Monitoring, logging, auditing, and performance profiling

Collecting Oracle Linux system information, logging system events, and monitoring a system’s usage, performance, user spaces, and applications are critical tasks in maintaining a stable and efficient Oracle Linux system.

system logging with rsyslog

Linux releases 7, 8, and 9 provide several different command line utilities and services to help you audit, log, monitor, and complete performance profiling of system resources and applications. If you are interested in gaining knowledge and experience with different monitoring and logging tools, then look no further than the training video playlist!

Get started with the Oracle Linux monitoring and logging video playlist

The Oracle Linux monitoring and logging training video playlist contains short videos that demonstrate how these tools are used on Linux systems. You can also find these videos and more training at the Oracle Linux Training Station.

The following table lists the auditing, logging, and monitoring tools that are covered in the video playlist. The playlist is always growing to cover new tools, so we recommend returning to the playlist frequently.

Oracle Linux Tools

What these tools do

sos report

Collects configuration details, system information, and diagnostic information like the running kernel version, system and service configuration files, a list of installed packages, and more.

iostat

Iteratively reports terminal, disk, and tape I/O device activity, as well as CPU utilization.

mpstat

Reports processor statistics in tabular form. Each row of the table represents the activity of one processor.

vmstat

Reports virtual memory statistics and information about system events such as CPU load, paging, number of context switches, device interrupts, and system calls.

netstat

Displays TCP/IP network connections, routing tables, interface statistics, masquerade connections, and multicast memberships.

top

Provides a dynamic real-time view of the tasks that are running on a system.

rsyslog

Provides global directives, modules, and rules for logging events for a system.

logwatch

Performs basic log file monitoring, analysis, and reports on log files.

journald

Collects and stores logging data in structured, indexed journals.

Gprofng

Profiles programs written in C, C++, Java, or Scala running on systems using processors from Intel, AMD, Arm, or compatible vendors.

auditd

Collects data at the kernel level that you can then analyze to identify unauthorized activity.

 

More learning opportunities

While The Oracle Linux monitoring and logging training video playlist provides excellent demonstrations and step-by-step instructions for configuring and running utilities like top or Gprofng, you may want a hands-on learning experience. If you have an Oracle Linux system readily available, then the tutorials listed below can guide you through monitoring and logging activities.

If you do not have access to an Oracle Linux system, then navigate to Luna Labs where a free Oracle Linux environment can be provisioned to you for your hands-on learning experience.

Resources