What does the Load Average 20 value mean in the output of the Top command?

Load Average is a measure of the average system load over a specific period of time. The top command output usually shows three values: for 1, 5, and 15 minutes.

If you see a Load Average value of 20, it means that on average, during the last period (for example, 1 minute), there were 20 processes either running on the CPU or waiting in the queue.

What this means in practice:

• The Load Average value is compared to the number of available CPU cores.
• For example, if you have 4 cores and a Load Average of 20, it indicates a very high load, the system is overloaded, and processes are waiting in line.
• A high Load Average can lead to system slowdown.

Example: If you have an 8-core server, a Load Average of around 8 means all cores are busy, and 20 indicates the load significantly exceeds the processing capacity.