How do I check the ram size from my Redhat Linux desktop system using command line and GUI tools?
You can use any one of the following command line tools to view the ram size under Redhat Enterprise Linux desktop system. Open a command-line terminal (select Applications > Accessories > Terminal), and then type the following commands:
$ cat /proc/meminfo
Sample outputs:
MemTotal: 8189496 kB MemFree: 5032056 kB Buffers: 163628 kB Cached: 1634124 kB SwapCached: 0 kB Active: 1981312 kB Inactive: 1024508 kB Active(anon): 1210676 kB Inactive(anon): 11488 kB Active(file): 770636 kB Inactive(file): 1013020 kB Unevictable: 2388 kB Mlocked: 2388 kB HighTotal: 7400016 kB HighFree: 4520172 kB LowTotal: 789480 kB LowFree: 511884 kB SwapTotal: 15998968 kB SwapFree: 15998968 kB Dirty: 236 kB Writeback: 0 kB AnonPages: 1210488 kB Mapped: 170524 kB Shmem: 12424 kB Slab: 65648 kB SReclaimable: 46280 kB SUnreclaim: 19368 kB KernelStack: 3960 kB PageTables: 10276 kB NFS_Unstable: 0 kB Bounce: 0 kB WritebackTmp: 0 kB CommitLimit: 20093716 kB Committed_AS: 2906208 kB VmallocTotal: 122880 kB VmallocUsed: 72700 kB VmallocChunk: 23036 kB HardwareCorrupted: 0 kB HugePages_Total: 0 HugePages_Free: 0 HugePages_Rsvd: 0 HugePages_Surp: 0 Hugepagesize: 2048 kB DirectMap4k: 59384 kB DirectMap2M: 851968 kB
Redhat Linux: free command
To display amount of free and used memory (including total in the system), enter:
$ free -m
$ free -g
$ free -k
Sample outputs:
total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 8189496 3163044 5026452 0 163856 1637368
-/+ buffers/cache: 1361820 6827676
Swap: 15998968 0 15998968
Redhat Linux: top command
The top command can also display total and used memory:
$ top
Sample outputs:
Fig.01: Display Linux RAM Size with the top commad
Redhat Linux: System Information GUI Tool
The System Monitor Gnome application enables you to display basic system information and monitor system processes, usage of system resources, and file systems. You can start System Monitor by clicking on System menu > Choose Administration > System Monitor:
Sample outputs:
Fig.02: Linux view installed memory with the System Monitor application
Other commands
The vmstat command can display memory statistics including additional information about processes, paging, block IO, traps, and cpu activity. Type the following command:
$ vmstat
$ vmstat -s
You can also use the dmidecode command for dumping a computer's DMI (some say SMBIOS) table which can provide details about installed RAM and its speed:
# dmidecode --type memory
Sample outputs:
# dmidecode 2.10 SMBIOS 2.5 present. Handle 0x0016, DMI type 16, 15 bytes Physical Memory Array Location: System Board Or Motherboard Use: System Memory Error Correction Type: None Maximum Capacity: 64 GB Error Information Handle: Not Provided Number Of Devices: 8 Handle 0x0017, DMI type 17, 27 bytes Memory Device Array Handle: 0x0016 Error Information Handle: No Error Total Width: 72 bits Data Width: 64 bits Size: 2048 MB Form Factor: DIMM Set: 1 Locator: DIMM1A Bank Locator: Bank1 Type: DDR2 Type Detail: Synchronous Speed: 667 MHz Manufacturer: 0000 Serial Number: 00000000 Asset Tag: Not Specified Part Number: Handle 0x0018, DMI type 17, 27 bytes Memory Device Array Handle: 0x0016 Error Information Handle: No Error Total Width: Unknown Data Width: Unknown Size: No Module Installed Form Factor: DIMM Set: 1 Locator: DIMM1B Bank Locator: Bank1 Type: DDR2 Type Detail: Synchronous Speed: 667 MHz Manufacturer: Serial Number: Asset Tag: Not Specified Part Number: Handle 0x0019, DMI type 17, 27 bytes Memory Device Array Handle: 0x0016 Error Information Handle: No Error Total Width: 72 bits Data Width: 64 bits Size: 2048 MB Form Factor: DIMM Set: 1 Locator: DIMM2A Bank Locator: Bank2 Type: DDR2 Type Detail: Synchronous Speed: 667 MHz Manufacturer: 0000 Serial Number: 00000000 Asset Tag: Not Specified Part Number: Handle 0x001A, DMI type 17, 27 bytes Memory Device Array Handle: 0x0016 Error Information Handle: No Error Total Width: Unknown Data Width: Unknown Size: No Module Installed Form Factor: DIMM Set: 1 Locator: DIMM2B Bank Locator: Bank2 Type: DDR2 Type Detail: Synchronous Speed: 667 MHz Manufacturer: Serial Number: Asset Tag: Not Specified Part Number: Handle 0x001B, DMI type 17, 27 bytes Memory Device Array Handle: 0x0016 Error Information Handle: No Error Total Width: 72 bits Data Width: 64 bits Size: 2048 MB Form Factor: DIMM Set: 1 Locator: DIMM3A Bank Locator: Bank3 Type: DDR2 Type Detail: Synchronous Speed: 667 MHz Manufacturer: 0000 Serial Number: 00000000 Asset Tag: Not Specified Part Number: Handle 0x001C, DMI type 17, 27 bytes Memory Device Array Handle: 0x0016 Error Information Handle: No Error Total Width: Unknown Data Width: Unknown Size: No Module Installed Form Factor: DIMM Set: 1 Locator: DIMM3B Bank Locator: Bank3 Type: DDR2 Type Detail: Synchronous Speed: 667 MHz Manufacturer: Serial Number: Asset Tag: Not Specified Part Number: Handle 0x001D, DMI type 17, 27 bytes Memory Device Array Handle: 0x0016 Error Information Handle: No Error Total Width: 72 bits Data Width: 64 bits Size: 2048 MB Form Factor: DIMM Set: 1 Locator: DIMM4A Bank Locator: Bank4 Type: DDR2 Type Detail: Synchronous Speed: 667 MHz Manufacturer: 0000 Serial Number: 00000000 Asset Tag: Not Specified Part Number: Handle 0x001E, DMI type 17, 27 bytes Memory Device Array Handle: 0x0016 Error Information Handle: No Error Total Width: Unknown Data Width: Unknown Size: No Module Installed Form Factor: DIMM Set: 1 Locator: DIMM4B Bank Locator: Bank4 Type: DDR2 Type Detail: Synchronous Speed: 667 MHz Manufacturer: Serial Number: Asset Tag: Not Specified Part Number:
(Note: Above output is taken from RHEL 5 server running on an enterprise grade hardware. Your Redhat Linux based desktop system may provide slightly different output).
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
type “cat /proc/meminfo”
While your at it use a command shell.
Change directory to /proc
cd /proc
then do “ls enter”
All the items in proc can be viewed via, “cat /proc/itemtobeviewed.” Example
as root type cat /proc meminfo
Here is mine:
[~]#cat /proc/meminfo
MemTotal: 3920008 kB
MemFree: 837724 kB
Buffers: 316512 kB
Cached: 1924256 kB
SwapCached: 16 kB
Active: 1416360 kB
Inactive: 1248556 kB
HighTotal: 0 kB
HighFree: 0 kB
LowTotal: 3920008 kB
LowFree: 837724 kB
SwapTotal: 97570252 kB
SwapFree: 97570052 kB
Dirty: 120 kB
Writeback: 0 kB
AnonPages: 424064 kB
Mapped: 91552 kB
Slab: 315384 kB
PageTables: 24588 kB
NFS_Unstable: 0 kB
Bounce: 0 kB
CommitLimit: 99530256 kB
Committed_AS: 1275920 kB
VmallocTotal: 34359738367 kB
VmallocUsed: 312212 kB
VmallocChunk: 34359425991 kB
HugePages_Total: 0
HugePages_Free: 0
HugePages_Rsvd: 0
Hugepagesize: 2048 kB
To Above: Why `cd` to /proc if you are going to type a full path. `cat /proc/ITEM`
if you `cd` you can just `cat meminfo`…
Ctrl+Alt+F2 : To chek the RAM Size
DO NOT EXECUTE “Ctrl+Alt+F2 : To chek the RAM Size” because it will dump you in to another screen and you may not be able to get back from it…and you will lose all unsaved work!
Press CTRL+ALT+F6 or CTRL+ALT+F7 or CTRL+ALT+F8 to get back to your session. However, a better option is to ppen a command-line terminal (select Applications > Accessories > Terminal), and then type the above commands:
during the installation of linux how to know the RAM size with out physically opening the RAM