XK0-006 Troubleshooting Practice Question
An administrator needs to identify which processes are consuming the most CPU and memory resources. Which two commands can provide this information? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
The key distinction is between system-wide monitoring commands (like `free`, `vmstat`, `iostat`) and per-process commands (like `top`, `ps`). Candidates mistakenly choose `free -h` or `vmstat` thinking they show per-process CPU/memory details.
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
The `top` command provides a real-time, dynamic view of running processes, displaying CPU and memory usage by default and allowing sorting by resource consumption. The `ps aux --sort=-%mem` command lists all processes with detailed memory and CPU statistics, sorted by memory usage in descending order, making it easy to identify the most resource-intensive processes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
top
Why this is correct
top provides real-time per-process CPU and memory usage.
- ✗
free -h
Why it's wrong here
free shows total memory usage, not per-process.
- ✗
iostat -x
Why it's wrong here
iostat shows disk I/O, not process CPU or memory.
- ✗
vmstat 1 5
Why it's wrong here
vmstat shows system-wide CPU and memory stats, not per-process.
- ✓
ps aux --sort=-%mem
Why this is correct
ps aux with sorting shows per-process memory and CPU usage.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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