Performance Co-Pilot (PCP) is a sophisticated tool for real-time and historical system performance monitoring and analysis. It provides a unified set of tools for collecting, storing, and analyzing system performance metrics. In this article, we'll discuss how to install, configure, and effectively utilize PCP on the CentOS 7 operating system.

Installing Performance Co-Pilot

Before we begin with PCP, it's important to ensure that your system is up to date. Use the following command to update your system:

sudo yum update -y

Install PCP using the following command:

sudo yum install pcp -y

This command will install PCP along with several basic performance monitoring tools.

Configuring PCP

After installation, PCP needs to be configured. PCP stores its data in archives located in the /var/log/pcp directory. To start, it's good to check if the pmcd (Performance Metrics Collection Daemon) service is running:

sudo systemctl start pmcd
sudo systemctl enable pmcd

Basic Usage of PCP

PCP includes many tools that can be used for system monitoring. One of the most common ones is pmstat, which provides a real-time overview of system performance:

pmstat 1 5

This command will display system statistics every second, a total of five times.

For more detailed analysis, you can use pmdumplog to extract metrics from PCP archives:

pmdumplog /var/log/pcp/pmlogger/$(hostname)/2023-01-01.0 1 | less

This command will display metrics stored in the archive for a specific day.

Advanced Monitoring and Analysis

PCP allows for advanced performance analysis using tools like pmchart and pmie (Performance Metrics Inference Engine). These tools offer graphical interfaces and automated analysis to identify trends and issues in system performance.

 

Performance Co-Pilot is a powerful tool for monitoring and analyzing system performance. With its flexibility and wide range of tools, PCP can provide deep insights into your system's performance. By regularly monitoring and analyzing with PCP, you can optimize your system's performance and quickly identify and address potential issues.