Provided by: sysstat_12.7.5-2ubuntu1_amd64 
NAME
sadf - Display data collected by sar in multiple formats.
SYNOPSIS
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
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/sysstat 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
-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
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/sysstat directory.
EXAMPLES
sadf -d /var/log/sysstat/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
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
/var/log/sysstat/saDD
/var/log/sysstat/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
Sebastien Godard (sysstat <at> orange.fr)
SEE ALSO
sar(1), sadc(8), sa1(8), sa2(8), sysstat(5)
https://github.com/sysstat/sysstat
https://sysstat.github.io/
Linux AUGUST 2023 SADF(1)