Is Recent System Drift Causing Multiple Silent Failures?
I've been self-hosting for about six years with very few problems, but over the past couple of months several unrelated things have started failing in small, frustrating ways.…
system monitoring
How do you quickly identify which devices are driving a sudden syslog spike?
Our syslog volume increased from roughly 2.4 million events per day to 7.2 million over about a week, despite no configuration changes or new equipment. The collector only…
How should I handle a supervisor who repeatedly escalates IT issues?
I support a department where a mid-level supervisor regularly reports technical problems by email instead of using the ticketing process. Her messages often include phrases like "not working…
How should I handle a supervisor who escalates every IT issue?
I support a department where a mid-level supervisor regularly emails me about IT problems using wording like "the application is down AGAIN" and copies managers and senior staff,…
Can a Docker container monitor the physical host’s CPU and RAM on macOS or Windows?
I have a Python monitoring script using psutil inside a Docker container. On a Mac laptop with 24 GB of physical RAM, I want it to report the…
Is a 10–20°C drop in CPU and GPU temperatures after switching to Bazzite normal?
I recently switched from Tiny11 to Bazzite. Before the switch, my CPU and GPU temperatures were usually around 90–100°C, but now they rarely go above 80°C according to…
Can a Docker container monitor the physical CPU and RAM of a Mac or Windows host?
I have a Python monitoring script using psutil inside a Docker container. On a Mac, I want it to report the laptop's actual physical resources—such as 24 GB…
Why is Linux using so much RAM when no applications are open?
I'm running Kubuntu 25.10 on a computer with 32 GiB of RAM. Even with no browser, music player, or other obvious applications open, `free -h` reports about 22…
How can I find and reduce unexpectedly high CPU usage on Linux Mint?
I'm running Linux Mint 22.3 on an older MacBook Pro with an Intel i5 and 16 GB of RAM. I switched to Linux because macOS had become sluggish,…
Can this Bash script for a DWM status bar be optimized further?
I've revised my Bash script for a DWM status bar based on earlier feedback. It updates volume every 0.2 seconds, refreshes the time, CPU usage, and memory usage…
How Can Bash Read CPU, Memory, and Filesystem Usage Without Standard Utilities?
I recently had a mock interview with a senior Linux administrator who asked whether I could collect CPU, memory, and disk usage from a Bash script without using…
How Can Bash Measure CPU, Memory, and Disk Usage Without Standard Utilities?
I recently had a mock interview with a senior Linux administrator who asked whether I could collect CPU, memory, and disk-usage information from a Bash script without using…
Why Didn't Standard Monitoring Catch My Cron Job Causing API Latency Issues?
I've been in backend engineering for about 15 years, and whenever I notice a spike in API latency or timeout on requests, I generally follow a routine: check…
How can I check the last idle time of a computer using PowerShell?
I'm looking for a way to determine the idle time of a Windows computer, specifically the last time the mouse or keyboard was active. I'd like to be…
Why is my disk space reading so differently with du and lsblk?
I'm having a frustrating issue with my setup on a Raspberry Pi 4. My Nextcloud and Paperless services went down due to a 503 error, and when I…
Can I add a fourth screen to my computer setup?
Hey everyone! I'm looking for advice on whether I can integrate my small display into my current PC setup for system monitoring and stats. Here's what I have…
What's the Best Way to Monitor the Health of My Hard Drives?
I have a DAS that connects five drives, plus an external drive in its own enclosure. I'm looking for reliable utilities or methods to monitor the health of…
How Do I Monitor and Manage My Disk Space on Arch Linux?
Hey everyone! I'm new to Linux, just migrated from Windows about a week ago and I've been installing a ton of packages. Currently, I'm using Arch and while…
Help! WMI Disk Sensors in PRTG Not Working with Local User
I'm trying to set up WMI disk sensors in PRTG to alert me when I'm running low on disk space. However, I'm encountering issues with WMI connectivity. I've…
How should I address potential malware issues with an older employee?
I recently discovered some concerning issues with an older IT technician in our company who's been here for over 20 years. When he returned from a long sick…