Learn about the key aspects and tools to measure and optimize your operating system (OS) performance. Find out how to check your CPU, memory, disk, network, uptime, and benchmarks.

Monitoring CPU utilization and alerting incase of it breaching a certain threshold helps in proactively addressing any issues. First thing that I always start with is to check CPU utilization and associated process so as to narrow down to the problem area. Monitoring and keeping trends helps to isolate whether this is normal behaviour during certain period of a day or something changed suddenly.

Having high uptime on systems relate to many factors from hardware you are using to operating system. so it depends how much your service is important and how much you are going to spend on it. For example IBM Power machines and AIX operating systems gives too much uptime even for years and also Linux on Power machines is very good choice for higher uptime. For Linux environments there are some features which let us to patch kernel space bugs without rebooting the server such as RHEL Kpath and oracle Ksplice , limiting number of admins on systems, installing servers with minimum number of packages, limiting network access also prevent human problems which cause service interrupt and sometimes causing server reboot.

How can you measure the performance of your operating system?

The performance of your operating system (OS) is crucial for the efficiency and reliability of your IT services. Whether you use Windows, Linux, Mac, or any other OS, you need to monitor and optimize its performance regularly. But how can you measure the performance of your OS? Here are some key aspects and tools that you can use to evaluate and improve your OS performance.

1 CPU usage

The central processing unit (CPU) is the brain of your computer, and it executes all the instructions and processes that run on your OS. The CPU usage indicates how much of the CPU's capacity is being used by the OS and the applications. A high CPU usage can slow down your system and cause overheating, while a low CPU usage can indicate underutilization or inefficiency. You can measure the CPU usage of your OS using built-in tools such as Task Manager for Windows, Activity Monitor for Mac, or top for Linux. You can also use third-party tools such as Process Explorer or htop for more detailed information.

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Vikas Jain, PMP

Area Infrastructure Manager @ STMicroelectronics
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Monitoring CPU utilization and alerting incase of it breaching a certain threshold helps in proactively addressing any issues. First thing that I always start with is to check CPU utilization and associated process so as to narrow down to the problem area. Monitoring and keeping trends helps to isolate whether this is normal behaviour during certain period of a day or something changed suddenly.

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Alexander Alvonellos

Senior Software Engineer at Accenture
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In my experience, the CPU usage indicator can mean many things. With today's multi-core systems, and multi-processing being a common practice, it's important to understand not just the single aggregate CPU usage number, but also the usage per core. Highly optimized applications should be configured to utilize all cores in a balanced and efficient way. Common tools to monitor CPU Usage are: Perfmon or Task Manager in Windows. Activity Monitor in Mac. iostat, vmstat, top, and ps in Linux and Unix-like operating systems. Low CPU usage does not necessarily indicate a problem.

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Majid Varzideh

Freelance Senior Linux/Unix Engineer
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Monitoring CPU usage of a server is something that you should do over time and you must have graphs even for months to troubleshoot a case. Using centralize network monitoring tools such as ZABBIX and host base monitoring tools such as sar, top and nmon can help too much for troubleshooting and performance tunning of systems. Another important point you should consider is checking hypervisor cpu usage if server is a virtual machine, because sometimes high cpu usage of hypervisor cause virtual machines to become unresponsive. The most important parameters of cpu while monitoring are cpu idle time, system time, io wait time and user time and all should be monitored long term so admins can make better decisions on resolving issues.

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Indranil Acharyya

16+years of IT experience. Software Developer with a history of working in multiple domains using C, C++, Linux, OOAD, STL, Design Patterns, Data Structures Algorithms, Socket Network Programming, etc.
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1. Responsiveness 2. Load balance 3. Distribution of tasks and Handling multiple threads 4. Faster execution of instructions 5. able to handle H/W parallelism etc.

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2 Memory usage

The memory or RAM (random access memory) is the storage space where your OS and applications store and access data temporarily. The memory usage indicates how much of the memory is being used by the OS and the applications. A high memory usage can cause your system to swap data to the disk, which can slow down your performance and increase wear and tear. A low memory usage can indicate that your system has more memory than it needs, which can be a waste of resources. You can measure the memory usage of your OS using the same tools as for the CPU usage, or using other tools such as Memory Analyzer or free.

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Larry Black

IT Specialist for Allied Tech Pros, LLC
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Depending on the OS, their are multiple ways to test speed and performance of business and home computers and networks. Built in diagnostics are a good start, and experience and manual observation is the best way to keep systems running at top speed.

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3 Disk usage

The disk or hard drive is the storage device where your OS and applications store and access data permanently. The disk usage indicates how much of the disk space is being used by the OS and the applications. A high disk usage can cause your system to run out of space, which can affect your performance and security. A low disk usage can indicate that your system has more disk space than it needs, which can be a waste of resources. You can measure the disk usage of your OS using built-in tools such as File Explorer for Windows, Disk Utility for Mac, or df for Linux. You can also use third-party tools such as WinDirStat or ncdu for more detailed information.

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Majid Varzideh

Freelance Senior Linux/Unix Engineer
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monitoring disk usage of file systems are crucial part of a good system administrator. For this any infrastructure team should have a robust monitoring solution in place and keep data for long term so it not only can inform infrastructure teams of file system usage based on predefined thresholds but also help to estimate data growth in different file systems.it is better to have different file systems for operating system data such as /var and /usr and application data such as mysql data. If there is an oracle database there it is better to use ASM so you are not worried about file system usage of oracle. having good rotation periods for logs or any other data which is rotatable is a good practice to consider in production environments.

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Indranil Acharyya

16+years of IT experience. Software Developer with a history of working in multiple domains using C, C++, Linux, OOAD, STL, Design Patterns, Data Structures Algorithms, Socket Network Programming, etc.
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1. Faster IO for secondary storage 2. Efficient Swap memory usage 3. Able to format file system on the fly without disturbing the other file system partitions.

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4 Network usage

The network or internet is the medium where your OS and applications communicate with other devices and services. The network usage indicates how much of the network bandwidth is being used by the OS and the applications. A high network usage can cause your system to consume more data, which can affect your speed and cost. A low network usage can indicate that your system is not using the network efficiently or effectively. You can measure the network usage of your OS using built-in tools such as Resource Monitor for Windows, Network Utility for Mac, or iftop for Linux. You can also use third-party tools such as Wireshark or nload for more detailed information.

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5 System uptime

The system uptime is the duration of time that your OS has been running without interruption or reboot. The system uptime indicates how stable and reliable your OS is. A high system uptime can mean that your OS is performing well and does not need frequent maintenance or updates. A low system uptime can mean that your OS is experiencing problems or errors that require troubleshooting or restarting. You can measure the system uptime of your OS using built-in tools such as System Information for Windows, System Preferences for Mac, or uptime for Linux. You can also use third-party tools such as Uptime Robot or Pingdom for more detailed information.

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Majid Varzideh

Freelance Senior Linux/Unix Engineer
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Having high uptime on systems relate to many factors from hardware you are using to operating system. so it depends how much your service is important and how much you are going to spend on it. For example IBM Power machines and AIX operating systems gives too much uptime even for years and also Linux on Power machines is very good choice for higher uptime. For Linux environments there are some features which let us to patch kernel space bugs without rebooting the server such as RHEL Kpath and oracle Ksplice , limiting number of admins on systems, installing servers with minimum number of packages, limiting network access also prevent human problems which cause service interrupt and sometimes causing server reboot.

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Dennie R.

Video/Audio Developer, eLearning Developer, Content Writer, Proof Reader, Editor
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One of the ways I measure system viability is constant productive up time. In an agency such as mine where the system going down is a work stoppage for an entire state the long the system is up and productive the better it’s working

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6 Benchmark tests

The benchmark tests are the standardized tests that measure the performance of your OS and compare it with other systems or standards. The benchmark tests indicate how fast and powerful your OS is in different scenarios and tasks. A high benchmark score can mean that your OS is optimized and competitive. A low benchmark score can mean that your OS is outdated or inefficient. You can measure the benchmark tests of your OS using third-party tools such as Geekbench, PCMark, or Cinebench. You can also use online tools such as Speedtest or BrowserBench for more specific tests.

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Cosmin Dinu

Administration TL at Wincanton
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CPU testing - Cinebench, Blender, Geekbench, Prime95 GPU testing - 3DMark, Furmark, PassMark SSD/HDD testing - CrystalDisk Temps/fans/voltages - HWInfo64

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you measure the performance of your operating system?

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1 CPU usage

2 Memory usage

3 Disk usage

4 Network usage

5 System uptime

6 Benchmark tests

7 Here’s what else to consider

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