sadf(1) — Linux manual page

NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | OPTIONS | ENVIRONMENT | EXAMPLES | BUGS | FILES | AUTHOR | SEE ALSO | COLOPHON

SADF(1)                    Linux User's Manual                   SADF(1)

NAME         top

       sadf - Display data collected by sar in multiple formats.

SYNOPSIS         top

       sadf [ -C ] [ -c | -d | -g | -j | -l | -p | -r | -x ] [ -H ] [ -h
       ] [ -T | -t | -U ] [ -V ] [ -O opts [,...] ] [ -P { cpu_list |
       ALL } ] [ -s [ start_time ] ] ] [ -e [ end_time ] ] ] [
       --dev=dev_list ] [ --fs=fs_list ] [ --iface=iface_list] [
       --int=int_list ] [ -- sar_options ] [ interval [ count ] ] [
       datafile | -[0-9]+ ]

DESCRIPTION         top

       The sadf command is used for displaying the contents of data
       files created by the sar(1) command. But unlike sar, sadf can
       write its data in many different formats (CSV, XML, etc.)  The
       default format is one that can easily be handled by pattern
       processing commands like awk (see option -p). The sadf command
       can also be used to draw graphs for the various activities
       collected by sar and display them as SVG (Scalable Vector
       Graphics) graphics in your web browser (see option -g).

       The sadf command extracts and writes to standard output records
       saved in the datafile file. This file must have been created by a
       version of sar which is compatible with that of sadf. If datafile
       is omitted, sadf uses the standard system activity daily data
       file.  It is also possible to enter -1, -2 etc. as an argument to
       sadf to display data of that days ago. For example, -1 will point
       at the standard system activity file of yesterday.

       The standard system activity daily data file is named saDD or
       saYYYYMMDD, where YYYY stands for the current year, MM for the
       current month and DD for the current day.  sadf will look for the
       most recent of saDD and saYYYYMMDD, and use it. By default it is
       located in the /var/log/sa directory. Yet it is possible to
       specify an alternate location for it: If datafile is a directory
       (instead of a plain file) then it will be considered as the
       directory where the standard system activity daily data file is
       located.

       The interval and count parameters are used to tell sadf to select
       count records at interval seconds apart. If the count parameter
       is not set, then all the records saved in the data file will be
       displayed.

       All the activity flags of sar may be entered on the command line
       to indicate which activities are to be reported. Before
       specifying them, put a pair of dashes (--) on the command line in
       order not to confuse the flags with those of sadf.  Not
       specifying any flags selects only CPU activity.

OPTIONS         top

       -C     Tell sadf to display comments present in file.

       -c     Convert an old system activity binary datafile (version
              9.1.6 and later) to current up-to-date format. Use the
              following syntax:

              sadf -c old_datafile > new_datafile

              Conversion can be controlled using option -O (see below).

       -d     Print the contents of the data file in a format that can
              easily be ingested by a relational database system. The
              output consists of fields separated by a semicolon. Each
              record contains the hostname of the host where the file
              was created, the interval value (or -1 if not applicable),
              the timestamp in a form easily acceptable by most
              databases, and additional semicolon separated data fields
              as specified by sar_options command line options.  Note
              that timestamp output can be controlled by options -T, -t
              and -U.

       --dev=dev_list
              Specify the block devices for which statistics are to be
              displayed by sadf.  dev_list is a list of comma-separated
              device names. Useful with option -d from sar.

       -e [ hh:mm[:ss] ]
       -e [ seconds_since_the_epoch ]
              Set the ending time of the report. The default ending time
              is 18:00:00. Hours must be given in 24-hour format, or as
              the number of seconds since the epoch (given as a 10 digit
              number).

       --fs=fs_list
              Specify the filesystems for which statistics are to be
              displayed by sadf.  fs_list is a list of comma-separated
              filesystem names or mountpoints. Useful with option -F
              from sar.

       -g     Print the contents of the data file in SVG (Scalable
              Vector Graphics) format.  This option enables you to
              display some fancy graphs in your web browser.  Use the
              following syntax:

              sadf -g your_datafile [ -- sar_options ] > output.svg

              and open the resulting SVG file in your favorite web
              browser.  Output can be controlled using option -O (see
              below).

       -H     Display only the header of the report (when applicable).
              If no format has been specified, then the header data
              (metadata) of the data file are displayed.

       -h     When used in conjunction with option -d, all activities
              will be displayed horizontally on a single line.

       --iface=iface_list
              Specify the network interfaces for which statistics are to
              be displayed by sadf.  iface_list is a list of comma-
              separated interface names. Useful with options -n DEV and
              -n EDEV from sar.

       --int=int_list
              Specify the interrupts names for which statistics are to
              be displayed by sadf.  int_list is a list of comma-
              separated values or range of values (e.g., 0-16,35,40-).
              Useful with option -I from sar.

       -j     Print the contents of the data file in JSON (JavaScript
              Object Notation) format. Timestamps can be controlled by
              options -T and -t.

       -l     Export the contents of the data file to a PCP (Performance
              Co-Pilot) archive.  The name of the archive can be
              specified using the keyword pcparchive= with option -O.

       -O opts[,...]
              Use the specified options to control the output of sadf.
              The following options are used to control SVG output
              displayed by sadf -g:

              autoscale
                     Draw all the graphs of a given view as large as
                     possible based on current view's scale. To do this,
                     a factor (10, 100, 1000...) is used to enlarge the
                     graph drawing.  This option may be interesting when
                     several graphs are drawn on the same view, some
                     with only very small values, and others with high
                     ones, the latter making the former hardly visible.

              bwcol  Use a black and white palette to draw the graphs.

              customcol
                     Use a customizable color palette instead of the
                     default one to draw the graphs. See environment
                     variable S_COLORS_PALETTE below to know how to
                     customize that palette.

              debug  Add helpful comments in SVG output file.

              height=value
                     Set SVG canvas height to value.

              oneday Display graphs data over a period of 24 hours. Note
                     that hours are still printed in UTC by default: You
                     should use option -T to print them in local time
                     and get a time window starting from midnight.

              packed Group all views from the same activity (and for the
                     same device) on the same row.

              showidle
                     Also display %idle state in graphs for CPU
                     statistics.

              showinfo
                     Display additional information (such as the date
                     and the host name) on each view.

              showtoc
                     Add a table of contents at the beginning of the SVG
                     output, consisting of links pointing at the first
                     graph of each activity.

              skipempty
                     Do not display views where all graphs have only
                     zero values.

              The following option may be used when converting an old
              system activity binary datafile to current up-to-date
              format:

              hz=value
                     Specify the number of ticks per second for the
                     machine where the old datafile has been created.

              The following option may be used when data are exported to
              a PCP archive:

              pcparchive=name
                     Specify the name of the PCP archive to create.

              The following option is used to control raw output
              displayed by sadf -r:

              debug  Display additional information, mainly useful for
                     debugging purpose.

       -P { cpu_list | ALL }
              Tell sadf that processor dependent statistics are to be
              reported only for the specified processor or processors.
              cpu_list is a list of comma-separated values or range of
              values (e.g., 0,2,4-7,12-).  Note that processor 0 is the
              first processor, and processor all is the global average
              among all processors. Specifying the ALL keyword reports
              statistics for each individual processor, and globally for
              all processors.

       -p     Print the contents of the data file in a format that can
              easily be handled by pattern processing commands like awk.
              The output consists of fields separated by a tab. Each
              record contains the hostname of the host where the file
              was created, the interval value (or -1 if not applicable),
              the timestamp, the device name (or - if not applicable),
              the field name and its value.  Note that timestamp output
              can be controlled by options -T, -t and -U.

       -r     Print the raw contents of the data file. With this format,
              the values for all the counters are displayed as read from
              the kernel, which means e.g., that no average values are
              calculated over the elapsed time interval.  Output can be
              controlled using option -O (see above).

       -s [ hh:mm[:ss] ]
       -s [ seconds_since_the_epoch ]
              Set the starting time of the data, causing the sadf
              command to extract records time-tagged at, or following,
              the time specified. The default starting time is 08:00:00.
              Hours must be given in 24-hour format, or as the number of
              seconds since the epoch (given as a 10 digit number).

       -T     Display timestamp in local time instead of UTC
              (Coordinated Universal Time).

       -t     Display timestamp in the original local time of the data
              file creator instead of UTC (Coordinated Universal Time).

       -U     Display timestamp (UTC - Coordinated Universal Time) in
              seconds from the epoch.

       -V     Print version number then exit.

       -x     Print the contents of the data file in XML format.
              Timestamps can be controlled by options -T and -t.  The
              corresponding DTD (Document Type Definition) and XML
              Schema are included in the sysstat source package. They
              are also available at https://sysstat.github.io/ .

ENVIRONMENT         top

       The sadf command takes into account the following environment
       variables:

       S_COLORS_PALETTE
              Specify the colors used by sadf -g to render the SVG
              output. This environment variable is taken into account
              only when the custom color palette has been selected with
              the option customcol (see option -O).  Its value is a
              colon-separated list of capabilities associated with six-
              digit, three-byte hexadecimal numbers (hex triplets)
              representing colors that defaults to

              0=000000:1=1a1aff:2=1affb2:3=b21aff:
              4=1ab2ff:5=ff1a1a:6=ffb31a:7=b2ff1a:
              8=efefef:9=000000:A=1a1aff:B=1affb2:
              C=b21aff:D=1ab2ff:E=ff1a1a:F=ffb31a:
              G=bebebe:H=000000:I=000000:K=ffffff:
              L=000000:T=000000:W=000000:X=000000

              Capabilities consisting of a hexadecimal digit (0 through
              F) are used to specify the first sixteen colors in the
              palette (these colors are used to draw the graphs), e.g.,
              3=ffffff would indicate that the third color in the
              palette is white (0xffffff).
              Other capabilities are:

              G=     Specify the color used to draw the grid lines.

              H=     Specify the color used to display the report
                     header.

              I=     Specify the color used to display additional
                     information (e.g., date, hostname...)

              K=     Specify the color used for the graphs background.

              L=     Specify the default color (which is for example
                     used to display the table of contents).

              T=     Specify the color used to display the graphs title.

              W=     Specify the color used to display warning and error
                     messages.

              X=     Specify the color used to draw the axes and display
                     the graduations.

       S_TIME_DEF_TIME
              If this variable exists and its value is UTC then sadf
              will use UTC time instead of local time to determine the
              current daily data file located in the /var/log/sa
              directory.

EXAMPLES         top

       sadf -d /var/log/sa/sa21 -- -r -n DEV
              Extract memory and network statistics from system activity
              file sa21, and display them in a format that can be
              ingested by a database.

       sadf -p -P 1
              Extract CPU statistics for processor 1 (the second
              processor) from current daily data file, and display them
              in a format that can easily be handled by a pattern
              processing command.

BUGS         top

       SVG output (as created by option -g) is fully compliant with SVG
       1.1 standard.  Graphics have been successfully displayed in
       various web browsers, including Firefox, Chrome and Opera. Yet
       SVG rendering is broken on Microsoft browsers (tested on Internet
       Explorer 11 and Edge 13.1): So please don't use them.

FILES         top

       /var/log/sa/saDD
       /var/log/sa/saYYYYMMDD
              The standard system activity daily data files and their
              default location.  YYYY stands for the current year, MM
              for the current month and DD for the current day.

AUTHOR         top

       Sebastien Godard (sysstat <at> orange.fr)

SEE ALSO         top

       sar(1), sadc(8), sa1(8), sa2(8), sysstat(5)

       https://github.com/sysstat/sysstat 
       https://sysstat.github.io/ 

COLOPHON         top

       This page is part of the sysstat (sysstat performance monitoring
       tools) project.  Information about the project can be found at 
       ⟨http://sebastien.godard.pagesperso-orange.fr/⟩.  If you have a
       bug report for this manual page, send it to sysstat-AT-orange.fr.
       This page was obtained from the project's upstream Git repository
       ⟨https://github.com/sysstat/sysstat.git⟩ on 2023-12-22.  (At that
       time, the date of the most recent commit that was found in the
       repository was 2023-12-17.)  If you discover any rendering
       problems in this HTML version of the page, or you believe there
       is a better or more up-to-date source for the page, or you have
       corrections or improvements to the information in this COLOPHON
       (which is not part of the original manual page), send a mail to
       man-pages@man7.org

Linux                          AUGUST 2023                       SADF(1)

Pages that refer to this page: pmrep(1)sar(1)sar2pcp(1)pmrep.conf(5)sa1(8)sa2(8)sadc(8)