How to use DTrace and mdb to Interpret vmstat Statistics
(Doc ID 1009494.1)
Last updated on JULY 20, 2023
Applies to:
Solaris Operating System - Version 10 and later All Platforms
Goal
Vmstat reports system-wide physical and virtual memory (swap) usage and CPU utilization. Vmstat statistics can be used to estimate:
Workload physical and virtual memory requirements
Workload profile: Is the workload CPU, memory or IO bound
Types of activities, kernel or user, monopolizing CPU usage.
Source of paging activity. Paging activity to the swap device is a sign of a memory shortage
The purpose of this document is to interpret vmstat statistics and demonstrate how advanced tools like DTrace and mdb can be used to drill down into vmstat statistics for evaluating overall system performance.
It's preferable to have the DTraceToolkit on the target system. It contains a collection of over 200 useful and documented DTrace scripts developed by Brendan Gregg.
Sample output:
Solution
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