBuffers:          193944 kB\r\nCached:          2770224 kB\r\nSwapCached:            0 kB\r\nActive:          2908184 kB\r\nInactive:        1335364 kB\r\nActive(anon):    1369208 kB\r\nInactive(anon):     6508 kB\r\nActive(file):    1538976 kB\r\nInactive(file):  1328856 kB\r\nUnevictable:           0 kB\r\nMlocked:               0 kB\r\nSwapTotal:             0 kB\r\nSwapFree:              0 kB\r\nDirty:                 0 kB\r\nWriteback:             0 kB\r\nAnonPages:       1279404 kB\r\nMapped:           293980 kB\r\nShmem:             96340 kB\r\nSlab:             375684 kB\r\nSReclaimable:     301232 kB\r\nSUnreclaim:        74452 kB\r\nKernelStack:        5008 kB\r\nPageTables:        19040 kB\r\nNFS_Unstable:          0 kB\r\nBounce:                0 kB\r\nWritebackTmp:          0 kB\r\nCommitLimit:     8212080 kB\r\nCommitted_AS:    6095528 kB\r\nVmallocTotal:   34359738367 kB\r\nVmallocUsed:           0 kB\r\nVmallocChunk:          0 kB\r\nHardwareCorrupted:     0 kB\r\nAnonHugePages:         0 kB\r\nShmemHugePages:        0 kB\r\nShmemPmdMapped:        0 kB\r\nCmaTotal:              0 kB\r\nCmaFree:               0 kB\r\nHugePages_Total:       0\r\nHugePages_Free:        0\r\nHugePages_Rsvd:        0\r\nHugePages_Surp:        0\r\nHugepagesize:       2048 kB\r\nDirectMap4k:      235376 kB\r\nDirectMap2M:     7104512 kB\r\nDirectMap1G:    11534336 kB\r\n<\/pre>\n
Option 6: Check RAM Using the System Monitor<\/h2>\n
The System Monitor is a graphical tool that displays the system processes and resource usage. To use this tool, go to the Applications menu, click on the System Tools, and select the System Monitor. In the System Monitor, go to the Resources tab, and you will see the RAM usage and other resource usage information.<\/p>\n
Option 7. Check RAM Using the `gnome-system-monitor`<\/h2>\n
If you’re using the GNOME desktop environment, you can use the gnome-system-monitor:<\/p>\n
Press Alt + F2, type gnome-system-monitor, and press Enter. Navigate to the “Resources” tab to view memory usage.<\/p>\n
Option 8. Check RAM Using `glances`<\/h2>\n
glances is an advanced system monitoring tool that provides a comprehensive overview of various system resources, including memory.<\/p>\n
To install glances, use:<\/p>\n
apt install glances<\/pre>\n
Once installed, run it by typing:<\/p>\n
glances<\/pre>\n
Option 9. Check RAM Using `nmon`<\/h2>\n
nmon is another system monitoring tool that provides information about various system resources, including memory.<\/p>\n
To install nmon, use:<\/p>\n
apt install nmon<\/pre>\n
After installation, run it by typing:<\/p>\n
nmon<\/pre>\n
Press ‘m’ to view memory statistics.<\/p>\n
Option 10. Check RAM Using `smem`<\/h2>\n
smem provides memory usage reports with a focus on “proportional set size” (PSS), which is a more accurate representation of the memory being used by applications and processes.<\/p>\n
To install smem, use:<\/p>\n
apt install smem<\/pre>\n
Run it by simply typing:<\/p>\n
smem<\/pre>\n
Commands Mentioned:<\/h2>\n