What is I/O wait and how does it affect Linux performance?

I/O wait or iowait, wait, wa, %iowait, or wait% is often displayed by command-line Linux system monitoring tools such as top, sar, atop, and others. On its own, it’s one of many performance stats that provide us with an insight into Linux system performance. I/O wait came up in a recent discussion with a new client of … Read more