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collectd
What it is
collectd is an open-source daemon that periodically gathers system and application performance metrics. It collects information from operating systems, applications, logfiles, and external devices, then stores the results or makes them available over a network. These statistics can help teams monitor systems, find performance bottlenecks, and anticipate future system load. The project describes collectd as written in C for performance and portability, including use on systems without a scripting language or cron daemon. It comes with over 100 plugins and includes features intended to handle hundreds of thousands of metrics. collectd can write to RRD files, but it does not produce graphs from them, and its monitoring is limited to simple threshold checks. The project lists Linux, Windows, and self-hosted environments. Source downloads are compressed tar archives; for Windows, the download page points to SSC Serv, which uses the collectd network protocol to collect and dispatch performance data. Documentation includes manpages, a getting started guide, and specialized material.
For and against
For
- Free and open source.
- Collects metrics from several source types.
- Includes over 100 plugins.
- Supports self-hosted use.
- Can handle hundreds of thousands of metrics.
Against
- Monitoring is limited to simple threshold checks.
- It does not generate graphs from RRD files.
- Windows download guidance points to SSC Serv.
The verdict
collectd focuses on metric collection and storage or network delivery, with a broad plugin set and portability emphasis. Readers needing graphs or more than simple threshold checks should account for its stated limits.
Who it suits
collectd may suit people who need a free, self-hosted way to gather system or application metrics across varied sources. Its threshold-based monitoring and lack of graph generation may matter to readers seeking those functions.
Plans and prices
collectd
System and application metrics collection; stores metrics or makes them available over the network
Read 4 Oct 2026 · collectd.org
On the record
- Documentation
- The project provides manpages, a getting started guide, specialized documentation, and a plugin list in its source README.collectd.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Download formats
- The download page offers source packages as GZip or BZip2 compressed tar archives.collectd.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Metric sources
- It gathers metrics from operating systems, applications, logfiles, and external devices.collectd.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Monitoring limit
- The homepage says its monitoring functionality is limited to simple threshold checking.collectd.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Performance and portability
- The project says collectd is written in C for performance and portability, including use on systems without a scripting language or cron daemon.collectd.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Plugins
- The homepage says the daemon comes with over 100 plugins.collectd.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- collectd is a daemon that periodically collects system and application performance metrics and provides mechanisms to store them in various ways.collectd.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Scale
- The homepage says collectd includes optimizations and features to handle hundreds of thousands of metrics.collectd.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Security contact
- The contact page provides [email protected] and GnuPG key 0x0C705A15 for reporting sensitive security issues.collectd.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Storage and graphs
- collectd can write to RRD files but does not generate graphs from them.collectd.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Support
- The project directs bug reports to its bug tracker and uses its mailing list for announcements and development discussions.collectd.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Uses
- Collected statistics can be used to monitor systems, find performance bottlenecks, and predict future system load.collectd.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Windows
- The download page points to SSC Serv, a native Windows application that collects and dispatches performance data using the collectd network protocol.collectd.org · read 4 Oct 2026
