Troubleshooting · Lesson 21 of 26 · 8 minutes

Incident resource spike

Build a resource snapshot before blaming a process.

Open the lab Course map

Mastery 0/3Run itExplain itApply it

learner@clairos:~ $

↑ history · Tab complete · Ctrl+C cancel · Esc, Tab to leaveExit 0

Your objectives

Hints are always available. Wrong turns never cost XP.

1
Read load
Run uptime.
Hint & worked example
Read simulated runtime and load information.
The command outcome must match the task, including successful access or the explicitly requested failure.
```
uptime
```
Remember: Load average is not a direct CPU percentage.
2
Read top
Run top.
Hint & worked example
Inspect a single training snapshot of process and resource activity.
The command outcome must match the task, including successful access or the explicitly requested failure.
```
top
```
Remember: This lab does not run a continuously refreshing process monitor.
3
Read memory
Run free -h.
Hint & worked example
Inspect simulated memory totals and availability.
The command outcome must match the task, including successful access or the explicitly requested failure.
```
free -h
```
Remember: Allocated, cached, available, and free memory are not interchangeable measures.

Understand the pattern

Junior operators build confidence by gathering evidence before changing systems.

uptime: Read simulated runtime and load information.
Load average is not a direct CPU percentage.
top: Inspect a single training snapshot of process and resource activity.
This lab does not run a continuously refreshing process monitor.
free: Inspect simulated memory totals and availability.
Allocated, cached, available, and free memory are not interchangeable measures.

Worked example and expected result

$ uptime

 10:26:04 up 12 days,  4:18,  1 learner,  load average: 0.04, 0.03, 0.01

Exit status: 0. The command completed successfully in the training fixture.

$ top

top - 10:26:04 up 12 days, 1 learner, load average: 0.04, 0.03, 0.01
PID USER      %CPU %MEM COMMAND
42  www-data   0.2  1.1 nginx
77  root       0.1  0.8 sshd
126 root       0.0  0.3 cron

Exit status: 0. The command completed successfully in the training fixture.

$ free -h

               total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:           3.8Gi       820Mi       2.1Gi        18Mi       900Mi       2.8Gi
Swap:             0B          0B          0B

Exit status: 0. The command completed successfully in the training fixture.

Try a variation

Repeat this workflow in the sandbox with a different scratch filename. Keep the system fixtures unchanged and compare the observed output with your expectation before moving on.

Explain it

In “Incident resource spike”, which interpretation is safe?A successful first check guarantees that every dependent service is healthy.This lab does not run a continuously refreshing process monitor.A command appearing in history proves it completed successfully.

Apply it elsewhere

Before adapting the top workflow from “Incident resource spike” to another server, what should you do?Confirm the current directory, target identity, permissions, and the installed command behavior first.Paste the training paths unchanged into production.Skip output inspection whenever the command is familiar.

Keep the momentum.

Complete the lab, then explain and apply the pattern.

Next: Incident rollback evidence Try an incident drill

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