Use collectd’s read plugins to sample CPU, load, memory, filesystems, disks and network interfaces, then send those values to Carbon with the write_graphite plugin. A small configuration can publish metrics every 10 seconds over TCP to Graphite’s documented Carbon line receiver on port 2003.
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The reliable workflow is: choose and load the collectors, define a stable hostname and namespace, configure the Graphite node, test the file with collectd’s parser and read-callback modes, start the daemon, and verify both the Carbon connection and the resulting series names.
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How collectd and Graphite fit together
collectd is a long-running daemon with two sides. Read plugins obtain measurements from the operating system; write plugins serialize those measurements and deliver them to a destination. For Graphite, the destination plugin is write_graphite. It writes Graphite’s line-based metric protocol to a Carbon listener.
This separation matters when troubleshooting. A CPU plugin can be working while the Graphite writer is disconnected, or Carbon can be reachable while a requested read plugin is not installed. Test collection and delivery as separate stages instead of treating “collectd is running” as proof that dashboards are receiving data.
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Decide which system metrics to collect
Begin with measurements that answer common capacity and incident questions. Enable additional plugins only when they support a specific alert, dashboard, or investigation; every extra series increases naming and retention decisions.
| Operational question | Read plugin | What it provides | Configuration considerations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is the host CPU-bound? | cpu |
CPU state counters such as user, system, idle and related states. | Interpret counters as rates in Graphite dashboards; keep naming consistent if per-state series are already used. |
| Is work queuing or the host overloaded? | load |
System load values. | Compare the load interpretation with the host’s CPU count and the alert policy you choose. |
| Is memory pressure increasing? | memory |
Memory usage measurements exposed by the operating system. | Confirm the package’s plugin build supports the fields you expect. |
| Are filesystems filling? | df |
Filesystem space measurements. | ValuesPercentage true reports percentages. ReportByDevice false avoids reporting separate device identities where that is not useful. |
| Is storage doing excessive I/O? | disk |
Disk I/O metrics for devices supported by the plugin. | Device names and available fields vary by operating system and package. |
| Is traffic or packet activity changing? | interface |
Network-interface traffic and related counters. | Decide whether virtual, loopback and transient interfaces belong in dashboards before setting alerts. |
Graphite’s collectd guidance commonly groups CPU, memory, network, I/O, load and disk as the core metric classes. Swap, process, sensor and application-specific plugins are sensible additions only when they answer a defined monitoring question and are available in the collectd package installed on the host.
Prerequisites and naming decisions
- Install collectd and the package modules that contain the read plugins and
write_graphite. Distribution packages may split plugins into separate subpackages, so check the package manifest rather than assuming every module is present. - Choose a hostname that will remain stable in Graphite. In the example below, the host is
app01; replace it with the identity used by your dashboards and inventory. - Choose a namespace prefix before sending production data. The prefix becomes part of every series path. Changing it later creates a second namespace rather than renaming historical data.
- Make sure the collector can resolve the Graphite host and reach the selected Carbon port through local and network firewalls.
- Identify the actual configuration path supplied by your operating system.
/etc/collectd/collectd.confis common, but packages can use a different file or include directory.
Minimal collectd configuration
The following is a practical starting point for the metric classes above. It samples every 10 seconds, identifies the source host as app01, reports filesystem percentages, and sends data to Carbon over TCP.
Interval 10
Hostname "app01"
LoadPlugin cpu
LoadPlugin load
LoadPlugin memory
LoadPlugin df
LoadPlugin disk
LoadPlugin interface
LoadPlugin write_graphite
<Plugin df>
ValuesPercentage true
ReportByDevice false
</Plugin>
<Plugin write_graphite>
<Node "graphite">
Host "graphite.example.org"
Port "2003"
Protocol "tcp"
Prefix "collectd"
LogSendErrors true
</Node>
</Plugin>Use the package’s exact plugin and block syntax. The names shown here—cpu, load, memory, df, disk, interface and write_graphite—are the official configuration-reference names. If a distribution omits one, install its matching plugin package or remove that collector until the dependency is available.
Sampling interval
Interval 10 requests a 10-second collection interval. Match this cadence to the resolution and retention policy in Graphite. A shorter interval produces more points and network traffic; a longer interval can hide short spikes. The interval is global in this example, so all enabled read plugins use it unless a plugin-specific setting changes that behavior.
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Filesystem options
ValuesPercentage true asks the df plugin for percentage values, which are convenient for capacity alerts. ReportByDevice false avoids splitting the report by underlying device. Keep these choices aligned with existing dashboards: changing them changes the series structure or meaning of values.
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The write_graphite block can contain one or more named Node definitions. Host is the DNS name or address of the Carbon service, Port is the listener port, and Protocol selects TCP or UDP. Prefix adds a stable namespace, while LogSendErrors true makes send failures visible in collectd’s logs.
Choose TCP or UDP deliberately
Carbon’s documented default Graphite line-receiver port is 2003. The protocol must match the listener: configure Protocol "tcp" for a TCP receiver and Protocol "udp" for a UDP receiver. A protocol mismatch looks like a network failure even when the host and numeric port are correct.
TCP
TCP provides connection state and delivery backpressure. It is usually the easier option to diagnose because connection failures and refused sockets are explicit. The trade-off is that a slow or unreachable receiver can cause collectd’s write queue to grow.
UDP
UDP avoids a persistent connection and has less transport overhead, but delivery is not acknowledged. Packets can be lost during congestion or outages, so it is inappropriate when your monitoring policy requires every sample. Confirm that Carbon is actually listening for UDP before selecting it.
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Understand metric names before creating dashboards
Graphite stores a series under a path assembled from the writer’s naming options and collectd’s host, plugin, type and instance information. The prefix in the example creates a namespace beginning with collectd; the configured hostname contributes app01. The remaining components depend on the read plugin and the values it emits.
Do not assume that changing a cosmetic option renames existing data. Options such as Prefix, hostname escaping, ReverseHost, SeparateInstances and tag mode affect the emitted identity. A changed identity normally produces a new set of series while the old paths remain in storage. Treat naming as an API: document it, test it in a non-production namespace, and change it only with a deliberate dashboard and retention migration.
Hostname order and escaping
ReverseHost can reorder dotted hostnames for deployments that organize the Graphite tree by domain components. Escaping rules determine how characters that are meaningful in a Graphite path are represented. If your organization already has a tree convention, follow it rather than applying a new local preference.
Hierarchical paths versus tags
By default, collectd writes hierarchical paths. UseTags true requests tagged series, but the Graphite version in use must support tags and your dashboards must query them correctly. Do not enable tags on one host while the rest of a fleet uses path-based names unless you intentionally operate two naming models.
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Loading a plugin is separate from installing it. The module must exist on disk and the configuration must contain its LoadPlugin line. Check both conditions for every collector and for write_graphite.
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- Use your operating system’s package manager to install collectd and the plugin package that supplies the required modules.
- Locate the package’s plugin directory and confirm that the modules for
cpu,load,memory,df,disk,interfaceandwrite_graphiteare present. - Edit the active collectd configuration, or the included fragment that the service actually reads.
- Add one
LoadPluginline for each required module and keep the plugin blocks below those declarations. - Save a copy of the previous configuration so you can roll back if parsing or startup fails.
Plugin availability and filesystem options differ by operating system and collectd package. A configuration copied between distributions may parse successfully but still omit a metric if its module was not installed.
Validate the configuration before starting the daemon
Use collectd’s documented test modes with the same configuration path that the service uses.
- Parse the file without starting normal collection:
collectd -t -C /etc/collectd/collectd.conf
Replace the path with the package’s actual file. Fix every syntax, unknown-option or missing-plugin error before proceeding. - Invoke read callbacks once:
collectd -T -C /etc/collectd/collectd.conf
This exercises the collectors and can reveal a module that is installed but unable to read the host. - Start or reload collectd through the operating system’s service manager. Use the platform’s native command and verify that the daemon remains running after the reload.
- Read collectd’s service log immediately after startup and after the first interval. Look for DNS failures, refused connections, protocol errors, authentication messages and write-queue warnings.
- Confirm that Carbon is listening on the configured Graphite host and port, then inspect Graphite under the selected prefix and hostname for fresh timestamps.
The two test modes answer different questions: -t checks configuration parsing, while -T invokes read callbacks. Passing the first does not prove that a collector can obtain values, and passing the second does not prove that the writer can reach Carbon.
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Check the sender
After the daemon starts, verify that the expected read plugins are active and that the writer reports no send errors. If logs are quiet, temporarily increase observability using the logging controls provided by your package, then return to the normal level after validation.
Check the network path
From the collectd host, confirm that graphite.example.org resolves to the intended service and that the selected TCP or UDP port is reachable. Validate the protocol separately; a successful DNS lookup does not imply a listener, and an open TCP port does not imply a UDP listener.
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Check Carbon and Graphite
Inspect the Carbon receiver for accepted lines and errors, then search Graphite beneath the exact Prefix and hostname configured in collectd. Compare the newest timestamp with the collection interval. If your dashboard expects a different path, inspect one emitted metric line and reconcile each naming option rather than guessing at wildcards.
Prevent queues from hiding failures
A slow writer can cause collectd’s write queue to grow indefinitely by default. This can consume memory on the monitored host while giving the appearance that data is merely delayed. The write plugin provides high and low queue limits, which are particularly important on servers with strict resource budgets.
Set limits based on the host role
Choose queue limits with enough headroom for a brief Carbon or network interruption, then define what should happen when the high limit is reached according to your operational policy. A small, latency-sensitive host may prefer bounded memory and dropped oldest values; a system where every sample matters may require fixing the receiver capacity instead. The correct values depend on series count, interval, outage tolerance and available memory, so measure queue behavior under a controlled failure rather than copying a universal number.
Monitor the monitor
Alert on writer errors, queue growth and missing Graphite timestamps. A dashboard that shows only application metrics can remain green while collectd is silently unable to deliver them.
Troubleshooting by symptom
| Symptom | Likely checks | Corrective action |
|---|---|---|
| No series appear | write_graphite is not loaded; the node host does not resolve; Carbon is unreachable; or protocol and listener differ. |
Run collectd -t, verify the LoadPlugin write_graphite line and node block, test DNS and reachability, and match TCP or UDP on both ends. |
| Some metric classes are absent | The relevant read module is missing, not loaded, or cannot read the operating-system interface. | Install the module package, add its LoadPlugin line, and run collectd -T to exercise callbacks. |
| Data exists under an unexpected path | Prefix, hostname escaping, ReverseHost, SeparateInstances or tags differ from dashboard assumptions. |
Inspect one emitted line, document the actual path, and update either the dashboard or a tested naming configuration. Do not expect old paths to be renamed. |
| Values arrive late or stop during outages | Carbon or the network is slow and the collectd write queue is growing. | Check receiver latency and queue warnings, set high/low queue limits appropriate to the host, and resolve the downstream bottleneck. |
| Filesystem values are confusing | The df reporting mode does not match the dashboard’s expectation. |
Review ValuesPercentage and ReportByDevice, then keep those choices stable across hosts. |
Operate the configuration safely
- Keep the prefix, hostname convention and tag policy in version control with the service configuration.
- Test changes on one host or in a non-production namespace before rolling them across a fleet.
- When changing a naming option, update dashboard queries and retention or migration plans at the same time.
- After package upgrades, rerun both parser and callback tests because plugin availability and option support can change.
- Record which Carbon listener—TCP or UDP—each environment uses so a host cannot silently send to the wrong protocol.
- Use logs and queue metrics as first-class monitoring signals; successful daemon startup alone is not an ingestion check.
What this setup does not measure
The minimal configuration is intentionally limited to host CPU, load, memory, filesystem, disk and interface data. It does not automatically expose process-level details, swap, hardware sensors, database statistics or application timings. Add those plugins only when the package supports them and the resulting measurements have an owner, a dashboard or an alert policy.
The official setup material documents defaults and option behavior, such as Carbon port 2003, but does not establish a universal throughput benchmark. Capacity planning therefore belongs to your environment: count enabled series, apply the chosen interval, observe queue and network behavior, and size Carbon and Graphite accordingly.
Quick Recap
Final verification checklist
- The active configuration identifies the intended host and collection interval.
- Every required read plugin and
write_graphiteis installed and loaded. - The
dfoptions match the meaning required by filesystem dashboards. - The Graphite node resolves, uses the correct Carbon port, and selects the listener’s protocol.
collectd -t -C ...passes without parse errors.collectd -T -C ...invokes the collectors successfully.- Collectd logs show no DNS, connection, authentication or send-queue errors.
- Graphite contains fresh series beneath the configured prefix and hostname.
- Naming options are documented and have been tested before any fleet-wide rollout.
- Queue limits and alerts protect the monitored host if the writer or Carbon becomes slow.
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