Diagnosing Swap Usage with smem on Linux

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If you’ve ever looked at your server and wondered why it’s using swap even though plenty of RAM is available, you’re not alone. This is a common scenario on Linux systems, and it can impact performance if not addressed. One of the most useful tools for digging into this issue is smem, a memory reporting… continue reading.
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So here are a few other tools, similar to smem, that I make use of often. They all report per-process memory usage with varying levels of detail, and some also help identify swap-heavy processes:

procps-ng tools (top, htop)

  • htop shows RES, VIRT, and SWAP columns interactively.
  • You can sort by swap in htop by enabling the SWAP column (F2 > Columns > Add SWAP).

atop

  • Like top but logs system resource usage over time.
  • Press m to see memory metrics per process.
  • Tracks SWAP, RES, and virtual memory over time.
  • Great for historical memory bottleneck analysis.
dnf install atop  # or apt install atop

glances

  • Cross-platform, real-time system monitoring tool.
  • Shows per-process memory and swap usage, similar to smem.
  • Can run in server mode and be queried remotely.
dnf install glances  # or apt install glances

Let me know if you’re interested in GUI tools or logging-capable daemons for long-term memory profiling. Ironically one of the best alternatives to top is bottom. :laughing:

There’s also…

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