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TermWhat we mean by that?
MetricA Measurement of a particular characteristic.
Ex: %ge of CPU used, Amount of Bandwidth used, etc. Complete definition can be found here
EventA record of something that has happened - A simple immutable fact.
Example: Link has gone down. A packet from a flow is dropped, etc. Complete definition can be found here 
AgentSoftware that runs on a node/system that needs to be monitored.
Client NodeA node that is monitored (Node on which agent runs)
Server NodeA node that collects metrics and events from the client node.
Sampling IntervalHow frequently the metrics are sent.
Push ModeFetching of events by subscribing
Poll ModeFetching of events via polling.
Writing of Metrics/eventssending/outputting of metrics or events.
Reading of Metrics/eventsreceiving/reading of measrementsmeasurements
Logging of Metrics/eventsLogging of monitored/received metric or event
Metric Types (data source types)

Guage: Value stored as-is
Derive: Derivative - Change of the value (rate)
Counter: Similar to Derive - but it is NEVER negative (due to wrap-around)
Absolute: 

 

 

Parameter Table

 

NPRE NSClient++ Other Writing Hardware:
IPMIWebserver monitoring
[Nginix, Apache

Parameters\Tools

Collectd

Ceilometer

Polling agent.

MonascaSNAPnode-exporter and other exporterssensu client: metric collection pluginsmunintelegraf

NRPE + Plugins

diamondcentreonicingaOpenNMS

(NSClient++,

ICINGA,

OpenNMS)

diamondReimann

Elastic Beats

ReimannNote:
1. For some parameters the answer could be just YES/NO,
2. Whereas, for some we may have to provide a description/details
3. For some we may have to choose from the list [], whereas for some we may append a value to the list.
4. For some parameters, please provide the number of 'actual metrics' provided under that category. For example, collectd would provide 12 metrics for Processes-category

Use NA - If Not applicable.
Use NK - If it is Not Known

Lowest Sampling Interval -

(for transmitting over network)

can go down to a nano second resolution

(1-sec)

               
CPU metricsidle, system, wait, stolen, user (% & time), util, vcpusidle, system, wait, CPU metricsidle, system, wait, stolen, user (% & time), util, vcpusidle, system, wait, stolen, user (% & time), util, vcpusidle, system, wait, stolen, user, guest, irq, nice (% & timejiffies) idle, system, wait, stolen, user (% & time), util, vcpusidle, system, wait, stolen, user (% & time), util, vcpus

Freq,

usage - idle, system, wait, user, util and vcpus.

 

Same as ceilometer or monasca 

user, system, iowait, idle in (% and time).

average-load

idle, system, wait, user, nice     .idle, system, wait, user, nice, stolen, irqidle, system, wait, user, nice, stolen, irq 
Disk IO metrics

Read and write (bytes, rate, time, sectors)

disk-free

read and write (bytes, rate, req)read and write (bytes, rate, req) 

read and write (ops, octets, merged, time)

disk-free

read and write (bytes, rate, req)Read and write (bytes, rate, time, sectors) read and write (bytes, rate, req)Same as ceilometer or monasca 

read and write (

bytes

ops,

rate

octets,

req

merged, time)

      

disk-free

read and write (bytes, rate, req)

read and write (merged, sector, time, req)

io- reqs, time, weighted

read and write (count, time and bytes)
Memory metricsMemory metrics usage, bandwidthfree, swap, total, used (bytes and percetages)usage, bandwidthfree, swap, total, usedfree, available, total, used. free, swap, total, usedfree, swap, total, used (Mb and percentages) free, swap, total, used, slab.Same as ceilometer or monasca free, available, total, used. (bytes, %ges)free, total, swap, active, dirty, inactive, buffers.      free, used, (bytes and %ges) actual-used.free, used, (bytes and %ges) actual-used.
Process metricsI/O, memory, CPU-Usage, count.read-write (bytes and count)NONO I/O, memory, CPU-Usage, (bytes and count). Same as collectd.status, thread-count, uptime. IO, memory, cpu-usage. connections.  Cpu and memory, read-write (bytes, count), and various other fields Cpu and memory, read-write (bytes, count)CPU, memory, uptime, btime, ctxt, processes, blocked, running     I/O, memory, CPU-Usage, read-write (bytes and count)I/O, memory, CPU-Usage, read-write (bytes and count) 
Network Interface MetricsInterface plugin: Standard 4 fields of rx/tx (octets, packets, errors, dropped).
Netlink plugin: uses netlink sockets and covers others
Standard 4 fields of rx/tx (octets, packets, errors, dropped).Standard 4 fields of rx/tx (octets, packets, errors, dropped). sent and recv : bytes, compressed, drops, errors, fifo, frame, multicast, packetsStandard 4 fields of rx/tx (octets, packets, errors, dropped).Standard 4 fields of rx/tx (octets, packets, errors, dropped). Also includes, fifo, compressed, and frame stats. rx/tx (octets, packets, errors, dropped).Same as ceilometer or monasca rx/tx (octets, packets, errors, dropped). SNMP (3)

Rx and Tx.

MBs

      Standard 4 fields of rx/tx (octets, packets, errors, dropped)Standard 4 fields of rx/tx (octets, packets, errors, dropped).
Libvirt MetricsYES - YESYES YESYESNO NONO YESYES     NONO 

Container resource usage Monitoring

(memory, restarts, status, uptime, etc)

YESNONO DockerDockerDocker NODocker YES (Docker, LXC)Docker      YES (Docker)YES (4)
Databases Monitoring : [Influxdb, MongoDb,  MySql, PostgreSql, Carbon(graphite),  Prometheus, RRDCache,Redis, TSDB]YES for all

MySql, PostgreSql, MongoDb

Influxdb, Vertica, MySql, PostgreSql, Cassandra  Influxdb, mysql, mongodb, Cassandra

ALL (4) 

All

 NO

All.

 All      Encryption SupportYESNONOYES for allMongoDb, mysql, postgresql, and RedisYES for allYES for all (4)
Publish metrics to databases - (influxdb, mysql, TSDB, Postgresql, MongoDb, Carbon, Elasticsearch)YES for allNONO   YES      
Extensibility - multilanguage support [Python, Java, Golang, C/C++, Lua]YES for allJavaJava Java, PythonGo, Python.          
Interoperability [with other monitoring solutions]Sensu, statsd, telegraf?

Nagios zabbix

ceilometer CollectdNagios, Zabbix.   Nagios      
Write to Message Queues and protocols (AMQP, Kafka, MQTT, NSQ)YES for ALLAMQPKafka NOAMQP 

kafka,

MQTT,

NSQ

        
Metrics Pub/sub Mode SupportYESYESYES  YES          
Metrics Req/Resp Mode Support NONONO  YES          
Support for Events (polling, Pushing)YesNO (1)NO (1)  YES          
YES for all.NONO (1)NOYes for allNOYes for AllYES for all.YES (4)
Encryption SupportYESNONOYESNONONONOYESYESYESYES
Language (written)CPythonPythonGoGoRubyPerlGoperl, shell, c, (varies)PythonVaries - ruby, c, c++, etc.Go
Extensibility - multilanguage support [Python, Java, Golang, C/C++, Lua]YES for allJavaJava

Python

C++

Java, Python, RubyGo, Python.Python, RubyNone.Perl, shell, C.NoneMultipleNO?
Interoperability [with other monitoring solutions]Sensu, statsd, telegraf?

Nagios zabbix

ceilometerCeilometer, Facter, Reimann, PrometheusCollectdNagios, Zabbix.NOReimannNSClient, Icinga.NagiosCollectdCollectd?
Write to Message Queues and protocols (AMQP, Kafka, MQTT, NSQ)YES for ALLAMQPKafkaAMQP, Kafka.NOAMQPNO

kafka,

MQTT,

NSQ

NOYes for ALLYES for allYES for all (4)

Metrics Pub/sub Mode Support

(Metrics push/pull mode support ?)

YESYESYESYESYESYESNOYESNOYESYESYES
Metrics Req/Resp Mode Support NONONOYESNOYESYESNOYESNOYESYES
Support for Events (polling, Pushing)YesNotification SupportYESNO (1)NO (1) NONOYESNOYESYESNOYESYES
Notification SupportYESNO (1)YES         NO (1)NONO (1)YESNONOYESNOYESYES 
Logging Support YESYESYES YESYESYES YES YES YES YES      YESYES
Hypervisor metricsYESNONO YES (KVM)YESYES (XenTop) NO NO        YESXEN, KVM.NONO
Log-File AnalysisYESNONO YESYES (mtail) NO NO YES YES NO YES     YES
Other Writing (output) Support:
[CSV, HTTP, RRD, UnixSocket, Multicast]
ALL that are listed.NONO NO HTTPNO RRD Socket, NO HTTP      NOYES?
Transport ProtocolDepends on the end point it's communicating with.TCP*TCP*  TCOTCPTCP, UDP. (5)TCPTCP 

TCP, UDP

 TCP TCP     TCP, UDPTCP, UDP 
 Data-Format
[XML, JSON, etc]
JSON, Custom, XMLJSON XMLJSON JSON JSON ?JSON CustomCustom Custom JSON      CustomCustom, JSON
Data-modelCustomKVPKVP KVP KVPKVP CustomCustom Custom KVP KVP KVP    
Hardware:
IPMI, Battery, Sensors, 
YES for allIPMIIPMI IMPI YES for allYES - IPMI          YES (3)IPMI sensorsYESNONO?YES for all
Metric Types: Guage, Derive, Counter, absoluteYES for allGuage Gauge cumulative delta              
Language (written)CPythonPython  Ruby Go        
Gauge, rate, counter.gauge, derive, counter.Gauge, Counter, Histogram, summaryGauge, Counter, derive.Gauge, Counter, derive.Gauge, Counter. Gauge, Derivative, deltaGauge, sum, counter, deriveGauge, sum, counter, derive
Last-Updated201720172017Varies(5)Varies (5)Varies (5)Varies (5)2017varies(5)Varies (5)Varies(5)Varies(5)
Commercial Versions?NONO?NONOYESNONoYESYES?YES?YES?
Run-Time Analysis [^]

CPU: 14.8%
VM:958205952
RSS: 2066
Code:14442496
Data:831705088
StackSize:2288

Last-Updated201720172017       

      Commercial Versions?NONO?  YES 

CPU:17.5%
VM:345899008
RSS:7880
Code:15036416
Data:321084800
StackSize:416

 No        
Resource consumption by the agent

Binary: 617Kb

 

               
LicenseMIT/GPL v2 or laterApache License, Version 2.0 Apache License, Version 2.0 Apache License, Version 2.0Multiple (5)MITGPL V2.MITGPL V3MITMITLicenseMIT/GPL v2 or laterApache License, Version 2.Apache License, Version 2.0   MIT          0
Webserver monitoring
[Nginix, Apache
]YES for allApacheApache YES for all.Nginix, Apache, Passenger varnishApache, Nginix, Unicorn. NO         Yes for allYES for allNOYES for all.Yes for all

Platforms - OS?

Linux (unix'es), Windows.

Supports windows, linux, freebsd, etc.LinuxLinux 

Linux, MAC,

Windows (soon)

LinuxUnix

Windows(3)

Linux, Windows, Linux, Windows Linux ALL Linux      ALLALL
Configuration Tool support [Puppet, Chef, Ansible, Salt]YES for allPuppet ChefPuppet, Chef, Ansible, Yes for all.

Yes for all. 

YES for all          NOYes for All.Yes for allPuppetALLALL
Deployments: servers, VMs, containers,ALLALLALL ALL ALLALL. ALL All ALL ALL ALL ALL    

Other Services monitoring:

(DHCP, FTP, NTP, HAProxy, Consul)

     YES for all.            

Legends

(1) This aspect is realized either as a server-side component or by a 'customized' agent.

(2) Custom solution exist, and may not be part of main distribution.

(3) Support with strong dependency on additional tool/library.

...

Openstack ModulesNO (2)NOALL.CEPH, Cinder, Glance, Keystone, Neutron, NovaNONONONOYES (All)NONONO
Intel PCM and SSDs SMART metricsNONONOYESNONONONONONONONO

Cluster Mgmt.

(Kubernetes, Mesos, Swarm)

NONONOKubernetes and MesosKubernetes and mesosKubernetes and mesosNOKubernetes and MesosYESNOYESYES

Modifiers - (filtering, threshold, tags, contexts)

 

Filtering and threshold - yes.

Tags - YES.

Contexts - No. (1)

NOYESYES for all.Tags, Filtering and threshold.NO(1)NOTaggingYESTagsYESYES
Dynamic Loading of plugins.NONONOYESYESYES.YES?NOYESNOYESYES

Intervals:

 

LSI: can go down to a nano second resolution

NTI: Cannot be specified - depends on size of the buffer and reading interval

PI: Configurable default: 60s

CF: Configurable

Further controlled by per-plugin "collect_period"

 

Based on Task Configuration.

Interval: Can go down to ns resolution.

Configurable scrape interval.

Command specific check-interval.

 

      

Other Services monitoring:

(DHCP, DNS, FTP, NTP, HAProxy, Consul)

HAProxy, DNS, NTPNOHAProxy, NTP.HAProxyDHCP, HAproxy, NTP, Consul.YES for all.NOHAproxy, NTP, Consul, DNS,YESNOYES (4)YES(4)

Legends

(1) This aspect is realized either as a server-side component or by a 'customized' agent.

(2) Custom solution exist, and may not be part of main distribution.

(3) Support with strong dependency on additional tool/library.

(4) Supports more-options than the ones provided in column-1 

(5) A single value cannot be entered due development of logically-independent modules by different community groups.

[^]: Runtime analysis process and considerations:

  1. Isolate the CPUs on the monitoring node. [ Add isolcpus option in the grub. CPU0]
  2. Run the agent on the isolated CPU (CPU0). [ Use taskset command to run agent-processes with appropriate CPU-mask: 0x01]
  3. Plugins: Configure agent to monitor following metrics - CPU, Memory, Disk, Interface, IPMI, processes, libvirt, Caches, OVS, hugepages.
  4. Output: Make agent to send metrics over network (Ex: influxdb running on separate node)
  5. Workload: stress-ng + iperf.
  6. Monitoring duration: 5 minutes.
  7. Frequency: 1sec.
  8. Collect Metrics (using any other tool) to analyze agent's runtime performance  [ Ex: Used Snap to collect ‘collectd-process’ metrics and CPU and memory data]
  9. Note the iperf performance ( to study any effect on it due to collectd]

#: Interval Definitions:

Lowest Sampling Interval (LSI) - How frequently the plugins can read values from source(s) of truth.

Network Transmit Interval (NTI) - Interval at which the metrics are sent over the network.

Polling Interval: Freqency at which metrics are read.

Check Frequency(CF): frequency at which all plugins are run. This may map to LSI and NTI.

Inference Questions

View file
nameMonitoringAgents-Inference.pptx
height250

The Questions The Answer
Lowest Interval: Which agent supports the lowest sampling interval, and what is the value? 
Interoperability: Which agent is 'most interoperable'?  (Work with maximum of 'servers' (collection node) 
Large-scale deployment: Which agent is ideal for large-scale monitoring (Provide description in a separate page, if needed) 
Low-footprint: Which agent has the lowest footprint (memory and CPU)? 
Metrics: Which agent supports maximum number of metrics? 
Gaps: Are there any metrics that are not supported by any of the agent and that are relavant to NFV? 
Which agent is ideal for realtime analytics?- [Support for maximum scalable datastores, visualization tools and Analytics engines?] 
Is any of the agents been used in large-scale real-world deployments? If so, please provide the details on the performance. 
Which agent has the least/maximum dependency - Libraries, OS/Kernel versions, etc.? 
Which agent provides maximum 'freedom' w.r.t. Licenses (core agent + plugins)? 
Which agent is best for the following datastores: Influxdb, Graphite, ElasticSearch? 
Which agent support dynamic configuration?