Checkout https://github.com/scoutapp/server_metrics (Ruby - gem install server_metrics). Grabs all the key server + process metrics, handles Linux memory cache, etc.

Requires a distro w/ "proc" functionality for the most metrics.

Thanks, that's how it should be done. I don't care if the collection script is written in Python, Ruby, Node JS or Brainfuck; it shouldn't execute shell commands when it receives a HTTP request.

Thanks, this architecture makes more sense imnho. Between this and the other thread on monitoring solutions, I wonder if it would be worth it to write a snippet that takes data from sar [ed:sar/sysstat or perhaps conky] and dumps out json that works with this dash...