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+<!--
+title: "Step 6. Collect metrics from more services and apps"
+custom_edit_url: https://github.com/netdata/netdata/edit/master/docs/guides/step-by-step/step-06.md
+-->
+
+# Step 6. Collect metrics from more services and apps
+
+When Netdata _starts_, it auto-detects dozens of **data sources**, such as database servers, web servers, and more.
+
+To auto-detect and collect metrics from a source you just installed, you need to [restart
+Netdata](/docs/getting-started.md#start-stop-and-restart-netdata).
+
+However, auto-detection only works if you installed the source using its standard installation
+procedure. If Netdata isn't collecting metrics after a restart, your source probably isn't configured
+correctly.
+
+Check out the [collectors that come pre-installed with Netdata](/collectors/COLLECTORS.md) to find the module for the
+source you want to monitor.
+
+## What you'll learn in this step
+
+We'll begin with an overview on Netdata's collector architecture, and then dive into the following:
+
+- [Netdata's collector architecture](#netdatas-collector-architecture)
+- [Enable and disable plugins](#enable-and-disable-plugins)
+- [Enable the Nginx collector as an example](#example-enable-the-nginx-collector)
+
+## Netdata's collector architecture
+
+Many Netdata users never have to configure collector or worry about which plugin orchestrator they want to use.
+
+But, if you want to configure collector or write a collector for your custom source, it's important to understand the
+underlying architecture.
+
+By default, Netdata collects a lot of metrics every second using any number of discrete collector. Collectors, in turn,
+are organized and manged by plugins. **Internal** plugins collect system metrics, **external** plugins collect
+non-system metrics, and **orchestrator** plugins group individual collectors together based on the programming language
+they were built in.
+
+These modules are primarily written in [Go](https://learn.netdata.cloud/docs/agent/collectors/go.d.plugin/) (`go.d`) and
+[Python](/collectors/python.d.plugin/README.md), although some use [Bash](/collectors/charts.d.plugin/README.md)
+(`charts.d`) or [Node.js](/collectors/node.d.plugin/README.md) (`node.d`).
+
+## Enable and disable plugins
+
+You don't need to explicitly enable plugins to auto-detect properly configured sources, but it's useful to know how to
+enable or disable them.
+
+One reason you might want to _disable_ plugins is to improve Netdata's performance on low-resource systems, like
+ephemeral nodes or edge devices. Disabling orchestrator plugins like `python.d` can save significant resources if you're
+not using any of its data collector modules.
+
+You can enable or disable plugins in the `[plugin]` section of `netdata.conf`. This section features a list of all the
+plugins with a boolean setting (`yes` or `no`) to enable or disable them. Be sure to uncomment the line by removing the
+hash (`#`)!
+
+Enabled:
+
+```conf
+[plugins]
+ # node.d = yes
+```
+
+Disabled:
+
+```conf
+[plugins]
+ node.d = no
+```
+
+When you explicitly disable a plugin this way, it won't auto-collect metrics using its collectors.
+
+## Example: Enable the Nginx collector
+
+To help explain how the auto-detection process works, let's use an Nginx web server as an example.
+
+Even if you don't have Nginx installed on your system, we recommend you read through the following section so you can
+apply the process to other data sources, such as Apache, Redis, Memcached, and more.
+
+The Nginx collector, which helps Netdata collect metrics from a running Nginx web server, is part of the
+`python.d.plugin` external plugin _orchestrator_.
+
+In order for Netdata to auto-detect an Nginx web server, you need to enable `ngx_http_stub_status_module` and pass the
+`stub_status` directive in the `location` block of your Nginx configuration file.
+
+You can confirm if the `stub_status` Nginx module is already enabled or not by using following command:
+
+```sh
+nginx -V 2>&1 | grep -o with-http_stub_status_module
+```
+
+If this command returns nothing, you'll need to [enable this module](https://www.nginx.com/blog/monitoring-nginx/).
+
+Next, edit your `/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default` file to include a `location` block with the following:
+
+```conf
+ location /stub_status {
+ stub_status;
+ }
+```
+
+Restart Netdata using `service netdata restart` or the [correct
+alternative](/docs/getting-started.md#start-stop-and-restart-netdata) for your system, and Netdata will auto-detect
+metrics from your Nginx web server!
+
+While not necessary for most auto-detection and collection purposes, you can also configure the Nginx collector itself
+by editing its configuration file:
+
+```sh
+./edit-config python.d/nginx.conf
+```
+
+After configuring any source, or changing the configuration files for their respective modules, always restart Netdata.
+
+## What's next?
+
+Now that you've learned the fundamentals behind configuring data sources for auto-detection, it's time to move back to
+the dashboard to learn more about some of its more advanced features.
+
+[Next: Netdata's dashboard in depth &rarr;](step-07.md)
+
+[![analytics](https://www.google-analytics.com/collect?v=1&aip=1&t=pageview&_s=1&ds=github&dr=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fnetdata%2Fnetdata&dl=https%3A%2F%2Fmy-netdata.io%2Fgithub%2Fdocs%2Fguides%2Fstep-by-step%2Fstep-06&_u=MAC~&cid=5792dfd7-8dc4-476b-af31-da2fdb9f93d2&tid=UA-64295674-3)](<>)