Usenet News PMDA
================

This PMDA is a sample, that illustrates how a simple PMDA might be
constructed using the ASCII PDU interface to the PMCD.

Although the metrics supported are simple, the framework in the script
pmdanews is quite general, and could be re-used to implement other
PMDAs.

Metrics
=======

Once the PMDA has been installed, the following command will list all
the available metrics and their explanatory "help" text:

	$ pminfo -fT news

Installation
============

 +  # cd /var/pcp/pmdas/news

 +  Check that there is no clash in the Performance Metrics Domain
    defined in ./domain.h and the other PMDAs currently in use
    (/var/pcp/config/pmcd/pmcd.conf).  If there is, edit ./domain.h to choose another
    domain number.

 +  Then simply use

	# ./Install

    and choose both the "collector" and "monitor" installation
    configuration options.

 +  By default the script pmdanews operates on a small test-case copy a
    news "active" file, installed from here into
    /var/pcp/config/active.  If you wish to use a more realistic base
    of Usenet data, edit pmdanews (see the for-loop ahead of the
    assignment ACTIVE=$file) to make it use your "live active" file,
    then

	# ./Install.

 +  Alternatively, to install just the Performance Metrics Name Space
    for the news metrics on the local system, but not the news PMDA
    (presumably because the local system is running PCP 1.x and you
    wish to connect to a remote system where PCP 2.0 and the news PMDA
    is running), make sure the Performance Metrics Domain defined in
    ./domain.h matches the domain chosen for the news PMDA on the
    remote system (check the second field in the corresponding line of
    the /var/pcp/config/pmcd/pmcd.conf file on the remote system), then

	# ./Install -N

De-installation
===============

 +  Simply use

	# cd /var/pcp/pmdas/news
	# ./Remove

Troubleshooting
===============

 +  After installing or restarting the agent, the PMCD log file 
    (/var/log/pcp/pmcd/pmcd.log) and the PMDA log file
    (/var/log/pcp/pmcd/news.log) should be checked for any warnings or
    errors.
