Monitoring with the Sysstat tool collection
Server performance is down or non-existent. To look for clues, you check the logfiles, take a quick look at the /proc directory, and run tools such as Vmstat or Top, but to no avail: time to launch the Sysstat collection [1]. Sysstat is a group of simple Linux command-line tools for performance analysis and monitoring. According to the Sysstat project, the toolset "… contains various utilities common to many commercial Unixes, and tools you can schedule via cron to collect and historize performance and activity data."
The Sysstat set collects system information, stores it for a period of time, and calculates mean values, letting you query individual system parameters at specific times for more flexible troubleshooting. The tools work well with cron so that you can take readings of system performance at predefined intervals for a flexible, customizable approach to data collection. The Sysstat project defines the collection as follows:
- iostat – reports input/output statistics for devices, partitions, and network filesystems.
- mpstat – monitors processor statistics.
- pidstat – reports on system processes.
- sar and a supporting cast of related utilities – monitor, collect, and report on system activities related to CPU, memory, interrupts, interfaces, kernel tables, and other factors.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Plasma Bigscreen Returns
A developer discovered that the Plasma Bigscreen feature had been sitting untouched, so he decided to do something about it.
-
CachyOS Now Lets Users Choose Their Shell
Imagine getting the opportunity to select which shell you want during the installation of your favorite Linux distribution. That's now a thing.
-
Wayland 1.24 Released with Fixes and New Features
Wayland continues to move forward, while X11 slowly vanishes into the shadows, and the latest release includes plenty of improvements.
-
Bugs Found in sudo
Two critical flaws allow users to gain access to root privileges.
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
LibreOffice Tested as Possible Office 365 Alternative
Another major organization has decided to test the possibility of migrating from Microsoft's Office 365 to LibreOffice.