Provided by: pcp_5.0.3-1_amd64 bug

NAME

       pmdalogger - log file performance metrics domain agent (PMDA)

SYNOPSIS

       $PCP_PMDAS_DIR/logger/pmdalogger  [-d  domain]  [-l logfile] [-m memory] [-s interval] [-U
       username] [configfile]

DESCRIPTION

       pmdalogger is a configurable log file monitoring Performance Metrics Domain Agent  (PMDA).
       It  can  be  seen  as analogous to the -f option to tail(1) and converts each new log line
       into a performance event.  It was the first PMDA to make extensive use of  event  metrics,
       which can be consumed by client tools like pmevent(1).

       The  logger PMDA exports both event-style metrics reflecting timestamped event records for
       text logged to a file (or set of files or output from a process),  as  well  as  the  more
       orthodox sample-style metrics such as event counts and throughput size values.

       The  PMDA is configured via a configfile which contains one line for each source of events
       (file or process).  This file is setup by  the  Install  script  described  in  the  later
       section on ``INSTALLATION'' of the PMDA.

       A brief description of the pmdalogger 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 logger.log is written in the
            current directory of pmcd(1) when pmdalogger 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.

       -m   Limit the physical memory used by the PMDA to buffer event records to maxsize  bytes.
            As log events arrive at the PMDA, they must be buffered until individual client tools
            request the next batch since their previous batch of events.  The default maximum  is
            2 megabytes.

       -s   Sets  the  polling  interval for detecting newly arrived log lines.  Mirrors the same
            option from the tail(1) command.

       -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.

INSTALLATION

       If you want access to the names, help text and values for the logger performance  metrics,
       do the following as root:

            # cd $PCP_PMDAS_DIR/logger
            # ./Install

       This  is  an  interactive  installation process which prompts for each log file path to be
       monitored (or command to be run), a metric instance  name  to  identify  it,  and  whether
       access should be restricted (refer to the -x option to pmevent(1) for further details).

       If you want to undo the installation, do the following as root:

            # cd $PCP_PMDAS_DIR/logger
            # ./Remove

       pmdalogger  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.

FILES

       $PCP_PMCDCONF_PATH
                 command line options used to launch pmdalogger
       $PCP_PMDAS_DIR/logger/logger.conf
                 default configuration file for the logger metrics
       $PCP_PMDAS_DIR/logger/help
                 default help text file for the logger metrics
       $PCP_PMDAS_DIR/logger/Install
                 installation script for the pmdalogger agent
       $PCP_PMDAS_DIR/logger/Remove
                 undo installation script for the pmdalogger agent
       $PCP_LOG_DIR/pmcd/logger.log
                 default log file for error messages and other information from pmdalogger

PCP ENVIRONMENT

       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).

SEE ALSO

       PCPIntro(1), pmevent(1), pmcd(1), tail(1), pcp.conf(5) and pcp.env(5).