more information about metrics streaming; setting to cleanup orphan hosts on the master moved to netdata.conf

1 files changed, 32 insertions, 13 deletions

diff --git a/conf.d/stream.conf b/conf.d/stream.conf
index 9386f9006b..0ebdccb8ae 100644
--- a/conf.d/stream.conf
+++ b/conf.d/stream.conf
@@ -7,37 +7,49 @@
 # You can generate API keys, with the linux command: uuidgen
 #
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# 1. SLAVE NETDATA - THE ONE THAT WILL BE SENDING METRICS
+# 1. ON SLAVE NETDATA - THE ONE THAT WILL BE SENDING METRICS
 
 [stream]
+    # Enable this on slaves, to have them send metrics.
 	enabled = no
 
-	# where to send metrics to?
-	# A space separated list of [PROTOCOL:]HOST[%INTERFACE][:PORT] is accepted.
+	# The destination to send metrics to.
+	# A space separated list of:
+	#         [PROTOCOL:]HOST[%INTERFACE][:PORT]
 	# The first available will get the metrics.
 	# PROTOCOL = tcp or udp (only tcp is supported by masters)
 	# HOST = an IPv4, IPv6 IP, or a hostname.
 	#        IPv6 IPs should be given with brackets [ip:address]
 	# INTERFACE = the network interface to use
 	# PORT = the port number or service name (/etc/services)
-	# This communication is not HTTP (cannot be proxied).
+	# This communication is not HTTP (cannot be proxied by web proxies).
 	destination =
 
 	# The API_KEY to use (as the sender)
 	api key =
 
-	# other options (uncomment and set)
+    # The timeout to connect and send metrics
+	timeout seconds = 60
 
-	# timeout seconds = 60
-	# default port = 19999
-	# buffer size bytes = 1048576
-	# reconnect delay seconds = 5
-	# initial clock resync iterations = 60
-	# free orphan hosts after seconds = 3600
+	# If the destination line above does specify a port, use this
+	default port = 19999
+
+	# The buffer to use for sending metrics.
+	# 1MB by default is good for 2-3 seconds of data, so increase this
+	# if you expect latencies.
+	buffer size bytes = 1048576
+
+	# If the connection fails, or it disconnects,
+	# retry after that many seconds.
+	reconnect delay seconds = 5
+
+	# Attempt to sync the clock the of the master with the clock of the
+	# slave for that many iterations, when starting.
+	initial clock resync iterations = 60
 
 
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# 2. MASTER NETDATA - THE ONE THAT WILL BE RECEIVING METRICS
+# 2. ON MASTER NETDATA - THE ONE THAT WILL BE RECEIVING METRICS
 #
 #    You can have one API key per slave, or the same API key for all slaves.
 #
@@ -95,13 +107,20 @@
 
 
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# 3. ON MASTER NETDATA - THE ONE THAT WILL BE RECEIVING METRICS
+#
+# THIS IS OPTIONAL - YOU DON'T NEED IT BY DEFAULT
+# It only exists to give you finer control of the master settings for each
+# slave host, when the same API key is used by many netdata slaves / proxies.
+#
 # Each netdata has a unique GUID - generated the first time netdata starts.
 # You can find it at /var/lib/netdata/registry/netdata.public.unique.id
-# The host sending data will have one. If it is static and you can find it,
+# The host sending data will have one. If the host is not ephemeral,
 # you can give settings for each specific host here.
 
 [MACHINE_GUID]
     # enable this host: yes | no
+    # When disabled, the master will not receive metrics for this host.
     # THIS IS NOT A SECURITY MECHANISM - AN ATTACKER CAN SET ANY OTHER GUID.
     # Use only the API key for security.
     enabled = no