NAME¶

pmrep.conf - pmrep configuration file

DESCRIPTION¶

pmrep is a customizable performance metrics reporting tool. Any available performance metric, live or archived, system and/or application, can be selected for reporting using one of the available output alternatives together with applicable formatting options.

The metrics of interest are named in the metricspec argument(s) on the pmrep command line. These metricspecs define individual metrics or pre-defined performance metric sets to be read from the configuration file described below. For command line argument details see pmrep(1).

The pmrep.conf configuration file allows setting default runtime values and defining any number of custom metricsets for pmrep. A metricset is a user-defined set of arbitrary performance metrics. This allows the user to create specifically crafted metricsets particularly relevant for their application or environment. Instead of being dependent on what existing tools provide or collecting the needed data with several disjoint utilities the user can create and modify custom metricsets by editing pmrep.conf. See below for the metricset specification.

Configuration file parameters override the corresponding built-in default values (if any). Command line parameters override the corresponding configuration file parameters (if any).

FILE FORMAT¶

The file has an ini-style syntax and consists of sections and parameters. A section begins with the name of the section in square brackets and continues until the next section begins. An example section with two parameters follows:

[section]
key = value
key2 = value2

The data types used are string (no quotes needed), integer, and bool (with values of yes or no).

A line comment starts with a hash sign (``#'') or a semicolon (``;''). Inline comments are not supported.

pmrep.conf must be readable by the user invoking pmrep.

Any parameter described below with a corresponding command line parameter contains additional description in pmrep(1).

SPECIAL SECTIONS¶

CUSTOM SECTIONS¶

Any other section than [options] or [global] will be interpreted as a new metricset specification. The section name is arbitrary, typically a reference to its coverage or purpose. A custom section can contain options, metricspecs, or both.

All the metrics specified in a custom section will be reported when pmrep is instructed to use the particular custom section. pmrep can be executed with more than one custom section (i.e., metricset) defined in which case the combination of all the metrics specified in them will be reported.

Section parameters

METRICSET SPECIFICATION¶

There are three forms of the metricspec. First, on the command line a metricspec can start with a colon (``:'') to indicate a reference to a metricset to be read from the pmrep configuration file. Second, the compact form of a metricspec is a one-line metric specification which can be used both on the command line and in the [global] and custom sections of the configuration file. The only difference of its usage in the configuration file is that the metric name is used as the key and the optional specifiers as values. The compact form of the metricspec is specified in detail in pmrep(1). The third, verbose form of a metricspec is valid only in the configuration file.

A key containing a dot (``.'') is interpreted as a metric name (see above), a non-option key not containing a dot is interpreted as an identifier (see below).

The verbose form of a metricspec starts with a declaration consisting of a mandatory identifier as the key and the actual performance metric name (a PMNS leaf node) as its value. This equals to the compact form of the metricspec defining the same performance metric without any of optional specifiers defined. The identifier is arbitrary and is not used otherwise except for binding the below specifiers and the metric together.

The following specifiers are optional in the verbose form and can be used as keys in any order with an earlier declared identifier followed by a dot and the specifier (as in identifier.specifier):

EXAMPLE¶

The following example contains a short [options] section setting some locally wanted default values. It then goes on to define the global metrics kernel.all.sysfork using the compact form and mem.util.allcache using the verbose form of a metricspec. The latter is a derived metric using the later specified formula. Both of these metrics will be included in reporting unless disabled with -G or globals = no.

Three different metricsets are also specified: db1, db2, and sar-w.

The DB sets define a host to be used as the source for the metrics. Both use the verbose form of a metricspec (as the non-option key set does not contain the dot) to include all postgresql related metrics.

The sar-w set is an example how to mimic an existing tool with pmrep.

[options]
timestamp = yes
interval = 2s
extheader = yes
repeat_header = 20
space_scale = MB
[global]
kernel.all.sysfork = forks,,,,8
allcache = mem.util.allcache
allcache.formula = mem.util.bufmem + mem.util.cached + mem.util.slab
[db1]
source = db-host1.example.com
set = postgresql
[db2]
source = db-host2.example.com
set = postgresql
[sar-w]
header = yes
unitinfo = no
globals = no
timestamp = yes
interval = 1s
extheader = no
precision = 2
sysfork = kernel.all.sysfork
sysfork.label = proc/s
sysfork.width = 11
pswitch = kernel.all.pswitch
pswitch.label = cswch/s
pswitch.width = 8

FILES¶

./pmrep.conf

Default configuration file.

SEE ALSO¶

PCPIntro(1), pmrep(1), pmRegisterDerived(3) and zbxpcp(3).