plockstat(8) on Solnix vs Linux and the BSDs
On Solnix, plockstat is the illumos DTrace-based tool at /usr/sbin/plockstat. Its flags match FreeBSD's plockstat(1) letter for letter, but several mean different things: -C and -H select which events to watch, and -e makes it exit after a number of seconds.
The manual pages
- Solnix: plockstat(8) from
pkgs.solnix.illumos-world-man· illumos.org - FreeBSD: plockstat(1) 15.1-RELEASE
What Solnix runs
A default Solnix system runs the illumos plockstat at /usr/sbin/plockstat. No other variants are shipped. It needs the dtrace_proc privilege and permission to observe the target process. Linux, OpenBSD and NetBSD have no counterpart page in the bundle.
Differences
| Compared with | Topic | What differs |
|---|---|---|
| FreeBSD | -A meaning | Solnix -A watches all lock events and is equivalent to -CH. FreeBSD -A is described as 'Print all statistics'.Source: Solnix plockstat(8) -A; FreeBSD plockstat(1) -A |
| FreeBSD | -C meaning and default | Solnix -C selects contention events to watch. FreeBSD -C prints cumulative statistics and is called the default. The Solnix page says that by default all lock contention events are monitored.Source: Solnix plockstat(8) -C, DESCRIPTION; FreeBSD plockstat(1) -C |
| FreeBSD | -H meaning | Solnix -H watches hold events. FreeBSD -H prints a histogram. The same flag selects different data on the two systems.Source: Solnix plockstat(8) -H; FreeBSD plockstat(1) -H |
| FreeBSD | -e timeout | Solnix -e secs exits after that many seconds. The FreeBSD page says -e 'Does nothing at the moment', so a script relying on it as a time limit will not stop on FreeBSD.Source: Solnix plockstat(8) -e; FreeBSD plockstat(1) -e |
| FreeBSD | -V output destination | Solnix -V prints the DTrace commands used, which can be fed to dtrace(8). FreeBSD -V prints the DTrace script to stderr. The Solnix page does not name a stream.Source: Solnix plockstat(8) -V; FreeBSD plockstat(1) -V |
| FreeBSD | -v meaning | Solnix -v prints a message that tracing has started. FreeBSD says only 'Be verbose'.Source: Solnix plockstat(8) -v; FreeBSD plockstat(1) -v |
| FreeBSD | -n and -x wording | Solnix -n limits entries shown per output category. FreeBSD calls it the aggregation count. Solnix -x takes arg[=val] and accepts DTrace runtime and D compiler options. FreeBSD documents -x opt=val.Source: Solnix plockstat(8) -n, -x; FreeBSD plockstat(1) -n, -x |
| FreeBSD | output order and stability | Solnix displays data in decreasing frequency order by default. The command-line syntax is Evolving and the human-readable output is Unstable, so do not parse it. The FreeBSD page states neither. Source: Solnix plockstat(8) DESCRIPTION, ATTRIBUTES; FreeBSD plockstat(1) DESCRIPTION |
| FreeBSD | manual section | The page is plockstat(8) on Solnix, in the system administration section, and plockstat(1) on FreeBSD. The Solnix command is at /usr/sbin/plockstat.Source: Solnix plockstat(8) NAME; FreeBSD plockstat(1) NAME |
| Linux, OpenBSD, NetBSD | no counterpart | The bundle has no plockstat page for Linux, OpenBSD or NetBSD, so the manual cannot be used to say how or whether they provide this tool. Source: Bundle header: counterparts list only FreeBSD plockstat(1) |
Standards
- POSIX: plockstat is not a POSIX.1-2024 utility.
- Solnix: Interface Stability: the command-line syntax is Evolving. The human-readable output is Unstable.
- FreeBSD: HISTORY: plockstat comes from OpenSolaris and was first imported into FreeBSD 9.0.
Writing portable scripts
- Do not use
-A,-C,-Hor-ein scripts meant for both Solnix and FreeBSD: they mean different things or, for-eon FreeBSD, nothing. - Do not parse plockstat output. The Solnix page marks the human-readable output as Unstable.
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.