Optical modules
Optical modules
Plugin: go.d.plugin Module: ethtool
Overview
This collector monitors optical transceiver modules' diagnostic parameters (temperature, voltage, laser bias current, transmit/receive power levels) from network interfaces equipped with modules that support Digital Diagnostic Monitoring (DDM). It relies on the ethtool CLI tool but avoids directly executing the binary. Instead, it utilizes ndsudo, a Netdata helper specifically designed to run privileged commands securely within the Netdata environment. This approach eliminates the need to use sudo, improving security and potentially simplifying permission management.
This collector is only supported on the following platforms:
- Linux
This collector only supports collecting metrics from a single instance of this integration.
Default Behavior
Auto-Detection
This integration doesn’t support auto-detection.
Limits
The default configuration for this integration does not impose any limits on data collection.
Performance Impact
The default configuration for this integration is not expected to impose a significant performance impact on the system.
Setup
You can configure the ethtool collector in two ways:
| Method | Best for | How to |
|---|---|---|
| UI | Fast setup without editing files | Go to Nodes → Configure this node → Collectors → Jobs, search for ethtool, then click + to add a job. |
| File | If you prefer configuring via file, or need to automate deployments (e.g., with Ansible) | Edit go.d/ethtool.conf and add a job. |
:::important
UI configuration requires paid Netdata Cloud plan.
:::
Prerequisites
No action required.
Configuration
Options
The following options can be defined globally: update_every.
| Option | Description | Default | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| update_every | Data collection frequency. | 10 | no |
| timeout | Timeout for executing the binary, specified in seconds. | 2 | no |
| optical_interfaces | Space-separated list of optical interface names which must have optical transceiver modules with DDM. | yes |
via UI
Configure the ethtool collector from the Netdata web interface:
- Go to Nodes.
- Select the node where you want the ethtool data-collection job to run and click the :gear: (Configure this node). That node will run the data collection.
- The Collectors → Jobs view opens by default.
- In the Search box, type ethtool (or scroll the list) to locate the ethtool collector.
- Click the + next to the ethtool collector to add a new job.
- Fill in the job fields, then click Test to verify the configuration and Submit to save.
- Test runs the job with the provided settings and shows whether data can be collected.
- If it fails, an error message appears with details (for example, connection refused, timeout, or command execution errors), so you can adjust and retest.
via File
The configuration file name for this integration is go.d/ethtool.conf.
The file format is YAML. Generally, the structure is:
update_every: 1
autodetection_retry: 0
jobs:
- name: some_name1
- name: some_name2
You can edit the configuration file using the edit-config script from the
Netdata config directory.
cd /etc/netdata 2>/dev/null || cd /opt/netdata/etc/netdata
sudo ./edit-config go.d/ethtool.conf
Examples
Custom binary path
The executable is not in the directories specified in the PATH environment variable.
jobs:
- name: ethtool
binary_path: /usr/local/sbin/ethtool
optical_interfaces: "enp1s0 enp1s1 enp2s0"
Metrics
Metrics grouped by scope.
The scope defines the instance that the metric belongs to. An instance is uniquely identified by a set of labels.
Per Optical Transceiver Module
Metrics collected from optical transceiver modules that support Digital Diagnostic Monitoring (DDM).
Labels:
| Label | Description |
|---|---|
| iface | Network interface name where the optical transceiver module is installed. |
Metrics:
| Metric | Dimensions | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| ethtool.optical_module_receiver_signal_power | rx_power | dBm |
| ethtool.optical_module_laser_output_power | tx_power | dBm |
| ethtool.optical_module_laser_bias_current | bias_current | mA |
| ethtool.optical_module_temperature | temperature | Celsius |
| ethtool.optical_module_voltage | voltage | Volts |
Alerts
There are no alerts configured by default for this integration.
Troubleshooting
Debug Mode
Important: Debug mode is not supported for data collection jobs created via the UI using the Dyncfg feature.
To troubleshoot issues with the ethtool collector, run the go.d.plugin with the debug option enabled. The output
should give you clues as to why the collector isn’t working.
-
Navigate to the
plugins.ddirectory, usually at/usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/. If that’s not the case on your system, opennetdata.confand look for thepluginssetting under[directories].cd /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/ -
Switch to the
netdatauser.sudo -u netdata -s -
Run the
go.d.pluginto debug the collector:./go.d.plugin -d -m ethtoolTo debug a specific job:
./go.d.plugin -d -m ethtool -j jobName
Getting Logs
If you’re encountering problems with the ethtool collector, follow these steps to retrieve logs and identify potential issues:
- Run the command specific to your system (systemd, non-systemd, or Docker container).
- Examine the output for any warnings or error messages that might indicate issues. These messages should provide clues about the root cause of the problem.
System with systemd
Use the following command to view logs generated since the last Netdata service restart:
journalctl _SYSTEMD_INVOCATION_ID="$(systemctl show --value --property=InvocationID netdata)" --namespace=netdata --grep ethtool
System without systemd
Locate the collector log file, typically at /var/log/netdata/collector.log, and use grep to filter for collector’s name:
grep ethtool /var/log/netdata/collector.log
Note: This method shows logs from all restarts. Focus on the latest entries for troubleshooting current issues.
Docker Container
If your Netdata runs in a Docker container named “netdata” (replace if different), use this command:
docker logs netdata 2>&1 | grep ethtool