HP XC System Software Administration Guide Version 3.2

9. Update the golden image to ensure a permanent change. For more information on updating
the golden image, see Chapter 11 (page 139) .
7.7 The collectl Utility
The collectl utility collects data on the nodes of the HP XC system. As a development or
debug tool, the collectl utility typically gathers more detail more frequently than the supermon
utility. The collectl utility does have some overhead, but for most situations, it consumes less
than 0.1 percent of the CPU and has minimal effect on user applications. However, even this low
level can have a significant impact on some applications, so use the collectl utility with care.
The collectl utility also enables you to play back the data in either raw ASCII characters or
in a plot form, which can be used to display the data with GnuPlot or Microsoft Excel. Figure 7-3
shows one example of the plotted graph based on the collectl utility's collection of CPU data.
Example 7-1 (page 95) provides an illustration of collectl utility's ASCII output.
Figure 7-3 Plotted Output from the collectl Utility
You can use any of the following methods to run the collectl utility:
• “Running the collectl Utility from the Command Line” (page 94)
• “Running the collectl Utility as a Service” (page 95)
• “Running the collectl Utility in a Batch Job Submission” (page 96)
7.7.1 Running the collectl Utility from the Command Line
The default action of this utility is to collect data at 10-second intervals and to display the data
in ASCII characters on the terminal screen. Example 7-1 shows the invocation and first record
reported from the collectl utility. The information has been edited to fit horizontally on the
page.
94 Monitoring the System