banshee/linux-collection/linux/ssh/load

Load average of a Linux, by SSH

Returns the load average over 1, 5 and 15 minutes, the same divided by the number of logical processors, and that number. A load of 1 per processor keeps the whole machine busy; beyond it, tasks wait for a processor.

Versions

Generic: both files are written by the kernel the same way on Alpine, Debian and Fedora; grep -c exists in BusyBox and GNU grep. /proc/cpuinfo is not read, its layout changes with the architecture.

How it works

The collector runs cat /proc/loadavg; grep -c '^cpu[0-9]' /proc/stat: the three averages, then the number of online logical processors (one cpuN line each in /proc/stat).

Nothing is written on the target.
An answer that is not two lines, or a load or core count that is not a number, stops the collector misconfigured.

Prerequisites

an SSH account for monitoring, without write rights;
the fingerprint of the server's host key, set in protocol:ssh:fingerprint (not needed when the Security settings trust the first SSH fingerprint presented).

Outputs

Name	Label	Unit	Per instance
`load-1`	Load, 1 minute	—	no
`load-5`	Load, 5 minutes	—	no
`load-15`	Load, 15 minutes	—	no
`load-1-per-core`	Load per processor, 1 minute	—	no
`load-5-per-core`	Load per processor, 5 minutes	—	no
`load-15-per-core`	Load per processor, 15 minutes	—	no
`cores`	Number of processors	—	no

Watches

Name	Title	Kind	Defaults	Checked by default
`load-high`	High load	above a threshold, on `load-5-per-core`	warning above 1.5, critical above 3; no duration, the 5-minute load being already an average	yes
`load-unusual`	Unusual load	habit, on `load-5-per-core`	sensitivity normal	no

Limits

Linux counts in the load the tasks waiting for a disk (state D): a high load with a low CPU usage points to storage, see linux/ssh/cpu (iowait) and linux/ssh/diskio.
In a container, the load is the host's.