Disk Performance Plugin

[roger]

Hi guys,

I've just finished writting a plug in (DiskPerf) displaying disk/partition 
performance based on the rsect/wsect data provided by recent Linux kernels (at 
least 2.4.20 - I think - compiled with CONFIG_BLK_STATS turned on, or 
possibly older kernel patched with "Disk extended statistics" in 
/proc/partitions).

To know if your system provides such statistics:
	- less /proc/partitions
	- check that there are rsect/wsect data

Here is a snapshot of my xfce panel, the DiskPerf monitors being surrounded by 
the "official" systemload and netload plug ins:
        ftp://rmlx.dyndns.org/pub/misc/xfce4/panel-diskperf.png
In there:
- both "Read" and "Write" disk rates (MB/s) are displayed for each of my 2 IDE 
disks (hda & hdb).
- transfer rates (Read+Write combined) are displayed for my 2 swap partitions.

Here is a snapshot of the option dialog:
        ftp://rmlx.dyndns.org/pub/misc/xfce4/diskperf-dialog.png

DOWNLOAD
==========
If you wish to try this plug in, I'll leave the source code accessible a 
couple of days at:
	ftp://rmlx.dyndns.org/pub/misc/xfce4/xfce4-diskperf-plugin-beta.tar.bz2

Note:
This is on my home computer. If it doesn't work - this may be due to the 
machine not being up or the ADSL connection down - just try a moment later.

INSTALLATION (the usual stuff):
===========
        - bunzip2
        - tar xf
        - configure
        - make
        - make install  (as root)

You may have a look at the script "rebuild".
On my system xfce is installed in /opt. In your case it probably is in /usr or 
/usr/local (use the configure option "--prefix=xxx")

You should end up with:
        libdiskperf.a   libdiskperf.la  libdiskperf.so
installed in <YourTopInstallationDir>/lib/xfce4/panel-plugins/

I would suggest that before installing this plugin, you first backup your 
$HOME/.xfce4/ directory.
So, if you're not happy with the plugin, just restore your initial ~/.xfce4/ 
and delete the above diskperf libraries.

Note:
This plug in has only been tested on Mandrake 9.1 (kernel 2.4.21)

FEEDBACK
=========
If this plug in works for you and you like it, please let me know and I will 
try to get it hosted on the xfce-goodies site.

Cheers,
Roger