introduction
In modern development and operation and maintenance environments, containerization technology has become an important trend, and Docker, as one of the most popular containerization platforms, provides powerful tools for developers and operation and maintenance personnel. In order to effectively monitor the status of Docker containers, we often need to view running containers and their status in real time. The watch command in Linux is a very useful tool that helps us execute specified commands regularly and display the output in full screen.
What is a watch command?
The watch command is a Linux tool for periodic execution of commands. It will refresh the output of the command at a certain time in the terminal window, so that the user can observe the changes in the command. By default, watch executes the specified command every 2 seconds, but the refresh interval can be adjusted with the -n option.
For example, the following command executes the date command every 1 second:
watch -n 1 date
This will update the current time every second, and the user can easily observe the time changes.
Monitor container status in Docker
Docker makes packaging, distribution, and deployment of applications easier, but monitoring their status is equally important during container operation. Normally, we need to use the docker ps command to list the currently running containers. If you want to see all containers (including those that have been stopped), you need to add the -a option.
Combined with the grep command, we can filter out the state of a specific container. For example, if we want to monitor containers related to Elasticsearch, we can use the following command:
docker ps -a | grep elasticsearch
This command lists all container statuses that match the "elasticsearch" keyword. Without any output, it means that no containers related to Elasticsearch are currently running or exist.
Use the watch command to monitor Elasticsearch containers in real time
By embedding the docker ps -a | grep elasticsearch command into the watch command, we can automatically refresh the monitoring results every once in a while. The following are the specific commands:
watch -n 1 'docker ps -a | grep elasticsearch'
The explanation of this command is as follows:
-
watch -n 1
: Refresh the output every 1 second. -
'docker ps -a | grep elasticsearch'
: Monitors the status of the "elasticsearch" in all containers.
By executing this command, users can observe container status changes related to Elasticsearch in real time, such as startup, stop or crash.
Custom refresh interval
Sometimes we don't need to update information every second, and may want to set a longer refresh interval. For example, in some cases, refreshing every 5 seconds is sufficient. Simply change the number after the -n parameter to 5, as shown below:
watch -n 5 'docker ps -a | grep elasticsearch'
This way, the terminal will display the current status of all Elasticsearch-related containers every 5 seconds.
Handle permission issues
When executing the above command, make sure you have permission to access the Docker container. Generally speaking, you need to be a member of the Docker group, or usesudo
Elevate permissions. For example:
watch -n 1 'sudo docker ps -a | grep elasticsearch'
In this way, you can ensure that the execution of the command is not restricted by permissions.
Monitor with other commands
In addition to monitoring the Docker container status,watch
Commands can also be used in conjunction with other commands to achieve more functions. For example, if we want to view the system's CPU usage, we can combinetop
Order:
watch -n 2 'top -b -n 1 | head -n 20'
This command displays the first 20 lines of information on the system resource every 2 seconds, helping users understand the system's real-time load.
Summarize
In a Linux environment,watch
Commands are a powerful tool that can help users monitor and manage the output of various commands. Combined with the use of Docker, we can observe the status of the container in real time, discover problems in a timely manner and deal with them. This is crucial to maintaining the availability and stability of the application.
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