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Linux Platform Support

Linux Platform Support

Complete Linux platform implementation details.

Supported Distributions

All modern Linux distributions are supported:

  • Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint
  • RHEL, CentOS, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux
  • Fedora, openSUSE
  • Arch Linux, Manjaro
  • Alpine Linux
  • And any distribution with standard /proc and /sys filesystems

Data Sources

Environment Detection

  • /etc/os-release - OS name and version
  • /proc/version - Kernel information
  • uname command - Kernel release and architecture
  • /sys/class/dmi/id/ - Virtualization detection (DMI/SMBIOS)
  • /sys/hypervisor/type - Hypervisor type
  • /proc/self/cgroup - Container and cgroup detection
  • /.dockerenv - Docker detection
  • /run/secrets/kubernetes.io - Kubernetes detection

CPU Metrics

  • /proc/stat - CPU time counters (8 fields)
  • /proc/cpuinfo - CPU model and core count
  • Supports: user, system, idle, iowait, irq, softirq, steal, guest

Memory Metrics

  • /proc/meminfo - Complete memory statistics
  • Reports: total, free, available, used, buffers, cached
  • Swap: total, free, used

Load Average

  • /proc/loadavg - Load average (1, 5, 15 minutes)

System Uptime

  • /proc/uptime - Boot time calculation

Storage Metrics

  • /proc/mounts - Mounted filesystems
  • df command - Filesystem usage
  • /proc/diskstats - Disk I/O statistics

Network Metrics

  • /proc/net/dev - Interface statistics
  • /proc/net/tcp, /proc/net/udp - Connection statistics
  • /sys/class/net/*/ - Interface type and status

Container Metrics (Cgroups)

  • Cgroup v1: /sys/fs/cgroup/cpu/, /sys/fs/cgroup/memory/
  • Cgroup v2: /sys/fs/cgroup/
  • CPU quota, usage, throttling
  • Memory limits, usage, OOM kills

Permissions

Standard user access is sufficient. All files are world-readable:

ls -l /proc/stat /proc/meminfo /proc/cpuinfo
# -r--r--r-- (world-readable)

Container Restrictions

Inside containers (Docker/Kubernetes):

  • /proc is typically mounted
  • Some /sys paths may be restricted
  • /sys/class/dmi/id/ often unavailable (no hardware info)
  • Cgroup paths show container-specific values

Kernel Compatibility

  • Minimum: Linux 2.6+ (ancient, any modern system works)
  • Recommended: Linux 3.x+ for full cgroup support
  • Best: Linux 4.x+ for cgroup v2 support

Known Limitations

Minimal Containers

Very minimal containers (e.g., FROM scratch) may lack:

  • /etc/os-release → OS detection fails gracefully
  • /proc/diskstats → Disk I/O unavailable
  • Cgroup paths → Container metrics unavailable

Security Modules

  • AppArmor/SELinux may restrict /proc access
  • Usually not an issue with standard policies

Performance

Read Operations

  • CPU: ~1ms (single /proc/stat read)
  • Memory: ~1ms (single /proc/meminfo read)
  • Environment: ~5ms (multiple file reads, cached after first call)

File Sizes

  • /proc/stat: ~1-5 KB
  • /proc/meminfo: ~1-2 KB
  • /proc/cpuinfo: ~5-20 KB (varies by CPU count)

Testing

Tested on:

  • Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04, 24.04
  • Debian 11, 12
  • CentOS 7, 8
  • Alpine Linux 3.18
  • Arch Linux (rolling)
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