Collectd

Collectd is similar to Netdata in that it is a logging program that collects system metrics. It is implemented as a unix-style daemon, with lots of plugins.

Linode uses collectd to provide users with system status dashboards.

Link: https://collectd.org/

installing

debian

install with aptitude:

apt-get install collectd

mac

install with homebrew:

brew install collectd

openwrt

(no opkg available...)

using

As you can deduce from the name, collectd is a daemon, so it runs as a background process.

The way you use it is to edit the configuration file, set up any plugins, and then let the daemon service run.

plugins

when talking about plugins, we must distinguish between two kinds of plugins: collect plugins, and write plugins.

collect plugins provide collectd with a way to ask a particular server or piece of software for statistics. This type of plugin allows collectd to monitor that software.

write plugins provide collectd with a way to write its data to a particular piece of software. This type of plugin allows collectd to use a particular piece of software as a backend.

as an example:

• the regular mongodb plugin at https://collectd.org/wiki/index.php/Plugin:MongoDB allows collectd to monitor a mongodb server
• the write mongodb plugin at https://collectd.org/wiki/index.php/Plugin:Write_MongoDB allows collectd to write its collected data to a mongodb database

collect plugins

Full table of plugins: https://collectd.org/wiki/index.php/Table_of_Plugins

Custom plugins: http://docs.rightscale.com/cm/rs101/create_custom_collectd_plug-ins_for_linux.html

write plugins

mongodb

https://collectd.org/wiki/index.php/Plugin:Write_MongoDB

graphite

https://collectd.org/wiki/index.php/Plugin:Write_Graphite

prometheus

https://collectd.org/wiki/index.php/Plugin:Write_Prometheus