XK0-006 Troubleshooting Practice Question
A Linux administrator receives reports that a server becomes unresponsive for several seconds at a time. Running `uptime` shows a load average of 14.2 on a system with 4 CPU cores, and `vmstat 1` reports a steadily rising 'r' column with a 'wa' column near zero. Which command should the administrator run NEXT to identify which processes are consuming CPU time?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming a high load average always means disk or memory trouble, when a large run queue with near-zero wait points squarely at CPU contention.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
top -o %CPU
A load average of 14.2 on four cores with a growing run queue and almost no I/O wait indicates CPU contention, not storage or memory pressure. The fastest way to attribute that contention is a live, CPU-sorted process view, which shows exactly which tasks are runnable and consuming cycles so the administrator can decide whether to renice, restart, or investigate further.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
iostat -x 1
Why it's wrong here
iostat reports per-device I/O statistics such as await and %util, which help diagnose storage bottlenecks. Here vmstat already shows a near-zero wait column, meaning processes are runnable rather than blocked on disk, so extended device statistics would add little. It cannot attribute CPU consumption to individual processes, so it will not reveal the runaway consumer.
- ✗
free -m
Why it's wrong here
free reports total, used, cached, and available memory in megabytes. While memory pressure can indirectly raise load, the scenario shows a large run queue with almost no I/O wait, a pattern consistent with CPU saturation rather than swapping. free gives no per-process breakdown, so it cannot identify which task is burning the cores.
- ✓
top -o %CPU
Why this is correct
Running top sorted by CPU usage immediately surfaces the processes consuming the most processor time, which is exactly what a high run-queue count with negligible I/O wait points to. It refreshes live, so the administrator can watch the offending process and confirm whether a single runaway task or many busy tasks are driving the load average far above the four-core capacity.
- ✗
df -h
Why it's wrong here
df reports filesystem capacity and mount points. A full filesystem can cause application stalls, but it does not produce a run-queue backlog of runnable processes with negligible wait time. The command provides no CPU or process information whatsoever, so it is irrelevant to locating the process driving the elevated load average.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Process Management and System Monitoring
Key term
Linux
Linux is an open-source operating system that manages computer hardware and software, widely used in servers, desktops, and embedded systems.
Key term
Process
In IT service management, a process is a structured set of activities designed to accomplish a specific objective, such as managing incidents or changes, by transforming inputs into defined outputs.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
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