Generating graphs using ksar utility from sar output files.

The sar command collect, report, or save UNIX / Linux system activity information. It will save selected counters in the operating system to the /var/log/sa/sadd file. From the collected data, you get lots of information about your server:

1. CPU utilization
2. Memory paging and its utilization
3. Network I/O, and transfer statistics
4. Process creation activity
5. All block devices activity
6. Interrupts/sec etc.

sar output can be used for identifying server bottlenecks. However, analyzing information provided by sar can be difficult, so use kSar, which can take sar output and plot a nice easy to understand graph over period of time.

kSar which is a java application that graph your sar data. It also permit to export data to PDF/JPG/PNG/CSV. You can load data from three method : local file, local command execution, and remote command execution via SSH. kSar supports the sar output of the following OS:

1. Solaris 8, 9 and 10
2. Mac OS/X 10.4+
3. Linux (Systat Version >= 5.0.5)
4. AIX (4.3 & 5.3)
5. HPUX 11.00+

Download And Install kSar

Visit the official website and grab the latest source code. Use wget to download the source code, enter:
$ wget http://ksar.atomique.net/kSar/kSar-5.0.6.zip
Use unzip command to extract files, enter:
$ unzip kSar-5.0.6.zip
How Do I Run kSar?

Make sure JAVA jdk is installed and working correctly. Type the following command to start kSar, run:
$ cd kSar-5.0.6/
$ sh run.sh

Next you will see main kSar window, and menus with two panels.
The left one will have a list of graphs available depending on the data kSar has parsed. The right window will show you the graph you have selected.
How Do I Generate sar Graphs Using kSar?

First, you need to grab sar command statistics. Type the following command to get stats, enter (type it on your server):
[server1 ]# LC_ALL=C sar -A > /tmp/sar.data.txt
# copy file to local desktop
[desktop ]$ scp user@server1.nixcraft.com:/tmp/sar.data.txt /tmp

Click on Data > Load data from text file > Select sar.data.txt > Open button.

Now, the graph type tree is deployed in left pane and a graph has been selected.

Zoom in and out

Using the move, you can interactively zoom onto up a part of a graph. To select a zone to zoom, click on the upper left conner and while still holding the mouse but on move to the lower-right of the zone you want to zoom. To come back to unzoomed view click and drag the mouse to any corner location except a lower-right one. You can also right click and select zoom options
Understanding kSar Graphs And sar Data

I strongly recommend reading sar and sadf command man page:
$ man sar
$ man sadf
kSar graphs can be understood from the sar command man page.

Note:
====
We can generate ksar graphs for selected date range and selected time interval.

Comments

SelimTheSot said…
Would you be kind enough to give an example as how you can accomplish generating graphs for selected date range and selected time interval?
Thanks

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