# System Monitor Manual

System Monitor displays system load information in graphical format in a panel.

2005
Davyd Madeley
2004
Sun Microsystems
2003
2004
Chee Bin HOH
2007
David Lodge (dave@cirt.net)
GNOME Documentation Project

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Angela
Boyle

    	 aboyle@aboyle.com

Chee Bin
HOH
GNOME Documentation Project

    cbhoh@mimos.my

Davyd
Madeley
GNOME Project

    davyd@madeley.id.au

Version 2.10
March 2005

Davyd Madeley

Version 2.8
August 2004

Angela Boyle

GNOME Documentation Project

System Monitor Applet Manual V2.1
February 2004

Sun GNOME Documentation Team

GNOME Documentation Project

System Monitor Applet Manual V2.0
July 2003

Chee Bin HOH cbhoh@mimos.my

GNOME Documentation Project

This manual describes version 2.10 of System Monitor.

## Feedback

To report a bug or make a suggestion regarding the System Monitor applet or this manual, follow the directions in the GNOME Feedback Page.

## Introduction

### System Monitor

Shows System Monitor. Displays a graph for system CPU load.

The System Monitor displays system load information in graphical format in a panel. You can configure System Monitor to display the following information for your system:

- Usage of CPU (central processing unit) time

- Memory usage

- Network traffic

- Usage of swap space

- Average system load

- Disk load

### To Add System Monitor to a Panel

To add System Monitor to a panel, right-click on the panel, then choose Add to Panel. Select System Monitor in the Add to the panel dialogue, then click OK.

The layout of the System Monitor varies depending on the size and type of panel in which the applet resides.

## Viewing Graphs

### Displaying Additional Graphs

To configure the System Monitor applet, right-click on the applet, then choose Preferences. Under Monitored Resources you can choose which graphics you want to display:

- Processor

  Select this option to display the graph for CPU usage.

- Memory

  Select this option to display the graph for memory usage.

- Network

  Select this option to display the graph for network traffic.

- Swap Space

  Select this option to display the graph for swap-space usage.

- Load

  Select this option to display the graph for average system load.

- Harddisk

  Select this option to display the graph for disk usage.

### To Display the Current Usage of a System Resource

To display the current usage of a system resource, position the mouse pointer over the corresponding graph in the applet. A tooltip displays the current usage as a percentage.

### To Display Additional System Monitor Information

To display additional system monitor information, right-click on the applet, then choose Open System Monitor to start the System Monitor application.

The System Monitor application enables you to monitor system processes and usage of system resources. You can use the System Monitor application to modify the behavior of your system.

## Customising Appearance

### Preferences Dialogue

Preferences Dialogue

### To Change the Width

In the right-click menu, go to Preferences. Under Options, use the System monitor width spin box to specify the width of each System Monitor graph in pixels.

### To Update at Regular Intervals

In the right-click menu, go to Preferences. Under Options, use the System monitor update interval spin box to specify the interval at which you want to update the graphs in milliseconds.

### Changing the Colours in a Graph

To change the colours in a graph, perform the following steps:

1. Right-click on the applet, then choose Preferences.

2. Select the relevant tab in the Colours area of the System Monitor Preferences dialogue.

3. Click on the relevant colour selector button in the selected tabbed section.

4. On the Pick a Colour dialogue, use the colour wheel or spin boxes to choose the line colour for the selected parameter.

5. Click OK.

The tabbed section for each resource provides colour selection buttons that you can use to change the colour of the parameters for each resource.

- Processor

  Select this tab to display the colour buttons for the following parameters:

  Parameter | Description
  --- | ---
  User | Processor time used by non-kernel activities
  System | Processor time used by kernel activities
  Nice | Processor time used by low-priority processes
  IOWait | Processor time used waiting for I/O
  Idle | Unused processory capacity

- Memory

  Select this tab to display the colour buttons for the following parameters:

  Parameter | Description
  --- | ---
  User | Memory used by non-kernel activities
  Shared | Memory used by more than one application
  Buffers | Memory used to temporarily store sent or received data
  Cached | Memory used to store data for fast access
  Free | Memory not currently in use

- Network

  Select this tab to display the colour buttons for the following parameters:

  Parameter | Description
  --- | ---
  SLIP | Serial Line Internet Protocol network connection
  PLIP | Parallel Line Internet Protocol network connection
  Ethernet | Ethernet network connection
  Other | Network connection other than SLIP, PLIP, or Ethernet
  Background | No network connection

- Swap Space

  Select this tab to display the colour buttons for the following parameters:

  Parameter | Description
  --- | ---
  Used | Swap space being used by the system
  Free | Swap space that is free to be used

- Load

  Select this tab to display the colour buttons for the following parameters:

  Parameter | Description
  --- | ---
  Average | System Load
  Background | that is, no load

- Harddisk

  Select this tab to display the colour buttons for the following parameters:

  Parameter | Description
  --- | ---
  Read | Disk read rate
  Write | Disk write rate
  Background | Idle disk time