Server operations · Lesson 10 of 36 · 7 minutes

Resource baseline

Read simulated disk, memory, and load indicators together.

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learner@clairos:~ $

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Your objectives

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1
Disk baseline
Run df -h.
Hint & worked example
Inspect the virtual filesystem capacity report. Real systems can run out of space or inodes independently.
The command outcome must match the task, including successful access or the explicitly requested failure.
```
df -h
```
Remember: Available space is a snapshot, not a guarantee that a later write will succeed.
2
Memory baseline
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.
3
Load baseline
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.

Understand the pattern

Operations triage often starts with capacity signals.

df: Inspect the virtual filesystem capacity report. Real systems can run out of space or inodes independently.
Available space is a snapshot, not a guarantee that a later write will succeed.
free: Inspect simulated memory totals and availability.
Allocated, cached, available, and free memory are not interchangeable measures.
uptime: Read simulated runtime and load information.
Load average is not a direct CPU percentage.

Worked example and expected result

$ df -h

Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
lab-root         20G  6.4G   14G  32% /
lab-logs        2.0G  180M  1.9G   9% /var/log

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.

$ 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.

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 “Resource baseline”, which interpretation is safe?Allocated, cached, available, and free memory are not interchangeable measures.A command appearing in history proves it completed successfully.A successful first check guarantees that every dependent service is healthy.

Apply it elsewhere

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

Keep the momentum.

Complete the lab, then explain and apply the pattern.

Next: Log disk review Try an incident drill

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