Man pages › Compared with Linux and the BSDs

`sar(1)` on Solnix vs Linux and the BSDs

On Solnix, sar is the illumos sar at /usr/bin/sar (also /usr/sbin/sar). Its option letters differ from Linux sysstat. With no report flags, Linux sar reports CPU activity, while the Solnix text lists per-topic flags (-u, -b, -c, -d ...) and a default data directory of /var/adm/sa.

The manual pages

Solnix: sar(1) from pkgs.solnix.illumos-world-man · illumos.org
Linux: sar(1) sysstat-12.7.7

What Solnix runs

A default Solnix system runs the illumos sar at /usr/bin/sar and /usr/sbin/sar. No other variants are shipped. The bundle contains no FreeBSD, OpenBSD or NetBSD sar page, so BSD behaviour is not covered here.

Differences

Compared with	Topic	What differs
Linux	default data file location	Solnix sar reads `/var/adm/sa/sadd` for the current day by default. Linux sar uses saDD or saYYYYMMDD files in `/var/log/sa` by default. Source: Solnix sar(1) DESCRIPTION and -f; Linux sar(1) DESCRIPTION
Linux	`-A` meaning	Solnix `-A` is equivalent to `-abcdgkmpqruvwy`. Linux `-A` is equivalent to `-bBdFHISvwWy` `-m` ALL `-n` ALL `-q` ALL `-r` ALL `-u` ALL, and implies `-I` ALL `-P` ALL unless those are set explicitly. Source: Solnix sar(1) -A; Linux sar(1) -A
Linux	paging flags	Solnix has two paging flags: `-g` (pgout/s, ppgout/s, pgfree/s, pgscan/s, %ufs_ipf) and `-p` (atch/s, pgin/s, ppgin/s, pflt/s, vflt/s, slock/s). Linux uses `-B` for paging statistics (pgpgin/s, pgpgout/s, fault/s, majflt/s ...), and its `-p` means pretty-print device names. Source: Solnix sar(1) -g, -p; Linux sar(1) -B, SYNOPSIS (-p)
Linux	`-d` block devices	Solnix `-d` reports %busy, avque, read/s, write/s, blks/s (512-byte units), avwait and avserv for each block device. Linux has `-d` for block device activity, but the bundle excerpt does not list its columns. Source: Solnix sar(1) -d; Linux sar(1) SYNOPSIS (-d)
Linux	default report when no flag is given	On Linux, giving no activity flag selects only CPU activity. The Solnix page in the bundle describes no such default, and its synopsis shows flags before the interval t. Source: Linux sar(1) DESCRIPTION; Solnix sar(1) SYNOPSIS
Linux	`-e` default end time	Solnix `-e` defaults to 18:00 when reading a data file. The Linux text in the bundle does not give a default end time. Source: Solnix sar(1) -e; Linux sar(1) SYNOPSIS (-e)
Linux	sampling interval rules	Solnix says t should be 5 or greater, because shorter intervals let sar itself affect the sample, and the default n is 1. On Linux, an interval of 0 shows averages since boot, and an interval without a count reports continuously. Source: Solnix sar(1) DESCRIPTION; Linux sar(1) DESCRIPTION
Linux	options only on Linux	Linux sar has `-n` (network), `-P` (per-CPU), `-r` (memory), `-I` (interrupts), `-S` (swap), `-F` (filesystems), `-h`, `-H`, `-j`, `-t` and `-z`, and `--human`, `--pretty` and `--iface`. Solnix has none of these. Solnix `-r` has its own meaning, and the bundle excerpt does not show it. Source: Linux sar(1) SYNOPSIS and OPTIONS; Solnix sar(1) SYNOPSIS
Linux	previous-day data	Linux accepts `-1`, `-2` and so on to read the data file from that many days ago. The Solnix text shows no such argument. It selects a file with `-f` filename. Source: Linux sar(1) DESCRIPTION; Solnix sar(1) -f
Linux	zones and pools	On Solnix, in a non-global zone with the pools facility active, `-b`, `-c`, `-g` and `-m` report the processors of the processor set of the zone's pool. The Linux text does not mention this. Source: Solnix sar(1) -b, -c, -g, -m

Standards

POSIX: sar is not a POSIX.1-2024 utility.

Writing portable scripts

Do not script sar flags across systems: -p, -g, -B, -A and -r differ between Solnix and Linux sysstat. Branch per OS and test the flags you use.
Binary files written with -o are not shown to be interchangeable between Solnix and Linux, and their default directories differ (/var/adm/sa vs /var/log/sa). Read data on the system that wrote it.

Every difference here is taken from the manual pages linked above: Solnix's published page, Linux (man-pages and the GNU and util-linux manuals), FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD. Each row names its source. Where a manual is silent, this page is too. Compiled 2026-10-26. Found a mistake? Mail hackers@lists.solnix.io.