To display statistics of CPU usage over a period, which command would you use?

The command you would use to display statistics of CPU usage over a period is "sar." The "sar" (System Activity Reporter) command is part of the sysstat package and is specifically designed to collect and report on system performance data, which includes CPU usage over time. When invoked, "sar" can show CPU activity, breakdown of CPU utilization, and allows you to analyze CPU performance across different intervals.

In contrast, "iostat" is primarily focused on input/output statistics related to devices and filesystems, while "dmidecode" provides detailed hardware information about the system’s BIOS and system board but does not report on CPU usage. "vmstat" can give you information on processes, memory, and system performance but does not have the capability to display historical CPU usage statistics in the same way that "sar" does. This makes "sar" the ideal choice for monitoring CPU statistics over time.