What is CPU usage?

CPU usage refers to the percentage of processing power that a computer's central processing unit (CPU) is utilizing at any given time. It indicates how much of the CPU's capacity is being consumed by running processes and tasks. When applications run or background processes are active, they require a certain percentage of the CPU's resources to execute operations. Therefore, monitoring CPU usage is crucial for assessing system performance, identifying bottlenecks, and ensuring that resources are allocated efficiently.

In cloud computing environments, understanding CPU usage is essential for managing workloads, optimizing applications, and scaling resources effectively based on demand. High CPU usage may indicate that a system is overloaded, while low CPU usage may suggest that resources are underutilized, impacting performance and cost efficiency.

Other choices relate to different aspects of computer systems and cloud services but do not accurately define CPU usage, thereby making this option the most appropriate.