[mrtg] Questions re using MRTG for non-SNMP monitoring

[Kelly Jones]

I had several semi-related questions re using MRTG for non-SNMP monitoring:

% MRTG usually polls data from a source. Can I "push" data to MRTG instead?

% Can I push delayed data to MRTG? Example: I learn just now that
monitored variable X was equal to 5 about 15 minutes ago. I don't want
to say X=5 w/ the current timestamp, but X=5 with a timestamp of 15m
ago.

% Can I push out-of-order delayed data to MRTG? Example: I learn now
that X=4 about 10 minutes ago, and learn a minute later that X=5 about
15 minutes ago. Can I push X=4 w/ a timestamp of now()-10m and then
push X=5 with a timestamp of now()-15m [14m earlier than the X=4
report] later?

% Does MRTG store "minimum" values? The mrtg-logfile doc suggests it doesn't.

% I'm using MRTG as a 1-variable 'gauge'. In situations like this, do
people normally set the second variable (outgoing bytes or whatever)
to be constantly 0?

% Since I'm not using the 2nd variable, can I somehow hack MRTG to
store the minimum value (for the previous interval) there? [eg,
setting the 2nd value to -1 times the 1st value and then reversing the
graph for the 2nd variable somehow?]

% By default, MRTG graphs the 1st var in green, 2nd var in blue, and
doesn't graph the max values at all unless Colours[myvar] has a 3rd
and 4th value, correct?

% My ISP won't let me compile C programs. Is there a pure Perl version
of MRTG? [if not, I can compile on another machine and copy the ELF,
but that's ugly]

% Since MRTG consolidates data, do the log files stay at ~50K each?

% Is there a good page of tips/tricks for people using MRTG this way?

% My ultimate goal: create graphs like
http://limbo.alleged.com/wxfan/stats.html for every METAR station in
the world, but also add min/max lines (which should be fairly smooth)
to avoid the jaggedness for 1 year graphs (last graph on
http://limbo.alleged.com/wxfan/kfbl-temp-dewpoint.html)

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