How can I record system resource utilization over time on Ubuntu?

"You can use dstat with gnuplot for very detailed graphs:

There is also the option of vmstat with vmplot:

Sample vmstat output:

[john@awesome]$vmstat -n 1
procs -----------memory---------- ---swap-- -----io---- --system-- -----cpu------
r b swpd free buff cache si so bi bo in cs us sy id wa st
1 0 0 14234008 438580 1195172 0 0 6 35 1 1 2 5 93 0 0
1 0 0 14233824 438592 1195176 0 0 4 100 1035 2170 0 50 49 0 0
1 0 0 14233824 438592 1195176 0 0 0 32 1030 2139 3 48 50 0 0

Sample vmplot graph:"