2 virt-top - 'top'-like utility for virtualization stats
8 virt-top is a top(1)-like utility for showing stats of virtualized
9 domains. Many keys and command line options are the same as for ordinary
12 It uses libvirt so it is capable of showing stats across a variety of
13 different virtualization systems.
16 -1 Display physical CPUs by default (instead of domains). When virt-top
17 is running, use the *1* key to toggle between physical CPUs and
20 -2 Display network interfaces by default (instead of domains). When
21 virt-top is running, use the *2* key to toggle between network
22 interfaces and domains display.
24 -3 Display block devices (virtual disks) by default (instead of
25 domains). When virt-top is running, use the *3* key to toggle
26 between block devices and domains display.
28 -b Batch mode. In this mode keypresses are ignored.
30 -c uri or --connect uri
31 Connect to URI given. The default is to connect to the Xen
34 To connect to QEMU/KVM you would normally do *-c qemu:///system*
36 To connect to libvirtd on a remote machine you would normally do *-c
39 Full details on connection URIs is available at
40 <http://libvirt.org/uri.html>
43 Set the delay between screen updates in seconds. The default is 3.0
44 seconds. You can change this while virt-top is running by pressing
45 either *s* or *d* key.
48 Set the number of iterations to run. The default is to run
52 Set the sort order to one of: cpu (sort by %CPU used), mem (sort by
53 memory used), time (sort by total time), id (sort by domain ID),
54 name (sort by domain name), netrx (sort by network received bytes),
55 nettx (sort by network transmitted bytes), blockrdrq (sort by block
56 device [disk] read requests), blockwrrq (sort by block device [disk]
59 While virt-top is running you can change the sort order using keys
60 *P* (cpu), *M* (memory), *T* (total time), *N* (domain ID), *F*
61 (interactively select the sort field).
63 -s Secure mode. Currently this does nothing.
66 Set the time in seconds between updates of the historical %CPU at
67 the top right of the display.
70 Write the statistics to file *file.csv*. First a header is written
71 showing the statistics being recorded in each column, then one line
72 is written for each screen update. The CSV file can be loaded
73 directly by most spreadsheet programs.
75 Currently the statistics which this records vary between releases of
76 virt-top (but the column headers will stay the same, so you can use
77 those to process the CSV file).
79 Not every version of virt-top supports CSV output - it depends how
80 the program was compiled (see *README* file in the source
81 distribution for details).
83 To save space you can compress your CSV files (if your shell
84 supports this feature, eg. *bash*):
86 virt-top --csv >(gzip -9 > output.csv.gz)
88 You can use a similar trick to split the CSV file up. In this
89 example the CSV file is split every 1000 lines into files called
90 *output.csv.00*, *output.csv.01* etc.
92 virt-top --csv >(split -d -l 1000 - output.csv.)
95 Disable domain CPU stats in CSV output.
98 Disable domain block device stats in CSV output.
101 Disable domain network interface stats in CSV output.
104 Send debug and error messages to *filename*. To send error messages
105 to syslog you can do:
107 virt-top --debug >(logger -t virt-top)
109 See also REPORTING BUGS below.
112 Read *filename* as the init file instead of the default which is
113 *$HOME/.virt-toprc*. See also INIT FILE below.
116 Do not read any init file.
119 Script mode. There will be no user interface. This is most useful
120 when used together with the *--csv* and *-n* options.
123 The program will exit at the *time* given.
125 The time may be given in one of the following formats:
127 *YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS*
128 End time is the date and time given.
131 End time is the time given, today.
134 End time is HH hours, MM minutes, SS seconds in the future
135 (counted from the moment that program starts).
138 End time is *secs* seconds in the future.
140 For example to run the program for 3 minutes you could do:
142 virt-top --end-time +00:03:00
146 virt-top --end-time +180
148 Not every version of virt-top supports this option - it depends how
149 the program was compiled (see *README* file in the source
150 distribution for details).
153 Display usage summary.
156 Display version number and exit.
159 Note that keys are case sensitive. For example use upper-case *P* (shift
160 P) to sort by %CPU. *^* before a key means a Ctrl key, so *^L* is Ctrl
166 *q* Quits the program.
171 Change the delay between screen updates.
174 Show the normal list of domains display.
177 Toggle into showing physical CPUs. If pressed again toggles back to
178 showing domains (the normal display).
180 *2* Toggle into showing network interfaces. If pressed again toggles
181 back to showing domains.
183 *3* Toggle into showing block devices (virtual disks). If pressed again
184 toggles back to showing domains.
190 *T* Sort by total time.
192 *N* Sort by domain ID.
194 *F* Select the sort field interactively (there are other sort fields you
195 can choose using this key).
197 *W* This creates or overwrites the init file with the current settings.
199 This key is disabled if *--no-init-file* was specified on the
200 command line or if *overwrite-init-file false* is given in the init
204 When virt-top starts up, it reads initial settings from the file
205 *.virt-toprc* in the user's home directory.
207 The name of this file may be overridden using the *--init-file filename*
208 command line option or may be disabled entirely using *--no-init-file*.
210 The init file has a simple format. Blank lines and comments beginning
211 with *#* are ignored. Everything else is a set of *key value* pairs,
214 display *task|pcpu|block|net*
215 Sets the major display mode to one of *task* (tasks, the default),
216 *pcpu* (physical CPUs), *block* (block devices), or *net* (network
220 Sets the delay between display updates in seconds.
223 Sets the historical CPU delay in seconds.
226 Sets the number of iterations to run before we exit. Setting this to
227 *-1* means to run continuously.
229 sort *cpu|mem|time|id|name|...*
230 Sets the sort order. The option names are the same as for the
231 command line *-o* option.
234 Sets the default connection URI.
237 Sets the default filename to use for debug and error messages.
240 Enables CSV output to the named file.
243 Enable or disable domain CPU stats in CSV output.
245 csv-block *true|false*
246 Enable or disable domain block device stats in CSV output.
249 Enable or disable domain network interface stats in CSV output.
261 Set the time at which the program exits. See above for the time
264 overwrite-init-file *false*
265 If set to *false* then the *W* key will not overwrite the init file.
267 Note that in the current implementation, options specified in the init
268 file override options specified on the command line. This is a bug and
269 this behaviour may change in the future.
272 top(1), virsh(1), xm(1), xentop(1), <http://www.libvirt.org/ocaml/>,
273 <http://www.libvirt.org/>, <http://et.redhat.com/~rjones/>,
274 <http://caml.inria.fr/>
277 Richard W.M. Jones <rjones @ redhat . com>
280 (C) Copyright 2007 Red Hat Inc., Richard W.M. Jones http://libvirt.org/
282 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
283 under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
284 Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
285 option) any later version.
287 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
288 WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
289 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General
290 Public License for more details.
292 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
293 with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
294 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
297 Bugs can be viewed on the Red Hat Bugzilla page:
298 <https://bugzilla.redhat.com/>.
300 If you find a bug in virt-top, please follow these steps to report it:
302 1. Check for existing bug reports
303 Go to <https://bugzilla.redhat.com/> and search for similar bugs.
304 Someone may already have reported the same bug, and they may even
307 2. Capture debug and error messages
310 virt-top --debug virt-top.log
312 and keep *virt-top.log*. It contains error messages which you should
313 submit with your bug report.
315 3. Get version of virt-top and version of libvirt.
320 If you can get the precise version of libvirt you are using then
323 4. Submit a bug report.
324 Go to <https://bugzilla.redhat.com/> and enter a new bug. Please
325 describe the problem in as much detail as possible.
327 Remember to include the version numbers (step 3) and the debug
328 messages file (step 2).
330 5. Assign the bug to rjones @ redhat.com
331 Assign or reassign the bug to rjones @ redhat.com (without the
332 spaces). You can also send me an email with the bug number if you
333 want a faster response.