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Need help for a class project.

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dd_dpa
dd_dpa Posts: 3
in System Management

I was wondering if someone could help me create a script to perform system management functions. I need to write a script in fedora 10 that will automate a complex system task. The task I have chose is one that will determine the processes that are consuming system resources, and investigative these resources to see whether or not they are necessary or can be stopped. I would also have the script report how much memory is available and how much memory is consumed and log the results with an output file in a stored location. Ideally the script would have comments after every line as to why this line was used, or what it does in the script file itself. Thanks I would be willing to pay via paypal if someone could help on the script part. I need to write a paper on it, but I don't fully understand how to script in fedora and know I cannot do this on my own. If you are interested please reply or email or just get in contact with me somehow. Thank you.

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  • jabirali
    jabirali Posts: 157
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    Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you basically want to pay someone to do your homework for you. I'm not going to that. I can, however, give you a pointer in the right direction if you're willing to do the job yourself.
    [ul][li]Linux scripting is usually done using bash.[/li][li]Information about processes, including CPU and memory usage, can either be extracted from the /proc filesystem, or discovered using the command ps (see man ps).[/li][li]Whether or not processes are necessary - this is not trivial. Except for the kernel and init, anything can be turned off without major problems - but every time something is turned off, you lose some functionality. Whether or not this functionality is necessary depends on what the machine is used for.[/li][li]How much memory is used can be extracted from /proc/meminfo, or using the command free[/li].[/ul]
  • mfillpot
    mfillpot Posts: 2,177
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    Jabir has given you some very good information that will help you to complete find the required resources.

    I am sorry but you are going to school to learn this information and paying good money for it, it would be irresponsible of the community to give you a free pass and let you into the Linux administration worlds without knowing what you are doing.

    We will willingly guide you to the necessary tools and scripting actions to complete your project, but we will not do the work for you. This may seem a little harsh, but you need to learn to do it yourself to learn enough information for future projects. Plus this script is actually very simple, once you start your research you will appreciate the simplicity of the file structure and scripting languages.
  • dd_dpa
    dd_dpa Posts: 3
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    I have no problem doing the work myself if I understood it, but the whole scripting on Linux part is a bit overwhelming for me as I do not really fully understand a good portion of it. You say it is easy and it might be, but to a beginner who has only scripted in windows with extremely basic scripts it does not seem easy at all. I will try using jabirali's information, but I do not have the time to sit through and figure this out in a weeks time when I work and go to school full time. How do I "extract" the information from the /proc file system? I guess the word extract is what is confusing me. Oh and another thing I don't even have fedora so is this something i can just type in notepad?
  • dd_dpa
    dd_dpa Posts: 3
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    Oh and would it be necessary to use loops and functions? I guess it is so difficult for me because I don't have the code envisioned in my head in order to write it out.
  • mfillpot
    mfillpot Posts: 2,177
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    I do not recommend trying to use notepad because it used a different type of line return character which can cause problems in scripts. If you are only using windows then I highly recommend for you to install virualbox or another virtualization application and install Fedora in a virtual machine so you can actually test the script.

    I will give you an example to get you started.

    If you want to get the total memory available and output it to a text file you can use:

    cat /proc/meminfo |grep MemTotal>outputfile.txt

    cat - is used to display the contents of the file /proc/meminfo which displays information about your memory use.
    the | or pipe symbol is used to direct the output of the first command into the second command.
    grep MemTotal - is using the grep utility to parse out the line from the input which contains the word MemTotal
    > - the arrow is used to direct the output to a new file or you can use >> to tell the system to append the output on the end of an existing file.
    output.txt - is going to be the output file which will act as your log.

    When I was in college I was also a full time student, a full time employee and had a family but and I was able to find the time to learn all that I needed in Networking Engineering and IT Security for all platforms including windows, linux, unix and solaris with the very little time I had available. Everything may seem overwhelming right now, but with some determination and proper time management you can learn all that is required.

    As you are working through the project and have question for data parsing or the locations of specific information please feel free to ask us to guide you, or with your limited time-line I would be available to help you through IRC chat, but first you need a fedora installation available for you to test on.
  • mfillpot
    mfillpot Posts: 2,177
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    dd_dpa wrote:
    Oh and would it be necessary to use loops and functions? I guess it is so difficult for me because I don't have the code envisioned in my head in order to write it out.

    You can include functions if you wish, but for the standard functions you listed loops do not seem necessary.

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