Understanding Linux CPU statsUpdated version of an article first published on February 24th, 2015. Your Linux server is running slow, so you follow standard procedure and run top. You see the CPU metrics: But what do all of those 2-letter abbreviations mean? The 3 CPU statesLet's take a step back. There are 3 general states your CPU can be in: Idle, which means it has nothing to do.Running a user space program, like a command
