Remote Monitoring¶

pcp-mcp can monitor any host running PCP's pmcd daemon. There are two architectures for remote monitoring:

Architecture 1: Remote Target via Local pmproxy¶

┌─────────┐         ┌─────────┐          ┌─────────┐         ┌─────────┐
│   LLM   │ ◄─MCP─► │ pcp-mcp │ ◄─HTTP─► │ pmproxy │ ◄─────► │  pmcd   │
└─────────┘         └─────────┘          │ (local) │         │ (remote)│
                                         └─────────┘         └─────────┘

Use case: Monitor remote hosts through your local pmproxy.

Setup:

# Set target host to the remote system
pcp-mcp --target-host webserver1.example.com

Or via environment:

export PCP_TARGET_HOST=webserver1.example.com
pcp-mcp

Requirements: - Local pmproxy must have network access to remote pmcd (port 44321) - Remote pmcd must allow connections from pmproxy's host

Architecture 2: Remote pmproxy¶

┌─────────┐         ┌─────────┐          ┌─────────┐         ┌─────────┐
│   LLM   │ ◄─MCP─► │ pcp-mcp │ ◄─HTTP─► │ pmproxy │ ◄─────► │  pmcd   │
└─────────┘         └─────────┘          │ (remote)│         │ (remote)│
                                         └─────────┘         └─────────┘

Use case: Connect directly to a remote pmproxy server (e.g., centralized metrics gateway).

Setup:

# Connect to remote pmproxy
export PCP_HOST=metrics.example.com
pcp-mcp

Requirements: - Network access to remote pmproxy (port 44322) - Optional: TLS if pmproxy is configured with HTTPS

Configuration Examples¶

Monitor Multiple Hosts¶

Create different MCP server configurations:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pcp-web1": {
      "command": "pcp-mcp",
      "args": ["--target-host", "web1.example.com"]
    },
    "pcp-db1": {
      "command": "pcp-mcp",
      "args": ["--target-host", "db1.example.com"]
    }
  }
}

Secure Connection (TLS)¶

If pmproxy is configured with HTTPS:

export PCP_HOST=metrics.example.com
export PCP_USE_TLS=true
export PCP_PORT=44322
pcp-mcp

Authentication¶

If pmproxy requires HTTP basic auth:

export PCP_USERNAME=metrics_user
export PCP_PASSWORD=secure_password
export PCP_HOST=metrics.example.com
pcp-mcp

Firewall Configuration¶

pmcd (port 44321)¶

If using Architecture 1, ensure pmproxy can reach pmcd:

# On the remote host
sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=44321/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

pmproxy (port 44322)¶

If using Architecture 2, ensure pcp-mcp can reach pmproxy:

# On the pmproxy host
sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=44322/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Troubleshooting¶

Connection Refused¶

Error: Connection refused to localhost:44322

Solution: Ensure pmproxy is running:

sudo systemctl status pmproxy
sudo systemctl start pmproxy

Target Host Unreachable¶

Error: Unable to connect to target host

Solution: Check network connectivity and firewall rules:

# Test from pmproxy host
telnet webserver1.example.com 44321

Timeout Errors¶

Solution: Increase timeout for slow networks:

export PCP_TIMEOUT=60
pcp-mcp