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
35 Set the delay between screen updates in seconds. The default is 3.0
36 seconds. You can change this while virt-top is running by pressing
37 either *s* or *d* key.
40 Set the number of iterations to run. The default is to run
44 Set the sort order to one of: cpu (sort by %CPU used), mem (sort by
45 memory used), time (sort by total time), id (sort by domain ID),
46 name (sort by domain name), netrx (sort by network received bytes),
47 nettx (sort by network transmitted bytes), blockrdrq (sort by block
48 device [disk] read requests), blockwrrq (sort by block device [disk]
51 While virt-top is running you can change the sort order using keys
52 *P* (cpu), *M* (memory), *T* (total time), *N* (domain ID), *F*
53 (interactively select the sort field).
55 -s Secure mode. Currently this does nothing.
58 Set the time in seconds between updates of the historical %CPU at
59 the top right of the display.
62 Write the statistics to file *file.csv*. First a header is written
63 showing the statistics being recorded in each column, then one line
64 is written for each screen update. The CSV file can be loaded
65 directly by most spreadsheet programs.
67 Currently the statistics which this records vary between releases of
68 virt-top (but the column headers will stay the same, so you can use
69 those to process the CSV file).
71 Not every version of virt-top supports CSV output - it depends how
72 the program was compiled (see *README* file in the source
73 distribution for details).
75 To save space you can compress your CSV files (if your shell
76 supports this feature, eg. *bash*):
78 virt-top --csv >(gzip -9 > output.csv.gz)
80 You can use a similar trick to split the CSV file up. In this
81 example the CSV file is split every 1000 lines into files called
82 *output.csv.00*, *output.csv.01* etc.
84 virt-top --csv >(split -d -l 1000 - output.csv.)
87 Disable domain CPU stats in CSV output.
90 Disable domain block device stats in CSV output.
93 Disable domain network interface stats in CSV output.
96 Send debug and error messages to *filename*. To send error messages
99 virt-top --debug >(logger -t virt-top)
101 See also REPORTING BUGS below.
104 Read *filename* as the init file instead of the default which is
105 *$HOME/.virt-toprc*. See also INIT FILE below.
108 Do not read any init file.
111 Script mode. There will be no user interface. This is most useful
112 when used together with the *--csv* and *-n* options.
115 The program will exit at the *time* given.
117 The time may be given in one of the following formats:
119 *YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS*
120 End time is the date and time given.
123 End time is the time given, today.
126 End time is HH hours, MM minutes, SS seconds in the future
127 (counted from the moment that program starts).
130 End time is *secs* seconds in the future.
132 For example to run the program for 3 minutes you could do:
134 virt-top --end-time +00:03:00
138 virt-top --end-time +180
140 Not every version of virt-top supports this option - it depends how
141 the program was compiled (see *README* file in the source
142 distribution for details).
145 Display usage summary.
148 Note that keys are case sensitive. For example use upper-case *P* (shift
149 P) to sort by %CPU. *^* before a key means a Ctrl key, so *^L* is Ctrl
155 *q* Quits the program.
160 Change the delay between screen updates.
163 Show the normal list of domains display.
166 Toggle into showing physical CPUs. If pressed again toggles back to
167 showing domains (the normal display).
169 *2* Toggle into showing network interfaces. If pressed again toggles
170 back to showing domains.
172 *3* Toggle into showing block devices (virtual disks). If pressed again
173 toggles back to showing domains.
179 *T* Sort by total time.
181 *N* Sort by domain ID.
183 *F* Select the sort field interactively (there are other sort fields you
184 can choose using this key).
186 *W* This creates or overwrites the init file with the current settings.
188 This key is disabled if *--no-init-file* was specified on the
189 command line or if *overwrite-init-file false* is given in the init
193 When virt-top starts up, it reads initial settings from the file
194 *.virt-toprc* in the user's home directory.
196 The name of this file may be overridden using the *--init-file filename*
197 command line option or may be disabled entirely using *--no-init-file*.
199 The init file has a simple format. Blank lines and comments beginning
200 with *#* are ignored. Everything else is a set of *key value* pairs,
203 display *task|pcpu|block|net*
204 Sets the major display mode to one of *task* (tasks, the default),
205 *pcpu* (physical CPUs), *block* (block devices), or *net* (network
209 Sets the delay between display updates in seconds.
212 Sets the historical CPU delay in seconds.
215 Sets the number of iterations to run before we exit. Setting this to
216 *-1* means to run continuously.
218 sort *cpu|mem|time|id|name|...*
219 Sets the sort order. The option names are the same as for the
220 command line *-o* option.
223 Sets the default connection URI.
226 Sets the default filename to use for debug and error messages.
229 Enables CSV output to the named file.
232 Enable or disable domain CPU stats in CSV output.
234 csv-block *true|false*
235 Enable or disable domain block device stats in CSV output.
238 Enable or disable domain network interface stats in CSV output.
250 Set the time at which the program exits. See above for the time
253 overwrite-init-file *false*
254 If set to *false* then the *W* key will not overwrite the init file.
256 Note that in the current implementation, options specified in the init
257 file override options specified on the command line. This is a bug and
258 this behaviour may change in the future.
261 top(1), virsh(1), xm(1), xentop(1), <http://www.libvirt.org/>,
262 <http://et.redhat.com/~rjones/>, <http://caml.inria.fr/>
265 Richard W.M. Jones <rjones @ redhat . com>
268 (C) Copyright 2007 Red Hat Inc., Richard W.M. Jones http://libvirt.org/
270 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
271 under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
272 Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
273 option) any later version.
275 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
276 WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
277 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General
278 Public License for more details.
280 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
281 with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
282 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
285 Bugs can be viewed on the Red Hat Bugzilla page:
286 <https://bugzilla.redhat.com/>.
288 If you find a bug in virt-top, please follow these steps to report it:
290 1. Check for existing bug reports
291 Go to <https://bugzilla.redhat.com/> and search for similar bugs.
292 Someone may already have reported the same bug, and they may even
295 2. Capture debug and error messages
298 virt-top --debug virt-top.log
300 and keep *virt-top.log*. It contains error messages which you should
301 submit with your bug report.
303 3. Get version of virt-top and version of libvirt.
304 In virt-top, press the *h* (help) key, and write down the version of
305 virt-top and the version of libvirt. They are shown in the first
308 4. Submit a bug report.
309 Go to <https://bugzilla.redhat.com/> and enter a new bug. Please
310 describe the problem in as much detail as possible.
312 Remember to include the version numbers (step 3) and the debug
313 messages file (step 2).
315 5. Assign the bug to rjones @ redhat.com
316 Assign or reassign the bug to rjones @ redhat.com (without the
317 spaces). You can also send me an email with the bug number if you
318 want a faster response.