dump-acct - Linux


Overview

dump-acct is a tool for extracting accounting information from a Linux system’s accounting data files. It provides detailed records of user and system resource usage, including CPU time, memory consumption, disk I/O, and network activity. This information can be valuable for performance monitoring, billing purposes, or troubleshooting resource usage issues.

Syntax

dump-acct [-aRvf][-c <accounting file>] [-T <time format>]
           [-j <command>] [-u <username>] [-g <groupname>]
           [-q <quota units>]

Options/Flags

-a: Output all accounting data
-R: Recursively parse directories for accounting files
-v: Show verbose output, including errors and warnings
-c : Specify the accounting file to be processed. (Default: /var/log/account)
-T Specify the format for timestamps in output. Possible values: diff, elapsed, user. (Default: elapsed)
-j : Execute the specified command for each accounting record.
-u : Filter output to records for the specified user.
-g : Filter output to records for the specified group.
-q : Convert disk usage to the specified units. Possible values: k, m, g, or t. (Default: k)

Examples

Example 1: Output basic accounting information for all users.

dump-acct

Example 2: Show detailed accounting data for user "john" in elapsed time format.

dump-acct -v -u john -T elapsed

Example 3: Recursively parse accounting files in a specific directory and filter by group "developers".

dump-acct -R -c /var/log/account/ -g developers

Common Issues

  • Ensure that the specified accounting file exists and has proper permissions.
  • Check the file format of the accounting file. dump-acct expects a specific format.
  • Consider enabling accounting on your system if the accounting file is empty.

Integration

dump-acct can be integrated with other tools for advanced analysis and visualization. For example:

  • awk: Filter and process the output of dump-acct for specific data points.
  • Gnuplot: Generate graphs and charts depicting resource usage patterns.
  • R: Perform statistical analysis on accounting data.

Related Commands

  • acct: Enable and manage accounting on the system
  • lastcomm: Display last executed commands for a user
  • sar: Monitor and report on system activity
  • accton: Control accounting
  • last: List login information