Commands that run automatically

Several commands usually run by the cron daemon automatically collect accounting data. These commands are:

runacct

Handles the main daily accounting procedure. Normally initiated by the cron daemon during non-prime hours, the runacct command calls several other accounting commands to process the active data files and produce command and resource usage summaries, sorted by user name. It also calls the acctmerg command to produce daily summary report files, and the ckpacct command to maintain the integrity of the active data files.

ckpacct

Handles pacct file size. It is advantageous to have several smaller pacct files if you must restart the runacct procedure after a failure in processing these records. The ckpacct command checks the size of the /var/adm/pacct active data file, and if the file is larger than 500 blocks, the command invokes the turnacct switch command to turn off process accounting temporarily. The data is transferred to a new pacct file, /var/adm/pacct x. (x is an integer that increases each time a new pacct file is created.) If the number of free disk blocks falls below 500, the ckpacct command calls the turnacct off command to turn off process accounting.

dodisk

Calls the acctdisk command and either the diskusg command or the acctdusg command to write disk-usage records to the /var/adm/acct/nite/dacct file. This data is later merged into the daily reports.

dodisk

Calls the acctdisk command and either the diskusg command or the acctdusg command to write disk-usage records to the /var/adm/acct/nite/dacct file. This data is later merged into the daily reports.

monacct

Produces a periodic summary from daily reports.

sa1

Collects and stores binary data in the /var/adm/sa/sa dd file, where dd is the day of the month.

sa2

Writes a daily report in the/var/adm/sa/sadd file, where dd is the day of the month. The command removes reports from the /var/adm/sa/sadd file that have been there longer than one week.

Other commands are run automatically by procedures other than the cron daemon:

startup

When added to the /etc/rc file, the startup command initiates startup procedures for the accounting system.

shutacct

Records the time accounting was turned off by calling the acctwtmp command to write a line to /var/adm/wtmp file. It then calls the turnacct off command to turn off process accounting.