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Systemd Units

Plugin: go.d.plugin Module: systemdunits

Overview

This collector monitors the state of Systemd units and unit files.

This collector is supported on all platforms.

This collector supports collecting metrics from multiple instances of this integration, including remote instances.

Default Behavior

Auto-Detection

This integration doesn't support auto-detection.

Limits

The default configuration for this integration does not impose any limits on data collection.

Performance Impact

The default configuration for this integration is not expected to impose a significant performance impact on the system.

Metrics

Metrics grouped by scope.

The scope defines the instance that the metric belongs to. An instance is uniquely identified by a set of labels.

Per unit

These metrics refer to the systemd unit.

Labels:

LabelDescription
unit_namesystemd unit name

Metrics:

MetricDimensionsUnit
systemd.service_unit_stateactive, inactive, activating, deactivating, failedstate
systemd.socket_unit_stateactive, inactive, activating, deactivating, failedstate
systemd.target_unit_stateactive, inactive, activating, deactivating, failedstate
systemd.path_unit_stateactive, inactive, activating, deactivating, failedstate
systemd.device_unit_stateactive, inactive, activating, deactivating, failedstate
systemd.mount_unit_stateactive, inactive, activating, deactivating, failedstate
systemd.automount_unit_stateactive, inactive, activating, deactivating, failedstate
systemd.swap_unit_stateactive, inactive, activating, deactivating, failedstate
systemd.timer_unit_stateactive, inactive, activating, deactivating, failedstate
systemd.scope_unit_stateactive, inactive, activating, deactivating, failedstate
systemd.slice_unit_stateactive, inactive, activating, deactivating, failedstate

Per unit file

These metrics refer to the systemd unit file.

Labels:

LabelDescription
unit_file_namesystemd unit file name
unit_file_typesystemd unit file type

Metrics:

MetricDimensionsUnit
systemd.unit_file_stateenabled, enabled-runtime, linked, linked-runtime, alias, masked, masked-runtime, static, disabled, indirect, generated, transient, badstate

Alerts

The following alerts are available:

Alert nameOn metricDescription
systemd_service_unit_failed_state systemd.service_unit_statesystemd service unit in the failed state
systemd_socket_unit_failed_state systemd.socket_unit_statesystemd socket unit in the failed state
systemd_target_unit_failed_state systemd.target_unit_statesystemd target unit in the failed state
systemd_path_unit_failed_state systemd.path_unit_statesystemd path unit in the failed state
systemd_device_unit_failed_state systemd.device_unit_statesystemd device unit in the failed state
systemd_mount_unit_failed_state systemd.mount_unit_statesystemd mount unit in the failed state
systemd_automount_unit_failed_state systemd.automount_unit_statesystemd automount unit in the failed state
systemd_swap_unit_failed_state systemd.swap_unit_statesystemd swap unit in the failed state
systemd_scope_unit_failed_state systemd.scope_unit_statesystemd scope unit in the failed state
systemd_slice_unit_failed_state systemd.slice_unit_statesystemd slice unit in the failed state
systemd_timer_unit_failed_state systemd.timer_unit_statesystemd timer unit in the failed state

Setup

Prerequisites

No action required.

Configuration

File

The configuration file name for this integration is go.d/systemdunits.conf.

You can edit the configuration file using the edit-config script from the Netdata config directory.

cd /etc/netdata 2>/dev/null || cd /opt/netdata/etc/netdata
sudo ./edit-config go.d/systemdunits.conf

Options

The following options can be defined globally: update_every, autodetection_retry.

Config options
NameDescriptionDefaultRequired
update_everyData collection frequency.1no
autodetection_retryRecheck interval in seconds. Zero means no recheck will be scheduled.0no
timeoutSystem bus requests timeout.1no
includeSystemd units selector.*.serviceno
skip_transientIf set, skip data collection for systemd transient units.falseno
collect_unit_filesIf set to true, collect the state of installed unit files. Enabling this may increase system overhead.falseno
collect_unit_files_everyInterval for querying systemd about unit files and their enablement state, measured in seconds. Data is cached for this interval to reduce system overhead.300no
include_unit_filesSystemd unit files selector.*.serviceno
include

Systemd units matching the selector will be monitored.

includes:
- pattern1
- pattern2
include_unit_files

Systemd unit files matching the selector will be monitored.

includes:
- pattern1
- pattern2

Examples

Service units

Collect state of all service type units.

Config
jobs:
- name: service
include:
- '*.service'

One specific unit

Collect state of one specific unit.

Config
jobs:
- name: my-specific-service
include:
- 'my-specific.service'

All unit types

Collect state of all units.

Config
jobs:
- name: my-specific-service-unit
include:
- '*'

Multi-instance

Note: When you define multiple jobs, their names must be unique.

Collect state of all service and socket type units.

Config
jobs:
- name: service
include:
- '*.service'

- name: socket
include:
- '*.socket'

Troubleshooting

Debug Mode

Important: Debug mode is not supported for data collection jobs created via the UI using the Dyncfg feature.

To troubleshoot issues with the systemdunits collector, run the go.d.plugin with the debug option enabled. The output should give you clues as to why the collector isn't working.

  • Navigate to the plugins.d directory, usually at /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/. If that's not the case on your system, open netdata.conf and look for the plugins setting under [directories].

    cd /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/
  • Switch to the netdata user.

    sudo -u netdata -s
  • Run the go.d.plugin to debug the collector:

    ./go.d.plugin -d -m systemdunits

Getting Logs

If you're encountering problems with the systemdunits collector, follow these steps to retrieve logs and identify potential issues:

  • Run the command specific to your system (systemd, non-systemd, or Docker container).
  • Examine the output for any warnings or error messages that might indicate issues. These messages should provide clues about the root cause of the problem.

System with systemd

Use the following command to view logs generated since the last Netdata service restart:

journalctl _SYSTEMD_INVOCATION_ID="$(systemctl show --value --property=InvocationID netdata)" --namespace=netdata --grep systemdunits

System without systemd

Locate the collector log file, typically at /var/log/netdata/collector.log, and use grep to filter for collector's name:

grep systemdunits /var/log/netdata/collector.log

Note: This method shows logs from all restarts. Focus on the latest entries for troubleshooting current issues.

Docker Container

If your Netdata runs in a Docker container named "netdata" (replace if different), use this command:

docker logs netdata 2>&1 | grep systemdunits

Do you have any feedback for this page? If so, you can open a new issue on our netdata/learn repository.