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nmon VS Process Monitor

Compare nmon VS Process Monitor and see what are their differences

nmon logo nmon

This systems administrator, tuner, benchmark tool gives you a huge amount of important performance...

Process Monitor logo Process Monitor

Monitor file system, Registry, process, thread and DLL activity in real-time.
  • nmon Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-15
  • Process Monitor Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-03

nmon features and specs

  • Comprehensive Performance Analysis
    nmon provides detailed performance analysis for CPU, memory, disks, network, NFS, and other resources, offering a thorough overview of system performance.
  • Real-time Monitoring
    It allows users to monitor system performance in real-time, which is essential for identifying immediate issues and performance bottlenecks.
  • Ease of Use
    The tool is user-friendly with an interactive interface that can be easily navigated for quick access to performance data.
  • Minimal Overhead
    nmon is lightweight and imposes minimal overhead on the system, ensuring that it does not significantly affect the performance metrics it records.
  • Historical Data Analysis
    It can save performance data for later analysis, allowing users to review historical trends and patterns in system performance.
  • Cross-platform Availability
    nmon is available on multiple Unix-based systems, including AIX and Linux, making it versatile for different environments.

Possible disadvantages of nmon

  • Limited Graphical Interface
    nmon lacks advanced graphical visualization options, making it less suitable for users who prefer graphical data representation.
  • Complex Data Interpretation
    The detailed and comprehensive data output can be complex to interpret for users who are not familiar with system performance metrics.
  • Manual Data Conversion Required
    To generate graphical reports, users must export nmon data and process it with external tools like Excel or other analyzers, which adds extra steps.
  • Initial Learning Curve
    New users might face a learning curve to fully understand and utilize all the capabilities and options available in nmon.
  • Limited to Unix-based Systems
    As nmon is primarily designed for Unix-based systems, it cannot be used directly on non-Unix systems like Windows.

Process Monitor features and specs

  • Comprehensive Monitoring
    Process Monitor provides detailed real-time data on process, file system, registry, and network activity. This allows for in-depth analysis and troubleshooting.
  • Advanced Filtering
    Users can apply complex filters to focus on specific events or processes, which helps in pinpointing issues more efficiently.
  • Event Highlighting
    The tool supports highlighting rules that can be used to visually differentiate events of interest, making it easier to identify key activities.
  • Boot Time Logging
    It can be configured to record events during the boot process, which is invaluable for diagnosing startup issues.
  • Integration with other Sysinternals Tools
    Seamless integration with other Sysinternals tools allows for a more comprehensive diagnostic toolkit.

Possible disadvantages of Process Monitor

  • Resource Intensive
    Process Monitor can consume significant system resources, especially when monitoring extensive activities, which might affect system performance.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    Due to its wide range of features and the detailed information it provides, new users might find it challenging to navigate and use effectively.
  • Overwhelming Data
    The volume of data generated can be overwhelming, making it difficult to isolate relevant information without proper filtering.
  • No Native Support for Non-Windows Systems
    As a tool originally designed for Windows, it does not support non-Windows operating systems natively.
  • Potential for Information Overload
    The granular level of detail provided can lead to information overload, particularly for users unfamiliar with interpreting the data.

Analysis of Process Monitor

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Process Monitor is a highly effective tool for those needing deep system-level diagnostics. Its robust feature set and real-time monitoring capabilities make it indispensable for complex troubleshooting tasks.

Why this product is good

  • Process Monitor is widely regarded as a valuable tool for system administrators and developers due to its ability to provide detailed insights into file system, registry, and process/thread activity in real-time. It helps in diagnosing system problems and comprehensively troubleshooting issues. Its ability to filter output and capture intricate details makes it powerful for advanced users who need to understand interactions within the Windows OS.

Recommended for

  • System Administrators
  • Software Developers
  • IT Support Specialists
  • Security Analysts
  • Anyone needing to diagnose complex system or software-level issues on Windows.

nmon videos

Nmon - Terminal-Based System Performance Monitor

More videos:

  • Review - Turbocharge nmon Analysis with onTune nmon Analyzer.
  • Review - NMON Performance Monitoring Tool for Linux Shell - BASH

Process Monitor videos

Process Monitor, powerful tool to troubleshoot applications and Windows.

More videos:

  • Review - Process Monitor: Basic Operation
  • Review - Malware Analysis - Tools - Process Monitor Basic

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to nmon and Process Monitor)
Monitoring Tools
26 26%
74% 74
Command Line Tools
20 20%
80% 80
Tool
100 100%
0% 0
Performance Monitoring
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using nmon and Process Monitor. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Process Monitor seems to be a lot more popular than nmon. While we know about 184 links to Process Monitor, we've tracked only 2 mentions of nmon. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

nmon mentions (2)

  • Ask HN: Resources for Building a Webserver in C?
    The tutorial has been moved to https://nmon.sourceforge.net/pmwiki.php?n=Site.Nweb. Thanks for the share. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Slackware rice for my old dell laptop
    Sorry for not being clear. I'm talking about this tool here: http://nmon.sourceforge.net/pmwiki.php. Source: almost 3 years ago

Process Monitor mentions (184)

  • TaskExplorer
    Don't agree. It's just as complex (may be a bit more) as ProcessMonitor by Sysinternals https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Why did Windows 95 setup use three operating systems?
    Https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon Windows does a tonne of things in the background, yes. If I run that and let it monitor everything, things will happen even if I do nothing. It is an OS and complex. >It is shown instantly, fully rendered, in the next video frame. There is no delay THIS is true and also crazy to me. I forgot how fast XP was. Especially on modern hardware. I... - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • DLLs in Rust🦀
    To be sure that our exe is actually looking for the DLL, fire up the SysInternals' Process Monitor. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • can't get PTAT to run on RPL-U i7-1365URE eval board
    Don't know what PTAT stands for, but whenever I have issues with windows software running properly I pull out Process Monitor to log what that program was doing at the time of the error message. Sometimes there is a clue such as not being able to find a particular file, or registry key, or something else crashing etc. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Software developer looking to experiment with SCCM
    This might be a bit advanced but if it was me I would probably get frustrated and use SysInternals specifically procmon Https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon. Source: almost 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing nmon and Process Monitor, you can also consider the following products

psutil - psutil is a module providing an interface for retrieving information on all running processes and...

Process Explorer - The top window always shows a list of the currently active processes, including the names of their owning accounts, whereas the information displayed in the bottom window depends on the mode that Process Explorer is in: if it is in handle mode you'l…

gtop - System monitoring dashboard for terminal

htop - htop - an interactive process viewer for Unix. This is htop, an interactive process viewer for Unix systems. It is a text-mode application (for console or X terminals) and requires ncurses. Latest release: htop 2.

iftop - iftop does for network usage what top(1) does for CPU usage.

Windows Task Manager - Need assistance with your Microsoft product? Find helpful articles for Windows, Office, Microsoft Account, Microsoft Store, Xbox, and more.