Maximum performance for caching

[Roy Sigurd Karlsbakk]

>> ps ax | grep -w '[DRZ]'
>> that will show you all processes running, in D state (waiting for I/O)
>>
>> and zombies
>>
>> perhaps that'll help you out
>
> I tried this, and on a random time, I have an average of 3 D state. Is
> this normal?

not really
a process in D state is waiting for I/O. If you have a high number of D 
state processes, this usually means some drive is fscked or an NFS 
server you're using has gone out for lunch

roy