Unattended mode and response files

In case you want to fully automate the installation of perfino, you can pass the argument-q to the installer. This makes the installer run in unattended mode. To set the installation directory, pass the argument -dir [installation directory]:

./perfino_unix.sh -q -dir /opt/perfino

To apply user input from a previous GUI or console installation, locate the response file .install4j/response.varfile in the installation directory and pass it to the installer with the argument -varfile response.varfile. The response file is a plain text file, and the contained property definitions can be changed in a text editor. Properties related to the perfino.properties file will not be picked up from the response file. To modify them, you have to use the server configuration mechanism detailed below.

Automatic server configuration

In a cloud environment, you might want to recycle an instance or set up scripts that initialize a new instance with a completely configured perfino installation. To help you with that task, the perfino installer tries to read a number of optional configuration files with special names from the same directory.

Each of those files is explained in the following sections.

Server configuration

To adjust values in perfino.properties, you simply copy a perfino.properties file from the data directory of a configured installation into the same directory as the installer.

The installer will use the data in that file for the initial values. You can trim the contents of that file to the properties that deviate from the defaults, the installer will supply the default values for all other options. The basis for the structure of the actual perfino.properties file is the default template in the installer, so it does not matter if you delete comments or change the order of properties. Extra properties that are not present in the default template are merged in at the end.

Monitoring configuration

The monitoring configuration includes everything you can adjust in the perfino UI. Open the general settings in a configured installation, select the "Export/Import" tab and click on "Export configuration". This will save the entire server configuration to a file. If you rename that file to perfino_server_config.xml and put it into the same directory as the installer, the installer will automatically apply this configuration in the new installation.

Agent configuration

The monitoring configuration in the previous section includes the configuration for the agent. However, there is one case where you might want to supply a separate agent configuration: When the perfino agent connects to a perfino server for the first time, it receives its configuration from the server and, as a consequence, some classes have to be reinstrumented for monitoring.

If your policy is to avoid all class retransformations, you can specify that on the "Options" step of the VM group configuration. In that case, any configuration change will only be applied when the monitored VM is restarted. To avoid the need for a restart in an unattended deployment, the configuration for the agent can be imported in advance.

First, you have to open the recording settings and export the VM group configurations of interest. Then, rename the exported file to perfino_recording_config.xml and place it next to the installer. The installer will perform the import for agents that are running on the local machine. For other machines, you have to perform this import yourself by calling

java -jar perfino.jar import perfino_recording_config.xml

The agent extracts its config from that file and writes it in binary form to the directory

$HOME/.perfino/config.

This directory is read by all agents on the local machine.

Note that these steps are only necessary if you want to avoid class retransformations. Otherwise all configuration changes are applied on the fly.

Agent and server keystores

You can encrypt and authenticate the communication between monitored VMs and the perfino server. The files agent.ks and server.ks constitute a key pair that enables both encryption as well as mutual authentication.

For an unattended deployment, you will probably already be using a particular key pair with your monitored VMs. In a configured perfino installation you can find these files in the ssl directory below the data directory. Placing them next to the installer ensures that they are copied to the same location in the new installation and that the server does not generate a new key pair.

Server SSL certificate

It is recommended to use SSL to encrypt the communication between the perfino UI server and browsers. If you enable SSL during the installation, a self-signed SSL certificate is generated and saved to ssl/web.pkcs12 in the perfino data directory. You can replace that file with a certificate that is signed by a well-known certificate authority.

If you have such a certificate, you can put it next to the installer with the name web.pkcs12. No self-signed certificate will be generated in that case.