\*(ia performance metrics domain agent (pmda)
$PCP_PMDAS_DIR/\*(ia/pmda\*(ia [-d domain] [-l logfile] [-U username] tx_type ...
$PCP_PMDAS_DIR/\*(ia/txrecord [-l]
$PCP_PMDAS_DIR/\*(ia/txrecord tx_type servtime [tx_type servtime ... ]
$PCP_PMDAS_DIR/\*(ia/genload
pmda\*(ia is an example Performance Metrics Domain Agent (PMDA) which exports a small number of performance metrics from a simulated transaction monitor.
The \*(ia PMDA is shipped as both binary and source code and is designed to be an aid for PMDA developers; the \*(ia PMDA demonstrates how performance data can be exported from an application (in this case txrecord) to the PCP infrastructure via a shared memory segment. As a matter of convenience, pmda\*(ia creates (and destroys on exit) the shared memory segment.
The tx_type arguments are arbitrary unique tags used to identify different transaction types.
The txrecord application simulates the processing of one or more transactions identified by tx_type and with an observed service time of servtime .
With the -l option, txrecord displays the current summary of the transaction activity from the shared memory segment.
genload is a shell and awk(1) script that acts as a front-end to txrecord to generate a constant load of simulated transaction activity.
A brief description of the pmda\*(ia command line options follows:
-d
It is absolutely crucial that the performance metrics domain number specified here is unique and consistent. That is, domain should be different for every PMDA on the one host, and the same domain number should be used for the same PMDA on all hosts.
-l
Location of the log file. By default, a log file named \*(ia.log is written in the current directory of pmcd(1) when pmda\*(ia is started, i.e. $PCP_LOG_DIR/pmcd. If the log file cannot be created or is not writable, output is written to the standard error instead.
-U
User account under which to run the agent. The default is the unprivileged "pcp" account in current versions of PCP, but in older versions the superuser account ("root") was used by default.
If you want access to the names, help text and values for the \*(ia performance metrics, do the following as root:
# cd $PCP_PMDAS_DIR/\*(ia # ./Install
You will be prompted for the tx_type tags.
If you want to undo the installation, do the following as root:
# cd $PCP_PMDAS_DIR/\*(ia # ./Remove
pmda\*(ia is launched by pmcd(1) and should never be executed directly. The Install and Remove scripts notify pmcd(1) when the agent is installed or removed.
$PCP_PMCDCONF_PATH
command line options used to launch pmda\*(ia
$PCP_PMDAS_DIR/\*(ia/help
default help text file for the \*(ia metrics
$PCP_PMDAS_DIR/\*(ia/Install
installation script for the pmda\*(ia agent
$PCP_PMDAS_DIR/\*(ia/Remove
undo installation script for the pmda\*(ia agent
$PCP_LOG_DIR/pmcd/\*(ia.log
default log file for error messages and other information from pmda\*(ia
Environment variables with the prefix PCP_ are used to parameterize the file and directory names used by PCP. On each installation, the file /etc/pcp.conf contains the local values for these variables. The $PCP_CONF variable may be used to specify an alternative configuration file, as described in pcp.conf(5).
PCPIntro(1), pmcd(1), pmdasample(1), pmdatrivial(1), txmonvis(1) and PMDA(3).