SOS/SOLARIS Overview
SOS Performance Advisor Architecture
SOS/SOLARIS Performance Advisor is comprised of several programs and files. The
relationships between the most significant programs and files is illustrated in
Figure 2.1.
Figure 2.1 SOS/SOLARIS Performance Advisor relationships between key processes and files
The LPSMID process is responsible for retrieving much of the performance data from the kernel
and providing it to other processes. The user does not have to execute LPSMID, it will be
executed automatically by any process that requires it. LPSMID is a daemon process, so it
executes in the background and does not interact with the user. Any informational, warning, and
error messages from LPSMID will be stored in the lps.log file.
The LPSMID process uses a shared memory segment to deliver the performance data to other
processes, which include SOS and SOSLOGD. In addition to the data provided by LPSMID, both
SOS and SOSLOGD retrieve some data from the kernel directly.
The SOS process displays real-time performance data to the user in text mode.
SOSLOGD is a daemon process. Its function is to periodically write performance data to log files
for later historical analysis. Since it’s a daemon process, it also stores informational, warning, and
error messages in the lps.log file.
The SOSLOGX process reads the log files created by SOSLOGD. SOSLOGX displays this
information to the user, and also allows the user to convert that information to other file formats:
ASCII text, to export data to spreadsheet applications, such as MS Excel.
Performance Gallery Gold (*.pfg), to export data to Performance Gallery Gold, a trend analysis and graphical reporting application by Lund Performance Solutions.
OSF/1 Directory Hierarchy
SOS Performance Advisor versions 2.x, A.0x and later use the OSF/1 directory hierarchy.
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IMPORTANT A directory other than the default directory can be assigned during the installation process. Please be aware that every user of this software package will need the same directory in their path.
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Directories
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IMPORTANT The LPS directory statements that include the default
directory and the corresponding environment variable must be set if
the default location is not used.
For example:
LPS_OPT_PATH=/opt/lps
Where:
LPS_OPT_PATH is the environment variable
/opt/lps is the default directory location
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In the past, all Lund Performance Solutions files (lps files) associated with the SOS Performance
Advisor application could be found in one directory (LPSPATH=/opt/lps). In accordance with the
OSF/1 standard, Lund Performance Solutions files are now located in three different directories,
which are described in the next table.
Table 2.1 SOS Performance Advisor directory locations
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Directory
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Description
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LPS_ETC_PATH=/etc/opt/lps
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Contains host-specific configuration files that can be modified by the user.
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LPS_OPT_PATH=/opt/lps
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Contains host-specific, third-party files that do not generally change.
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LPS_VAR_PATH=/var/opt/lps
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Contains host-specific files that are dynamic in nature, including temporary files and files that grow in size.
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Subdirectories
The subdirectories of each directory are listed and described in the next table (it is assumed the
default directory is used).
Table 2.2 SOS Performance Advisor subdirectory listings
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Directory
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Subdirectory
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Description
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/etc/opt/lps/
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cfg
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Contains configuration files used by the Lund Performance Solutions products. Initially, these will be the same files found under /opt/lps/newcfg, except they are actually used by the product and can be modified by the user.
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rpt
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Contains SOSLOGX report files.
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/opt/lps/
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bin
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Contains the lps binary files.
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lib
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Contains the lps library files.
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newcfg
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Contains the configuration files as distributed by Lund Performance Solutions (before user customization). These files are meant to be used as a reference point. They are not actually used by the product. See /etc/opt/lps for more information.
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/var/opt/lps/
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log
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Contains log files.
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tmp
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Contains temporary files.
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Files
The following file listings are grouped by directory location.
Table 2.3 SOS Performance Advisor file listings
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Location
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File
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Description
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/etc/opt/lps/cfg/
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advice
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Contains configurations for the SYSTEM PERFORMANCE ADVICE messages in the Global Summary screen.
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holidays
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Contains the configurations for holidays (predetermined days to be excluded from data collections).
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ppoints
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Contains configurations for pulse points.
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soskip
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Contains configurations for the KIP (key indicators of performance) line.
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workdefs
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Contains workload definitions.
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/etc/opt/lps/rpt/
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reprtdef
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Contains compiled SOSLOGX reports.
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*.rpt
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Contains SOSLOGX reports.
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/opt/lps/bin/
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kiclean
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An executable program that turns off kernel measurements and cleans up the interprocess communication (IPC) structures created by LPSMID (for example, micro-state accounting for Solaris).
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lpscheck
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A program that checks the license status.
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lpsextnd
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An executable program used to extend the demonstration license expiration date.
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lpskill
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An executable program that kills any lps daemon.
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lpsmid
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A daemon that periodically reads process information from the /rocfs structure and saves it.
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/opt/lps/bin/
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lpstrap
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A script to send SNMP traps from the advice module to an event browser.
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sos
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The character-based real-time performance tool.
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soslogd
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A daemon that creates historical performance files.
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soslogx
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A character-based tool to view the historical files and extract them for other formats (such as Performance Gallery gold data files (*.pfg)).
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sosrcrom
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The SOSLOGX report compiler.
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/opt/lps/lib/
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itemlist
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A list of all data items logged in historical files and usable by soskip, advice, and ppoints.
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license
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A new version of license file.
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logxhelp
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The SOSLOGX online help file.
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lpscfg
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The obsoleted license file.
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pfgitems2
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A list of Performance Gallery Gold extraction items.
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soshelp
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The SOS online help file.
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/opt/lps/newcfg/
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cfg
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The advice, ppoints, soskip, and holidays configuration files as distributed by Lund Performance Solutions (before user customization). See /etc/opt/lps/cfg for descriptions.
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rpt cfg
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The reprtdef and *.rpt files as distributed by Lund Performance Solutions (before user customization). See /etc/opt/lps/rpt for descriptions.
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/var/opt/lps/log/
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SLLOGCAT
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The log file catalog.
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SL*
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Contains historical log files.
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/var/opt/lps/tmp/
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*unix.ino
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Contains kernel inode to help determine if rebuild of ksymbols.db is necessary.
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lps.log
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Contains messages from lps daemons.
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lpsmid.pid
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Contains the LPSMID process ID.
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soslogd.pid
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Contains SOSLOGX process ID.
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Environment Variables
Table 2.4 SOS Performance Advisor environment variables
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Variable Name
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Default Value
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Accepted Value
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PATH
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$PATH:/opt/lps/bin
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$PATH:/<custom directory name>/bin
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TERM
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N/A
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N/A
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LPS_OPT_PATH
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/opt/lps
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An existing, fully-qualified directory
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LPS_ETC_PATH
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/etc/opt/lps
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LPS_VAR_PATH
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/var/opt/lps
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LPS_TIME_SEP
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: (colon)
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Any single alpha-numeric character
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LPS_DATE_SEP
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/ (forward slash)
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LPS_DECIMAL_INDICATOR
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. (period)
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LPS_DATE_FMT
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MDY (month day year)
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MDY, DMY, or YMD
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Security
UNIX software products from Lund Performance Solutions utilize a system group for security
purposes. The "lps" group is created during the software installation process.
Members of the lps group can execute the following tasks:
Modify existing SOS Performance Advisor reports.
Execute kiclean to remove unnecessary overhead and used memory by LPSMID when it is not able to perform cleanup prior to the last exit (when LPSMID is killed using the 9 signal (kill -9 PID)).
The LPS group is also used to enforce security for log files, the log catalog and the lps directories.
