Installing and Running VSD
Installing and Running VSD
Start the VSD tool, load statistics files, and maintain the view you want on your statistics.
Install VSD
VSD is a free analysis tool and is provided as-is.
VSD is distributed with Pivotal GemFire. To install VSD, install Pivotal GemFire. See Installing Pivotal GemFire for instructions.
After you install GemFire, you can find VSD in the following location of your GemFire installation:
<product_directory>/tools/vsd
Where <product_directory> corresponds to the location where you installed GemFire. If you installed using RPM, the default location is/opt/pivotal/Pivotal_GemFire_XX where XX corresponds to the version of GemFire (for example, Pivotal_GemFire_70) that you have installed
-
bin. The scripts and
binaries that can be used to run VSD on a variety of operating systems. The
following scripts are included with this release:
- vsd
- vsd.bat
The following binaries are included with this release:- vsdwishSunOS - for Solaris
- vsdwishLinux - for Linux
- vsdwishWindows_NT.exe - for Windows
- vsdwishDarwin - for Mac
- lib. The jars and binary libraries needed to run VSD.
Configure Statistics Sampling in GemFire
statistic-sampling-enabled=true statistic-archive-file=myStats.gfsSince collecting statistics at the default sampling rate of once every second does not affect performance, we recommend that sampling should always be enabled; including during development, testing, and in production.
enable-time-statistics=trueWhen the distributed system is up and running, every GemFire instance generate a statistics file. To simplify browsing these statistics in VSD, you may want to copy all the statistics files from all members into one directory so that you can easily load the files into VSD.
Start VSD
-
Windows:
prompt>vsd.bat
Note: To run VSD on Windows 7 or later, go to the <product_dir>/tools/vsd/bin directory. Right-click on vsd.bat and select Properties. Click Compatibility and set it to Windows XP. Repeat this step for all other executables in the bin directory. -
Linux/Unix, MacOS or Other
OS:
$ vsd
gfsh>start vsd
Load a Statistics File into VSD
- Include the name of one or more
statistics files on the VSD command line. Example:
vsd <filename.gfs> ...
- Browse for an existing statistics file through Main > Load Data File.
- Type the full path in the File entry box, then press Enter.
- Switch to a statistics file that you’ve already loaded by clicking the down-arrow next to the File entry.
After you load the data file, the VSD main window displays a list of entities for which statistics are available. VSD uses color to distinguish between entities that are still running (shown in green) and those that have stopped (shown in black).
Maintain a Current View of the Data File
If you select the menu item File > Auto Update, VSD automatically updates your display, and any associated charts, whenever the data file changes. Alternatively, you can choose File > Update periodically to update the display manually.
About Statistics
Some statistics are cumulative from when the GemFire system was started. Other statistics are instantaneous values that may change in any way between sample collection.
Cumulative statistics are best charted per second or per sample, so that the VSD chart is readable. Absolute values are best charted as No Filter.
.gfs Time Zone Information for Matching Statistics to Log Files
When opening a .gfs file, statistics are shown in the time zone used on the local computer where VSD is launched. This can made it harder to relate log files to statistics if the logs are from another time zone.
strings file.gfs | headFor example:
$ strings ObjLoader?-31-03.gfs | head Hongkong hklp162p.oocl.com :GemFire? 6.6.4.3 #build 39140 as of 12/10/2012 14:46:33 PST Linux 2.6.18-274.el5After you obtain the time zone, modify your local computer to use configure the time zone used when obtaining statistics in the .gfs file. For example, on MacOS X, you can first list available time zones:
sudo systemsetup -listtimezonesAnd then export the specific timezone to your environment:
export TZ=<timezone>For example, for Hong Kong:
export TZ=Asia/Hong_Kong
Then use VSD to open the .gfs file that will now display timestamps from the original time zone.