sar(8) on Solnix vs Linux and the BSDs
Solnix sar(8) documents the collection side of the system activity report package: sadc, sa1 and sa2 under /usr/lib/sa, run from cron and the svc:/system/sar service. It does not document sar itself, which it leaves to sar(1). The Linux (sysstat) sar(1) page documents the sar command, including saving data with -o.
The manual pages
- Solnix: sar(8) 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 helpers sadc, sa1 and sa2 live in /usr/lib/sa and are not on PATH. The bundle has no FreeBSD, OpenBSD or NetBSD counterpart page, so no BSD comparison is made. The Solnix sar(1) page, which holds the reporting options, is not in the bundle.
Differences
| Compared with | Topic | What differs |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | what the page covers | Solnix sar(8) describes only the collector programs sadc, sa1 and sa2, and sends you to sar(1) for the options. Linux sar(1) is the page for the sar command itself: activity flags, -o and -f, interval and count.Source: Solnix sar(8) NAME, SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION (see sar(1)); Linux sar(1) SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION, OPTIONS |
| Linux | data file location and names | On Solnix, sa1 stores binary data in /var/adm/sa/sadd (dd = day) and sa2 writes reports to /var/adm/sa/sardd. Linux keeps daily data files named saDD or saYYYYMMDD in /var/log/sa by default.Source: Solnix sar(8) DESCRIPTION (sa1, sa2); Linux sar(1) DESCRIPTION (standard system activity daily data files) |
| Linux | how daily collection is scheduled | Solnix runs sa1 and sa2 from crontab entries for the sys user in /var/spool/cron/crontabs/sys. The Linux page describes collection by running sar -o datafile interval count in the background and does not describe a sa1/sa2 pair or a cron entry.Source: Solnix sar(8) DESCRIPTION (sa1, sa2 crontab examples); Linux sar(1) DESCRIPTION (sar -o datafile interval count) |
| Linux | separate collector command with its own syntax | Solnix sadc takes [t n] [ofile] and writes binary samples to ofile or standard output. Linux has no sadc in the page's synopsis; the sar command saves data itself with -o and replays it with -f. Linux lists --sadc as a sar option.Source: Solnix sar(8) SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION (sadc); Linux sar(1) SYNOPSIS (--sadc, -o, -f) |
| Linux | restart mark and boot service | On Solnix, sadc with no t and n writes a special record marking when the counters restart from zero. The svc:/system/sar service does this at boot when accounting is enabled. The Linux page does not mention a restart record or a service. Source: Solnix sar(8) DESCRIPTION (sadc), NOTES (svc:/system/sar); Linux sar(1) DESCRIPTION |
| Linux | service management | Solnix manages the sar service under SMF as svc:/system/sar, with svcadm(8) to enable or restart it and svcs(1) to query it. The Linux page names no service or unit. Source: Solnix sar(8) NOTES; Linux sar(1) DESCRIPTION |
| Linux | sampling interval and omitted arguments | Solnix says the sadc interval t should be greater than 5 seconds so sadc does not skew the sample, and sa1 writes one record if t and n are omitted. Linux sar with an interval but no count reports continuously, and interval 0 shows averages since boot. The Linux page states no minimum interval. Source: Solnix sar(8) DESCRIPTION (sadc, sa1); Linux sar(1) DESCRIPTION (interval, count) |
| Linux | option letters that differ | Solnix sa2 lists -a, -c, -g and -k, which are not in the Linux sar synopsis. Linux has options such as -B, -n, -o, -P, -t and -S, not in the Solnix sa2 synopsis. Both take -A, -b, -d, -e, -f, -i, -m, -q, -r, -s, -u, -v, -w and -y, but the Solnix bundle does not define them, so check meanings in Solnix sar(1) first.Source: Solnix sar(8) SYNOPSIS (sa2); Linux sar(1) SYNOPSIS and OPTIONS |
| Linux | -A meaning on the Linux side | Linux -A is equivalent to -bBdFHISvwWy -m ALL -n ALL -q ALL -r ALL -u ALL, and also implies -I ALL -P ALL. The Solnix sar(8) page only says to see sar(1) for its options. The sa2 example uses -A with -s 8:00 -e 18:01 -i 1200.Source: Linux sar(1) -A; Solnix sar(8) DESCRIPTION (sa2 example) |
Everyday tasks
| Task | Solnix | Linux |
|---|---|---|
| save samples to a file | /usr/lib/sa/sadc t n ofile | sar -o datafile interval count |
| mark a counter restart in the daily file | /usr/lib/sa/sadc with no t and n (done by svc:/system/sar) | — |
| write a daily report from collected data | /usr/lib/sa/sa2 -s 8:00 -e 18:01 -i 1200 -A | sar -f filename |
| check the collection service | svcs svc:/system/sar | — |
Standards
- POSIX: sar is not a POSIX.1-2024 utility.
Writing portable scripts
- Do not hard-code
/var/log/saor/var/adm/sa.Data lives in/var/adm/saon Solnix and/var/log/saby default on Linux. - Do not assume sa1, sa2 or sadc exist outside Solnix. Linux sar(1) writes and reads its own data files with
-oand-f.
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.