> linux box. So currently when i have these procs running on my box they > show up as "java" in the ps -A command. I dont know for sure as to which if you can use the 'f' option in your ps command, you will get the arguments used to start the JVM. This may provide you with enough information to distinguish between them them e.g.: ps -Af | grep java > identify them properly can i have it running as java_1 or java_2 or as far as I know, it is not (easily) possible You could give a try to the jconsole tool which comes with the JDK (in package java-1.6.0-openjdk-devel), it allows you to monitor Java processes precisely (either local or remote via JMX). The Eclipse TPTP project also provides a lot of tools, but this would probably be an overkill in your case.