PCP Metrics

This role manages Performance Co-Pilot (PCP) toolkit [1] on the target host for monitoring and analyzing the historical details of system performance [2].

Note: The PCP toolkit is not to be confused with GitHub Copilot [3], which is an AI coding assistant – and not a concern of this role here.

Usage

Please check the hooks provided in this repository for real-world examples:

To setup and enable PCP on the target host, include the role with setup tasks:

- name: Setup PCP
  include_role:
    name: pcp_metrics
    tasks_from: setup

To collect current metrics from the host, include the role with gather tasks:

- name: Gather metrics
  include_role:
    name: pcp_metrics
    tasks_from: gather

Alternatively, pcp_metrics_setup and pcp_metrics_gather boolean variables can be used to control which actions to perform when including the role with just main tasks file (the default one). For example:

- name: Setup PCP
  include_role:
    name: pcp_metrics
  vars:
    pcp_metrics_setup: true

Impact

According to my brief checks, enabling PCP causes negligible difference in the system load. The metrics in default configuration took about 5 MB of disk space per hour (although it can be reduced by over 90% with xz, IMVHO it is not worth the additional CPU usage).

References