4.1 Program Mode Options

--config-file=file
-c file

Use file instead of the default configuration file.

--cron

Start in cron mode. Normally slb operates in daemon mode, in which it polls the monitored servers at fixed intervals and outputs the resulting load table. In contrast, when in cron mode, slb performs a single poll, outputs the table and exits. This mode is useful when starting slb from cron, hence its name.

Notice that the function ‘d’ (derivative, see derivative) does not work in this mode.

--dry-run
-n

Run in foreground mode and print to the standard output what would have otherwise been printed to the output file. This option implies ‘--stderr --debug snmp.1 --debug output.1’. Use additional ‘--debug’ options to get even more info.

The ‘pidfile’ configuration statement is ignored in dry run mode (see pidfile).

--eval=name

Evaluate the named expression name, print its result and exit. Arguments for the expression can be supplied in the form of assignments in the command line, e.g.:

 
slb --eval=loadavg la1=10 x=18

See section eval, for a detailed discussion of the expression evaluation mode.

--test

Test mode. Instead of polling servers via SNMP, slb reads data from the file given as the first non-option argument on the command line (or from the standard input, if no arguments are given). The output is directed to the standard output, unless the ‘--output-file’ option is also given.

See section Test Mode, for a detailed information about the test mode, including a description of the input format.

Example usage:

 
slb --test input.slb
-E

Show preprocessed configuration and exit.

--lint
-t

Parse configuration file, report any errors on the standard error and exit with code 0, if the syntax is OK, and with code 1 otherwise.