[raj2569]

> The topic of load average is generally very broad and it is calculated differently on various UNIX systems, so a separate article may be dedicated for just that.

I have never seen an article explaining how the load average in Linux is calculated.

[0xdeadbeee]

One thing about load average on Linux which I never really understood was the inclusion of processes waiting for I/O, I never really got a satisfying explantation until I bumped into this post a few years ago: https://www.brendangregg.com/blog/2017-08-08/linux-load-aver...

[5e92cb50239222b]

Tangentially related: modern kernels have a much better metric (PSI, or pressure stall information)

https://lwn.net/Articles/759781/

https://lwn.net/Articles/775971/

[da_chicken]

Well, that's still an aggregated value that someone decided to calculate based on what they thought would work best for what they're looking for. It's not necessarily more a correct definition of load, just one that is more appropriately actionable for the problems it's designed for.

In other words, PSI is "better" for some definition of "better".

[mritzmann]

The traffic analogy is a good explanation. Here you go: https://scoutapm.com/blog/understanding-load-averages

[savoyard]

“Examining Load Average” by Ray Walker:

https://www.linuxjournal.com/article/9001