Collector [performancecounter] Feedback and question

[JDA88]

Problem Statement

I have been paying around with the promising performancecounter collector and I have a few feedback:

Naming:

---

"name": "Cache (Data) Bytes" generate a metric named:
..._cache__data__bytes
it should be:
..._cache_data_bytes
=> Maybe a general replace __ by _ at the end?

---

"name": "Write Cache %" generate a metric named:
..._cache_write_cache
it could be:
..._cache_write_cache_percent
=> Maybe replace % by percent

---

Question:
Is there a way to get the raw value of computed counter? Like getting Cache Faults Total instead of Cache Faults/sec
This will increase the usefullness of this collector by a lot as compted values are always very aproximative for values that move a lot.
If not possible, is the returned the one at the call or the average between the call and the previous call?

[jkroepke]

Hi, thanks for the feedback!

Is there a way to get the raw value of computed counter?

Seems the documentation lacks here. At the moment, only raw values are fetched from the performancecounter. How ever, a few value counter types will computed, for example counters based on Windows epoch will be converted into unix timestamp based values.

[JDA88]

Ok, unfurtunaly the one i need are "%" and "/Sec" so, no raw values :(

[jkroepke]

Of course, the name of performance counters are fixed.

If you run

(Get-Counter '\Memory\Cache Faults/Sec').CounterSamples[0] | Format-List *

You got a CookedValue and a RawValue. The CookedValue is the formatted value based on the RawValue (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/perfctrs/calculating-counter-values).

In that case, RawValue should be only increment while the CookedValue represent the per second value.

Request \Memory\Cache Faults/Sec to gain Cache Faults Total is the way to go.

Ref:

windows_exporter/internal/collector/memory/memory.go

Lines 413 to 417 in 4cd9627

	ch <- prometheus.MustNewConstMetric(
	c.cacheFaultsTotal,
	prometheus.CounterValue,
	c.perfDataObject[0].CacheFaultsPerSec,
	)

Here is that prof that windows_export report that as counter (increment only) for a per second value.

[JDA88]

Damn I forgot how to get the RawValue name string. Thanks your for that, I'll give it a try