This python script simply consumes CPU cycles and memory. It also makes a couple http requests to facilitate network usage. Here are some helpful commands and tips. One way to ensure the process continues after your SSH session closes: $> nohup python loadgen.py & Obtain the pid of the script you wish to kill by observing the output of $> ps -ef | grep python or $> ps -ef | grep loadgen.py The pid should be the second column of this output. You can verify this by running $> ps -ef without piping it into grep. Process can be killed using the kill command and the -9 arg. The final argument is the pid of the process to kill. $> kill -9 2430 You can also edit the rc.local file in /etc/ to have this script start automatically upon boot. Simply add: python /location/to/repository/LoadGenerator/loadgen.py and save the file.