sar vs top

[Paul_481]

Hello Guys,

Just want to ask, which one is accurate.
sar or top.

I run both at the same time to find the cpu idle but theres a large difference in the result.

thanks,
paul

[Slawomir Gora]

Hi,


in my opinion - sar

[Paul_481]

can you explain to me how?

thanks,

paul

[Sridhar Bhaskarla · Accepted solution]

Hi Paul,

sar shows the CPU that is waiting for IO to complete but otherwise Idle as a seperate column where as 'top' doesn't. Means, sar's idle CPU doesn't include %wio. So, if you compare the 'idle+%wio' in sar and 'idle' in top, you may find them near.

-Sri

[Paul_481]

ok thanks