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Collectors

Netdata automatically collects per-second metrics from thousands of data sources without any configuration:

  • Zero-touch setup: All collectors are pre-installed, allowing you to start collecting detailed metrics right after Netdata starts.
  • Universal Monitoring: Monitor virtually anything with Netdata's extensive collector library.

If you don't see charts for your application, check our collectors' configuration reference to ensure both the collector and your application are properly configured.

Collector Types

Netdata's collectors are specialized data collection plugins that gather metrics from various sources. They are divided into two main categories:

TypeDescriptionKey Features
InternalNative collectors that gather system-level metrics• Written in C for optimal performance
• Run as threads within Netdata daemon
• Zero external dependencies
• Minimal system overhead
ExternalModular collectors that gather metrics from applications and services• Support multiple programming languages
• Run as independent processes
• Communicate via pipes with Netdata
• Managed by plugins.d
• Examples: MySQL, Nginx, Redis collectors

Collector Privileges

Netdata uses various plugins and helper binaries that require elevated privileges to collect system metrics. This section outlines the required privileges and how they are configured in different environments.

Privileges

Plugin/BinaryPrivileges (Linux)Privileges (Non-Linux or Containerized Environment)
apps.pluginCAP_DAC_READ_SEARCH, CAP_SYS_PTRACEsetuid root
debugfs.pluginCAP_DAC_READ_SEARCHsetuid root
systemd-journal.pluginCAP_DAC_READ_SEARCHsetuid root
perf.pluginCAP_PERFMONsetuid root
slabinfo.pluginCAP_DAC_READ_SEARCHsetuid root
go.d.pluginCAP_DAC_READ_SEARCH, CAP_NET_ADMIN, CAP_NET_RAWsetuid root
freeipmi.pluginsetuid rootsetuid root
nfacct.pluginsetuid rootsetuid root
xenstat.pluginsetuid rootsetuid root
iopingsetuid rootsetuid root
ebpf.pluginsetuid rootsetuid root
cgroup-networksetuid rootsetuid root
local-listenerssetuid rootsetuid root
network-viewer.pluginsetuid rootsetuid root
ndsudosetuid rootsetuid root

About ndsudo:

ndsudo is a purpose-built privilege escalation utility for Netdata that executes a predefined set of commands with root privileges. Unlike traditional sudo, it operates with a hard-coded list of allowed commands, providing better security through reduced scope and eliminating the need for sudo configuration.

It’s used by the go.d.plugin to collect data by executing certain binaries that require root access.

File Permissions and Ownership

To ensure security, all plugin and helper binary files have the following permissions and ownership:

  • Ownership: root:netdata.
  • Permissions: 0750 (for non-setuid binaries) or 4750 (for setuid binaries).

This configuration limits access to the files to the netdata user and the root user, while allowing execution by the netdata user.


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