cifsiostat

cifsiostat is a command-line utility provided by the CIFS (Common Internet File System) utilities on Linux. It is designed to display input/output statistics specifically for mounted CIFS file systems, much like how iostat reports performance data for block devices. This tool helps administrators monitor and diagnose the performance of CIFS mounts, which is particularly useful in environments where Windows or Samba shares are accessed from Linux systems.

Purpose

• Monitor CIFS Performance: Provides detailed statistics on CIFS I/O, such as the number of read/write operations, throughput, and latency.

• Troubleshooting: Helps in identifying bottlenecks or performance issues with network file sharing by presenting CIFS-specific metrics.

• Performance Tuning: Assists in optimizing configurations by offering insights into how CIFS shares are performing in real time.

Basic Syntax

cifsiostat [options]

• Options may include:

  • -i <interval>: Set the sampling interval in seconds between reports.

  • -n <number>: Limit the output to a specified number of samples.

  • -h: Display help and usage information.

Examples

1. Display CIFS Statistics Once

   To display the current CIFS I/O statistics for all mounted CIFS file systems:

   cifsiostat

2. Display Statistics with a Sampling Interval

   To update the statistics every 5 seconds:

   cifsiostat -i 5

3. Limit the Number of Samples

   To display statistics every 5 seconds for a total of 10 samples:

   cifsiostat -i 5 -n 10

Additional Notes

• Installation: cifsiostat is typically included in the cifs-utils package. Make sure that this package is installed on your Linux system.

• Use Case: This utility is particularly useful in troubleshooting network file system performance issues, assessing the impact of network latency, and monitoring the load on CIFS shares.

Conclusion

cifsiostat is a valuable tool for Linux administrators who need to monitor and optimize the performance of CIFS mounts. By providing real-time I/O statistics tailored to CIFS, it aids in troubleshooting and ensures that network file sharing environments operate efficiently.