# kern.cp_time
Plugin: freebsd.plugin
Module: kern.cp_time
## Overview
Total CPU utilization
The plugin calls `sysctl` function to collect necessary data.
This collector is supported on all platforms.
This collector supports collecting metrics from multiple instances of this integration, including remote instances.
### Default Behavior
#### Auto-Detection
This integration doesn't support auto-detection.
#### Limits
The default configuration for this integration does not impose any limits on data collection.
#### Performance Impact
The default configuration for this integration is not expected to impose a significant performance impact on the system.
## Metrics
Metrics grouped by *scope*.
The scope defines the instance that the metric belongs to. An instance is uniquely identified by a set of labels.
### Per kern.cp_time instance
These metrics show CPU usage statistics.
This scope has no labels.
Metrics:
| Metric | Dimensions | Unit |
|:------|:----------|:----|
| system.cpu | nice, system, user, interrupt, idle | percentage |
### Per core
This scope has no labels.
Metrics:
| Metric | Dimensions | Unit |
|:------|:----------|:----|
| cpu.cpu | nice, system, user, interrupt, idle | percentage |
## Alerts
The following alerts are available:
| Alert name | On metric | Description |
|:------------|:----------|:------------|
| [ 10min_cpu_usage ](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/health/health.d/cpu.conf) | system.cpu | average CPU utilization over the last 10 minutes (excluding iowait, nice and steal) |
| [ 10min_cpu_iowait ](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/health/health.d/cpu.conf) | system.cpu | average CPU iowait time over the last 10 minutes |
| [ 20min_steal_cpu ](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/health/health.d/cpu.conf) | system.cpu | average CPU steal time over the last 20 minutes |
| [ 10min_cpu_usage ](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/health/health.d/cpu.conf) | system.cpu | average CPU utilization over the last 10 minutes (excluding nice) |
## Setup
### Prerequisites
No action required.
### Configuration
#### File
The configuration file name for this integration is `netdata.conf`.
The file format is a modified INI syntax. The general structure is:
```ini
[section1]
option1 = some value
option2 = some other value
[section2]
option3 = some third value
```
You can edit the configuration file using the `edit-config` script from the
Netdata [config directory](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/docs/configure/nodes.md#the-netdata-config-directory).
```bash
cd /etc/netdata 2>/dev/null || cd /opt/netdata/etc/netdata
sudo ./edit-config netdata.conf
```
#### Options
The netdata main configuration file.
Config options
| Name | Description | Default | Required |
|:----|:-----------|:-------|:--------:|
| kern.cp_time | Enable or disable Total CPU usage. | yes | False |