this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2023
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Linux
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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What... Exactly are you trying to accomplish? To me it seems like you think your system is leaving performance on the table, but that you don't think you have the knowledge to get that performance back.
What makes you think there is performance left on the table to begin with? Linux is running on millions of servers across the world, and programmers miles ahead of both you and me have expanded significant effort to optimize the performance as best as possible.
Even if there was performance left on the table (there always is a little, as a result of more general optimization as opposed to more niche tuning), what could an automated tool do that the kernel couldn't on its own?
No, I think you may have misinterpreted my post. By performance, I just mean overall performance, preferably optimized for the perfect median... Not trying to squeeze more performance, just trying to work with what I got and ensure all the moving parts and software and such are playing fair and on the same page.... Basically looking for just smoothness and proper running of my systems at all times. I've had so many issues over the years, most likely user error, with just freeze ups, overheating, high CPU usage when I'm not really doing anything intensive at all and not to mention many WiFi issues, but that's probably a whole other topic. I dont quite know what aspects or programs I should configure or how or if everything should just be default, etc. Sometimes I just wing configurations to things that make sense to me. Needless to say, I just want to ensure my system stays on the same page and runs smooth, how it should, with fewer errors or slowdowns or other annoyances.
There's no one answer here. It's going to take a lot of trial and error and experimenting. All of the issues you mention are going to have to be addressed individually as well. There is never going to be a single tool to do this for you.
As far as tracking state over time, standing up a proper, modern monitoring stack will help tremendously. If you send logs to loki, collect metrics with Prometheus or OpenTelemetry, and graph them both with grafana, you should have really great insights to whatever is happening.. It's never going to be finished though. It's always a work in progress.
Sounds like a complex undertaking. I dont quite even know where to start with learning how to do all of that. I figured there are tools out there, like the ones I listed, that are supposed to automatically optimize aspects for you.
It sounds like you're chasing something that doesn't exist. There isn't really like a point you get to when everything is "optimized" or whatever... That word doesn't really mean anything. Optimization is a process that you use for really specific situations. It's not a state you get to.
For example, if I was serving a website and the server was showing high CPU usage and disk activity, I might find what files are being accessed most often and add a caching layer (redis, varnish, memcache, etc). That would optimize for more efficient CPU usage and lower disk activity but it would also increase memory usage. That's a trade off I would need to consider before implementing that change. If the apps I am running are already consuming a lot of memory, I might run the risk of exhausting all the memory and having processes killed off (aka OOM errors). Maybe I try something else then.
You need to find what's happening with your system and then figure out what you can do to mitigate the behavior of any poorly performing apps. That all starts with good monitoring but beyond that its impossible to say because it's extremely dependent on how you have chosen to configure your system and what you are running.
This type of investigation is what gets you to be a real engineer.
Thanks, I'm starting to realize this. There are many different aspects and tools to use to assess different parts of your system. I just want to ensure my system is bug and error free. I just have no idea where to start and with what tools and how to understand and implement things. I know logs are a popular option, but even those confuse the heck out me me. Like I KNOW there's issues within my system but its difficult to find the right way to pinpoint and address things. I sorta wanna be like an investigator for my computer lol I want to really dig in and make sure everything is proper. Its just so daunting and vast and confusing. Chat gpt helps me with some stuff, which is actually very useful because answers on forums and what not can be all over the place and a lot of times the solutions dont quite work.