diff --git a/.github/workflows/rpmbuild.yml b/.github/workflows/rpmbuild.yml
index d9220a7..9c6ae13 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/rpmbuild.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/rpmbuild.yml
@@ -5,46 +5,6 @@ on:
   - '**'
 
 jobs:
-  build-centos8:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-    - uses: actions/checkout@v2
-      with:
-        submodules: recursive
-    - uses: TomTheBear/rpmbuild@master
-      id: rpm
-      name: Build RPM package on CentOS8
-      with:
-        spec_file: "./scripts/cc-metric-collector.spec"
-    - name: Save RPM as artifact
-      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v1.0.0
-      with:
-        name: cc-metric-collector RPM CentOS8
-        path: ${{ steps.rpm.outputs.rpm_dir_path }}
-    - name: Save SRPM as artifact
-      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v1.0.0
-      with:
-        name: cc-metric-collector SRPM CentOS8
-        path: ${{ steps.rpm.outputs.source_rpm_path }}
-  build-centos-latest:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-    - uses: actions/checkout@v2
-    - uses: TomTheBear/rpmbuild@centos_latest
-      id: rpm
-      name: Build RPM package on CentOS 'Latest'
-      with:
-        spec_file: "./scripts/cc-metric-collector.spec"
-    - name: Save RPM as artifact
-      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v1.0.0
-      with:
-        name: cc-metric-collector RPM CentOS 'Latest'
-        path: ${{ steps.rpm.outputs.rpm_dir_path }}
-    - name: Save SRPM as artifact
-      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v1.0.0
-      with:
-        name: cc-metric-collector SRPM CentOS 'Latest'
-        path: ${{ steps.rpm.outputs.source_rpm_path }}
   build-alma-8_5:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
@@ -58,9 +18,41 @@ jobs:
       uses: actions/upload-artifact@v1.0.0
       with:
         name: cc-metric-collector RPM AlmaLinux 8.5
-        path: ${{ steps.rpm.outputs.rpm_dir_path }}
+        path: ${{ steps.rpm.outputs.rpm_path }}
     - name: Save SRPM as artifact
       uses: actions/upload-artifact@v1.0.0
       with:
         name: cc-metric-collector SRPM AlmaLinux 8.5
         path: ${{ steps.rpm.outputs.source_rpm_path }}
+    - name: Release
+      uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
+      with:
+        name: cc-metric-collector-${{github.ref_name}}
+        files: |
+         ${{ steps.rpm.outputs.source_rpm_path }}
+         ${{ steps.rpm.outputs.rpm_path }}
+  build-rhel-ubi8:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v2
+    - uses: TomTheBear/rpmbuild@rh-ubi8
+      id: rpm
+      name: Build RPM package on Red Hat Universal Base Image 8
+      with:
+        spec_file: "./scripts/cc-metric-collector.spec"
+    - name: Save RPM as artifact
+      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v1.0.0
+      with:
+        name: cc-metric-collector RPM Red Hat Universal Base Image 8
+        path: ${{ steps.rpm.outputs.rpm_path }}
+    - name: Save SRPM as artifact
+      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v1.0.0
+      with:
+        name: cc-metric-collector SRPM Red Hat Universal Base Image 8
+        path: ${{ steps.rpm.outputs.source_rpm_path }}
+    - name: Release
+      uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
+      with:
+        files: |
+         ${{ steps.rpm.outputs.source_rpm_path }}
+         ${{ steps.rpm.outputs.rpm_path }}
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 33fd515..b32fb6b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -21,13 +21,18 @@ all: $(APP)
 
 $(APP): $(GOSRC)
 	make -C collectors
-	make -C sinks
 	go get
 	go build -o $(APP) $(GOSRC_APP)
 
 .PHONY: clean
+.ONESHELL:
 clean:
-	@for COMP in $(COMPONENT_DIRS); do if [ -e $$COMP/Makefile ]; then make -C $$COMP clean; fi; done
+	@for COMP in $(COMPONENT_DIRS)
+	do
+	    if [[ -e $$COMP/Makefile ]]; then
+	        make -C $$COMP clean
+	    fi
+	done
 	rm -f $(APP)
 
 .PHONY: fmt
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5aa8806..f819be2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -40,15 +40,9 @@ See the component READMEs for their configuration:
 $ git clone git@github.com:ClusterCockpit/cc-metric-collector.git
 $ make (downloads LIKWID, builds it as static library with 'direct' accessmode and copies all required files for the collector)
 $ go get (requires at least golang 1.16)
-$ make tags
-Available tags:
-ganglia
-[...]
-$ make # calls go build (-tags ganglia,...) -o cc-metric-collector
+$ make
 ```
 
-## `ganglia` build tag
-If you want support for the [Ganglia Monitoring System](http://ganglia.info/), you have to add `-tags ganglia` to the build command line. This enables two metric sinks. One is using the command line application `gmetric` (see [`ganglia`](./sinks/gangliaSink.md) sink), the other one interacts directly with `libganglia` the main Ganglia library that is commonly installed on each compute node (see [`libganglia`](./sinks/libgangliaSink.md) sink). The later one requires configuration before building, so use `make` instead of `go build` directly.
 
 # Running
 
@@ -62,7 +56,41 @@ Usage of metric-collector:
   -once
     	Run all collectors only once
 ```
+# Scenarios
 
+The metric collector was designed with flexibility in mind, so it can be used in many scenarios. Here are a few:
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart TD
+  subgraph a ["Cluster A"]
+  nodeA[NodeA with CC collector]
+  nodeB[NodeB with CC collector]
+  nodeC[NodeC with CC collector]
+  end
+  a --> db[(Database)]
+  db <--> ccweb("Webfrontend")
+```
+
+``` mermaid
+flowchart TD
+  subgraph a [ClusterA]
+  direction LR
+  nodeA[NodeA with CC collector]
+  nodeB[NodeB with CC collector]
+  nodeC[NodeC with CC collector]
+  end
+  subgraph b [ClusterB]
+  direction LR
+  nodeD[NodeD with CC collector]
+  nodeE[NodeE with CC collector]
+  nodeF[NodeF with CC collector]
+  end
+  a --> ccrecv{"CC collector as receiver"}
+  b --> ccrecv
+  ccrecv --> db[("Database1")]
+  ccrecv -.-> db2[("Database2")]
+  db <-.-> ccweb("Webfrontend")
+```
 
 # Contributing
 The ClusterCockpit ecosystem is designed to be used by different HPC computing centers. Since configurations and setups differ between the centers, the centers likely have to put some work into the cc-metric-collector to gather all desired metrics.
diff --git a/collectors/diskstatMetric.go b/collectors/diskstatMetric.go
index 819a1ab..16c70ba 100644
--- a/collectors/diskstatMetric.go
+++ b/collectors/diskstatMetric.go
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ func (m *DiskstatCollector) Read(interval time.Duration, output chan lp.CCMetric
 			part_max_used = perc
 		}
 	}
-	y, err := lp.New("part_max_used", map[string]string{"type": "node"}, m.meta, map[string]interface{}{"value": part_max_used}, time.Now())
+	y, err := lp.New("part_max_used", map[string]string{"type": "node"}, m.meta, map[string]interface{}{"value": int(part_max_used)}, time.Now())
 	if err == nil {
 		y.AddMeta("unit", "percent")
 		output <- y
diff --git a/collectors/likwidMetric.md b/collectors/likwidMetric.md
index 8b5dee2..3ef51f3 100644
--- a/collectors/likwidMetric.md
+++ b/collectors/likwidMetric.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 The `likwid` collector is probably the most complicated collector. The LIKWID library is included as static library with *direct* access mode. The *direct* access mode is suitable if the daemon is executed by a root user. The static library does not contain the performance groups, so all information needs to be provided in the configuration.
 
 The `likwid` configuration consists of two parts, the "eventsets" and "globalmetrics":
-- An event set list itself has two parts, the "events" and a set of derivable "metrics". Each of the "events" is a counter:event pair in LIKWID's syntax. The "metrics" are a list of formulas to derive the metric value from the measurements of the "events". Each metric has a name, the formula, a scope and a publish flag. A counter names can be used like variables in the formulas, so `PMC0+PMC1` sums the measurements for the both events configured in the counters `PMC0` and `PMC1`. The scope tells the Collector whether it is a metric for each hardware thread (`cpu`) or each CPU socket (`socket`). The last one is the publishing flag. It tells the collector whether a metric should be sent to the router.
+- An event set list itself has two parts, the "events" and a set of derivable "metrics". Each of the "events" is a counter:event pair in LIKWID's syntax. The "metrics" are a list of formulas to derive the metric value from the measurements of the "events". Each metric has a name, the formula, a scope and a publish flag. Counter names can be used like variables in the formulas, so `PMC0+PMC1` sums the measurements for the both events configured in the counters `PMC0` and `PMC1`. The scope tells the Collector whether it is a metric for each hardware thread (`cpu`) or each CPU socket (`socket`). The last one is the publishing flag. It tells the collector whether a metric should be sent to the router.
 - The global metrics are metrics which require data from all event set measurements to be derived. The inputs are the metrics in the event sets. Similar to the metrics in the event sets, the global metrics are defined by a name, a formula, a scope and a publish flag. See event set metrics for details. The only difference is that there is no access to the raw event measurements anymore but only to the metrics. So, the idea is to derive a metric in the "eventsets" section and reuse it in the "globalmetrics" part. If you need a metric only for deriving the global metrics, disable forwarding of the event set metrics. **Be aware** that the combination might be misleading because the "behavior" of a metric changes over time and the multiple measurements might count different computing phases.
 
 Additional options:
@@ -26,6 +26,42 @@ As a guideline:
 - All `PWRx` counters have scope `socket`, except `"PWR1" : "RAPL_CORE_ENERGY"` has `cpu` scope
 - All `DFCx` counters have scope `socket`
 
+### Help with the configuration
+
+The configuration for the `likwid` collector is quite complicated. Most users don't use LIKWID with the event:counter notation but rely on the performance groups defined by the LIKWID team for each architecture. In order to help with the `likwid` collector configuration, we included a script `scripts/likwid_perfgroup_to_cc_config.py` that creates the configuration of an `eventset` from a performance group (using a LIKWID installation in `$PATH`):
+```
+$ likwid-perfctr -i
+[...]
+short name: ICX
+[...]
+$ likwid-perfctr -a
+[...]
+MEM_DP
+MEM
+FLOPS_SP
+CLOCK
+[...]
+$ scripts/likwid_perfgroup_to_cc_config.py ICX MEM_DP
+{
+  "events": {
+    "FIXC0": "INSTR_RETIRED_ANY",
+    "..." : "..."
+  },
+  "metrics" : [
+    {
+      "calc": "time",
+      "name": "Runtime (RDTSC) [s]",
+      "publish": true,
+      "scope": "hwthread"
+    },
+    {
+      "..." : "..."
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+You can copy this JSON and add it to the `eventsets` list. If you specify multiple event sets, you can add globally derived metrics in the extra `global_metrics` section with the metric names as variables. 
 
 ### Example configuration
 
diff --git a/collectors/memstatMetric.go b/collectors/memstatMetric.go
index b6ef855..3998537 100644
--- a/collectors/memstatMetric.go
+++ b/collectors/memstatMetric.go
@@ -1,35 +1,76 @@
 package collectors
 
 import (
+	"bufio"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
-	"io/ioutil"
-	"log"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"regexp"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
+	cclog "github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-metric-collector/internal/ccLogger"
 	lp "github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-metric-collector/internal/ccMetric"
 )
 
-const MEMSTATFILE = `/proc/meminfo`
+const MEMSTATFILE = "/proc/meminfo"
+const NUMA_MEMSTAT_BASE = "/sys/devices/system/node"
 
 type MemstatCollectorConfig struct {
 	ExcludeMetrics []string `json:"exclude_metrics"`
+	NodeStats      bool     `json:"node_stats,omitempty"`
+	NumaStats      bool     `json:"numa_stats,omitempty"`
+}
+
+type MemstatCollectorNode struct {
+	file string
+	tags map[string]string
 }
 
 type MemstatCollector struct {
 	metricCollector
-	stats   map[string]int64
-	tags    map[string]string
-	matches map[string]string
-	config  MemstatCollectorConfig
+	stats     map[string]int64
+	tags      map[string]string
+	matches   map[string]string
+	config    MemstatCollectorConfig
+	nodefiles map[int]MemstatCollectorNode
+}
+
+func getStats(filename string) map[string]float64 {
+	stats := make(map[string]float64)
+	file, err := os.Open(filename)
+	if err != nil {
+		cclog.Error(err.Error())
+	}
+	defer file.Close()
+
+	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(file)
+	for scanner.Scan() {
+		line := scanner.Text()
+		linefields := strings.Fields(line)
+		if len(linefields) == 3 {
+			v, err := strconv.ParseFloat(linefields[1], 64)
+			if err == nil {
+				stats[strings.Trim(linefields[0], ":")] = v
+			}
+		} else if len(linefields) == 5 {
+			v, err := strconv.ParseFloat(linefields[3], 64)
+			if err == nil {
+				stats[strings.Trim(linefields[0], ":")] = v
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return stats
 }
 
 func (m *MemstatCollector) Init(config json.RawMessage) error {
 	var err error
 	m.name = "MemstatCollector"
+	m.config.NodeStats = true
+	m.config.NumaStats = false
 	if len(config) > 0 {
 		err = json.Unmarshal(config, &m.config)
 		if err != nil {
@@ -40,7 +81,8 @@ func (m *MemstatCollector) Init(config json.RawMessage) error {
 	m.stats = make(map[string]int64)
 	m.matches = make(map[string]string)
 	m.tags = map[string]string{"type": "node"}
-	matches := map[string]string{`MemTotal`: "mem_total",
+	matches := map[string]string{
+		"MemTotal":     "mem_total",
 		"SwapTotal":    "swap_total",
 		"SReclaimable": "mem_sreclaimable",
 		"Slab":         "mem_slab",
@@ -48,7 +90,9 @@ func (m *MemstatCollector) Init(config json.RawMessage) error {
 		"Buffers":      "mem_buffers",
 		"Cached":       "mem_cached",
 		"MemAvailable": "mem_available",
-		"SwapFree":     "swap_free"}
+		"SwapFree":     "swap_free",
+		"MemShared":    "mem_shared",
+	}
 	for k, v := range matches {
 		_, skip := stringArrayContains(m.config.ExcludeMetrics, k)
 		if !skip {
@@ -56,13 +100,44 @@ func (m *MemstatCollector) Init(config json.RawMessage) error {
 		}
 	}
 	if len(m.matches) == 0 {
-		return errors.New("No metrics to collect")
+		return errors.New("no metrics to collect")
 	}
 	m.setup()
-	_, err = ioutil.ReadFile(string(MEMSTATFILE))
-	if err == nil {
-		m.init = true
+
+	if m.config.NodeStats {
+		if stats := getStats(MEMSTATFILE); len(stats) == 0 {
+			return fmt.Errorf("cannot read data from file %s", MEMSTATFILE)
+		}
 	}
+
+	if m.config.NumaStats {
+		globPattern := filepath.Join(NUMA_MEMSTAT_BASE, "node[0-9]*", "meminfo")
+		regex := regexp.MustCompile(filepath.Join(NUMA_MEMSTAT_BASE, "node(\\d+)", "meminfo"))
+		files, err := filepath.Glob(globPattern)
+		if err == nil {
+			m.nodefiles = make(map[int]MemstatCollectorNode)
+			for _, f := range files {
+				if stats := getStats(f); len(stats) == 0 {
+					return fmt.Errorf("cannot read data from file %s", f)
+				}
+				rematch := regex.FindStringSubmatch(f)
+				if len(rematch) == 2 {
+					id, err := strconv.Atoi(rematch[1])
+					if err == nil {
+						f := MemstatCollectorNode{
+							file: f,
+							tags: map[string]string{
+								"type":    "memoryDomain",
+								"type-id": fmt.Sprintf("%d", id),
+							},
+						}
+						m.nodefiles[id] = f
+					}
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	m.init = true
 	return err
 }
 
@@ -71,56 +146,41 @@ func (m *MemstatCollector) Read(interval time.Duration, output chan lp.CCMetric)
 		return
 	}
 
-	buffer, err := ioutil.ReadFile(string(MEMSTATFILE))
-	if err != nil {
-		log.Print(err)
-		return
-	}
-
-	ll := strings.Split(string(buffer), "\n")
-	for _, line := range ll {
-		ls := strings.Split(line, `:`)
-		if len(ls) > 1 {
-			lv := strings.Fields(ls[1])
-			m.stats[ls[0]], err = strconv.ParseInt(lv[0], 0, 64)
+	sendStats := func(stats map[string]float64, tags map[string]string) {
+		for match, name := range m.matches {
+			var value float64 = 0
+			if v, ok := stats[match]; ok {
+				value = v
+			}
+			y, err := lp.New(name, tags, m.meta, map[string]interface{}{"value": value}, time.Now())
+			if err == nil {
+				output <- y
+			}
 		}
-	}
-
-	if _, exists := m.stats[`MemTotal`]; !exists {
-		err = errors.New("Parse error")
-		log.Print(err)
-		return
-	}
-
-	for match, name := range m.matches {
-		if _, exists := m.stats[match]; !exists {
-			err = fmt.Errorf("Parse error for %s : %s", match, name)
-			log.Print(err)
-			continue
-		}
-		y, err := lp.New(name, m.tags, m.meta, map[string]interface{}{"value": int(float64(m.stats[match]) * 1.0e-3)}, time.Now())
-		if err == nil {
-			output <- y
-		}
-	}
-
-	if _, free := m.stats[`MemFree`]; free {
-		if _, buffers := m.stats[`Buffers`]; buffers {
-			if _, cached := m.stats[`Cached`]; cached {
-				memUsed := m.stats[`MemTotal`] - (m.stats[`MemFree`] + m.stats[`Buffers`] + m.stats[`Cached`])
-				_, skip := stringArrayContains(m.config.ExcludeMetrics, "mem_used")
-				y, err := lp.New("mem_used", m.tags, m.meta, map[string]interface{}{"value": int(float64(memUsed) * 1.0e-3)}, time.Now())
-				if err == nil && !skip {
-					output <- y
+		if _, skip := stringArrayContains(m.config.ExcludeMetrics, "mem_used"); !skip {
+			if freeVal, free := stats["MemFree"]; free {
+				if bufVal, buffers := stats["Buffers"]; buffers {
+					if cacheVal, cached := stats["Cached"]; cached {
+						memUsed := stats["MemTotal"] - (freeVal + bufVal + cacheVal)
+						y, err := lp.New("mem_used", tags, m.meta, map[string]interface{}{"value": memUsed}, time.Now())
+						if err == nil {
+							output <- y
+						}
+					}
 				}
 			}
 		}
 	}
-	if _, found := m.stats[`MemShared`]; found {
-		_, skip := stringArrayContains(m.config.ExcludeMetrics, "mem_shared")
-		y, err := lp.New("mem_shared", m.tags, m.meta, map[string]interface{}{"value": int(float64(m.stats[`MemShared`]) * 1.0e-3)}, time.Now())
-		if err == nil && !skip {
-			output <- y
+
+	if m.config.NodeStats {
+		nodestats := getStats(MEMSTATFILE)
+		sendStats(nodestats, m.tags)
+	}
+
+	if m.config.NumaStats {
+		for _, nodeConf := range m.nodefiles {
+			stats := getStats(nodeConf.file)
+			sendStats(stats, nodeConf.tags)
 		}
 	}
 }
diff --git a/collectors/topprocsMetric.go b/collectors/topprocsMetric.go
index d2691dc..dd6bff3 100644
--- a/collectors/topprocsMetric.go
+++ b/collectors/topprocsMetric.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"os/exec"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
+
 	lp "github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-metric-collector/internal/ccMetric"
 )
 
diff --git a/receivers/README.md b/receivers/README.md
index 24425f2..808dc74 100644
--- a/receivers/README.md
+++ b/receivers/README.md
@@ -7,17 +7,13 @@ This folder contains the ReceiveManager and receiver implementations for the cc-
 The configuration file for the receivers is a list of configurations. The `type` field in each specifies which receiver to initialize.
 
 ```json
-[
-  {
-    "type": "nats",
-    "address": "nats://my-url",
-    "port" : "4222",
-    "database": "testcluster"
+{
+  "myreceivername" : {
+    <receiver-specific configuration>
   }
-]
+}
 ```
 
-
 ## Type `nats`
 
 ```json
@@ -25,20 +21,20 @@ The configuration file for the receivers is a list of configurations. The `type`
   "type": "nats",
   "address": "<nats-URI or hostname>",
   "port" : "<portnumber>",
-  "database": "<subscribe topic>"
+  "subject": "<subscribe topic>"
 }
 ```
 
 The `nats` receiver subscribes to the topic `database` and listens on `address` and `port` for metrics in the InfluxDB line protocol.
 
 # Contributing own receivers
-A receiver contains three functions and is derived from the type `Receiver` (in `metricReceiver.go`):
-* `Init(config ReceiverConfig) error`
+A receiver contains a few functions and is derived from the type `Receiver` (in `metricReceiver.go`):
 * `Start() error`
 * `Close()`
 * `Name() string`
-* `SetSink(sink chan ccMetric.CCMetric)`
+* `SetSink(sink chan lp.CCMetric)`
+* `New<Typename>(name string, config json.RawMessage)`
 
 The data structures should be set up in `Init()` like opening a file or server connection. The `Start()` function should either start a go routine or issue some other asynchronous mechanism for receiving metrics. The `Close()` function should tear down anything created in `Init()`.
 
-Finally, the receiver needs to be registered in the `receiveManager.go`. There is a list of receivers called `AvailableReceivers` which is a map (`receiver_type_string` -> `pointer to Receiver interface`). Add a new entry with a descriptive name and the new receiver.
+Finally, the receiver needs to be registered in the `receiveManager.go`. There is a list of receivers called `AvailableReceivers` which is a map (`receiver_type_string` -> `pointer to NewReceiver function`). Add a new entry with a descriptive name and the new receiver.
diff --git a/receivers/metricReceiver.go b/receivers/metricReceiver.go
index c712186..e133354 100644
--- a/receivers/metricReceiver.go
+++ b/receivers/metricReceiver.go
@@ -1,9 +1,6 @@
 package receivers
 
 import (
-	//	"time"
-	"encoding/json"
-
 	lp "github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-metric-collector/internal/ccMetric"
 )
 
@@ -20,13 +17,11 @@ type ReceiverConfig struct {
 }
 
 type receiver struct {
-	typename string
-	name     string
-	sink     chan lp.CCMetric
+	name string
+	sink chan lp.CCMetric
 }
 
 type Receiver interface {
-	Init(name string, config json.RawMessage) error
 	Start()
 	Close()
 	Name() string
diff --git a/receivers/natsReceiver.go b/receivers/natsReceiver.go
index dc96971..1a5f47b 100644
--- a/receivers/natsReceiver.go
+++ b/receivers/natsReceiver.go
@@ -32,39 +32,6 @@ var DefaultTime = func() time.Time {
 	return time.Unix(42, 0)
 }
 
-func (r *NatsReceiver) Init(name string, config json.RawMessage) error {
-	r.typename = "NatsReceiver"
-	r.name = name
-	r.config.Addr = nats.DefaultURL
-	r.config.Port = "4222"
-	if len(config) > 0 {
-		err := json.Unmarshal(config, &r.config)
-		if err != nil {
-			cclog.ComponentError(r.name, "Error reading config:", err.Error())
-			return err
-		}
-	}
-	if len(r.config.Addr) == 0 ||
-		len(r.config.Port) == 0 ||
-		len(r.config.Subject) == 0 {
-		return errors.New("not all configuration variables set required by NatsReceiver")
-	}
-	r.meta = map[string]string{"source": r.name}
-	uri := fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", r.config.Addr, r.config.Port)
-	cclog.ComponentDebug(r.name, "INIT", uri, "Subject", r.config.Subject)
-	nc, err := nats.Connect(uri)
-	if err == nil {
-		r.nc = nc
-	} else {
-		r.nc = nil
-		return err
-	}
-	r.handler = influx.NewMetricHandler()
-	r.parser = influx.NewParser(r.handler)
-	r.parser.SetTimeFunc(DefaultTime)
-	return err
-}
-
 func (r *NatsReceiver) Start() {
 	cclog.ComponentDebug(r.name, "START")
 	r.nc.Subscribe(r.config.Subject, r._NatsReceive)
@@ -91,3 +58,35 @@ func (r *NatsReceiver) Close() {
 		r.nc.Close()
 	}
 }
+
+func NewNatsReceiver(name string, config json.RawMessage) (Receiver, error) {
+	r := new(NatsReceiver)
+	r.name = fmt.Sprintf("NatsReceiver(%s)", name)
+	r.config.Addr = nats.DefaultURL
+	r.config.Port = "4222"
+	if len(config) > 0 {
+		err := json.Unmarshal(config, &r.config)
+		if err != nil {
+			cclog.ComponentError(r.name, "Error reading config:", err.Error())
+			return nil, err
+		}
+	}
+	if len(r.config.Addr) == 0 ||
+		len(r.config.Port) == 0 ||
+		len(r.config.Subject) == 0 {
+		return nil, errors.New("not all configuration variables set required by NatsReceiver")
+	}
+	r.meta = map[string]string{"source": r.name}
+	uri := fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", r.config.Addr, r.config.Port)
+	cclog.ComponentDebug(r.name, "NewNatsReceiver", uri, "Subject", r.config.Subject)
+	if nc, err := nats.Connect(uri); err == nil {
+		r.nc = nc
+	} else {
+		r.nc = nil
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	r.handler = influx.NewMetricHandler()
+	r.parser = influx.NewParser(r.handler)
+	r.parser.SetTimeFunc(DefaultTime)
+	return r, nil
+}
diff --git a/receivers/receiveManager.go b/receivers/receiveManager.go
index 7141170..1c13026 100644
--- a/receivers/receiveManager.go
+++ b/receivers/receiveManager.go
@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@ import (
 	lp "github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-metric-collector/internal/ccMetric"
 )
 
-var AvailableReceivers = map[string]Receiver{
-	"nats": &NatsReceiver{},
+var AvailableReceivers = map[string]func(name string, config json.RawMessage) (Receiver, error){
+	"nats": NewNatsReceiver,
 }
 
 type receiveManager struct {
@@ -30,11 +30,13 @@ type ReceiveManager interface {
 }
 
 func (rm *receiveManager) Init(wg *sync.WaitGroup, receiverConfigFile string) error {
+	// Initialize struct fields
 	rm.inputs = make([]Receiver, 0)
 	rm.output = nil
 	rm.done = make(chan bool)
 	rm.wg = wg
 	rm.config = make([]json.RawMessage, 0)
+
 	configFile, err := os.Open(receiverConfigFile)
 	if err != nil {
 		cclog.ComponentError("ReceiveManager", err.Error())
@@ -51,6 +53,7 @@ func (rm *receiveManager) Init(wg *sync.WaitGroup, receiverConfigFile string) er
 	for name, raw := range rawConfigs {
 		rm.AddInput(name, raw)
 	}
+
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -75,10 +78,9 @@ func (rm *receiveManager) AddInput(name string, rawConfig json.RawMessage) error
 		cclog.ComponentError("ReceiveManager", "SKIP", config.Type, "unknown receiver:", err.Error())
 		return err
 	}
-	r := AvailableReceivers[config.Type]
-	err = r.Init(name, rawConfig)
+	r, err := AvailableReceivers[config.Type](name, rawConfig)
 	if err != nil {
-		cclog.ComponentError("ReceiveManager", "SKIP", r.Name(), "initialization failed:", err.Error())
+		cclog.ComponentError("ReceiveManager", "SKIP", name, "initialization failed:", err.Error())
 		return err
 	}
 	rm.inputs = append(rm.inputs, r)
diff --git a/scripts/likwid_perfgroup_to_cc_config.py b/scripts/likwid_perfgroup_to_cc_config.py
index 52959ed..f1c3451 100755
--- a/scripts/likwid_perfgroup_to_cc_config.py
+++ b/scripts/likwid_perfgroup_to_cc_config.py
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ def group_to_json(groupfile):
             llist = re.split("\s+", line)
             calc = llist[-1]
             metric = " ".join(llist[:-1])
-            scope = "hwthread"
+            scope = "cpu"
             if "BOX" in calc:
                 scope = "socket"
             if "PWR" in calc:
diff --git a/sinks/Makefile b/sinks/Makefile
deleted file mode 100644
index bd40f10..0000000
--- a/sinks/Makefile
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-
-all: libganglia.so
-
-libganglia.so:
-	@find /usr ! -readable -prune -o -type d ! -executable -prune -o -name "$@*" -print0 | \
-	    xargs --null --no-run-if-empty --replace \
-	        ln --symbolic --verbose --force '{}' "$@"
-	@if [[ ! -e "$@" ]]; then touch "$@"; fi
-
-
-clean:
-	rm -f libganglia.so
-
-.PHONY: clean
diff --git a/sinks/README.md b/sinks/README.md
index 8ff3743..65d2851 100644
--- a/sinks/README.md
+++ b/sinks/README.md
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ This folder contains the SinkManager and sink implementations for the cc-metric-
 - [`stdout`](./stdoutSink.md): Print all metrics to `stdout`, `stderr` or a file
 - [`http`](./httpSink.md): Send metrics to an HTTP server as POST requests
 - [`influxdb`](./influxSink.md): Send metrics to an [InfluxDB](https://www.influxdata.com/products/influxdb/) database
+- [`influxasync`](./influxAsyncSink.md): Send metrics to an [InfluxDB](https://www.influxdata.com/products/influxdb/) database with non-blocking write API
 - [`nats`](./natsSink.md): Publish metrics to the [NATS](https://nats.io/) network overlay system
 - [`ganglia`](./gangliaSink.md): Publish metrics in the [Ganglia Monitoring System](http://ganglia.info/) using the `gmetric` CLI tool
 - [`libganglia`](./libgangliaSink.md): Publish metrics in the [Ganglia Monitoring System](http://ganglia.info/) directly using `libganglia.so`
@@ -34,11 +35,12 @@ The configuration file for the sinks is a list of configurations. The `type` fie
 
 
 # Contributing own sinks
-A sink contains four functions and is derived from the type `sink`:
-* `Init(config json.RawMessage) error`
+A sink contains five functions and is derived from the type `sink`:
+* `Init(name string, config json.RawMessage) error`
 * `Write(point CCMetric) error`
 * `Flush() error`
 * `Close()`
+* `New<Typename>(name string, config json.RawMessage) (Sink, error)` (calls the `Init()` function)
 
 The data structures should be set up in `Init()` like opening a file or server connection. The `Write()` function writes/sends the data. For non-blocking sinks, the `Flush()` method tells the sink to drain its internal buffers. The `Close()` function should tear down anything created in `Init()`.
 
@@ -65,8 +67,8 @@ type SampleSink struct {
 }
 
 // Initialize the sink by giving it a name and reading in the config JSON
-func (s *SampleSink) Init(config json.RawMessage) error {
-	s.name = "SampleSink"   // Always specify a name here
+func (s *SampleSink) Init(name string, config json.RawMessage) error {
+	s.name = fmt.Sprintf("SampleSink(%s)", name)   // Always specify a name here
   // Read in the config JSON
 	if len(config) > 0 {
 		err := json.Unmarshal(config, &s.config)
@@ -91,4 +93,13 @@ func (s *SampleSink) Flush() error {
 
 // Close sink: close network connection, close files, close libraries, ...
 func (s *SampleSink) Close() {}
+
+
+// New function to create a new instance of the sink
+func NewSampleSink(name string, config json.RawMessage) (Sink, error) {
+	s := new(SampleSink)
+	err := s.Init(name, config)
+	return s, err
+}
+
 ```
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/sinks/gangliaCommon.go b/sinks/gangliaCommon.go
index b939f16..b2a1b2c 100644
--- a/sinks/gangliaCommon.go
+++ b/sinks/gangliaCommon.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package sinks
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
 	"strings"
 
 	lp "github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-metric-collector/internal/ccMetric"
@@ -23,11 +24,8 @@ func GangliaMetricName(point lp.CCMetric) string {
 	return name
 }
 
-func GangliaMetricRename(point lp.CCMetric) string {
-	name := point.Name()
-	if name == "mem_total" || name == "swap_total" {
-		return name
-	} else if name == "net_bytes_in" {
+func GangliaMetricRename(name string) string {
+	if name == "net_bytes_in" {
 		return "bytes_in"
 	} else if name == "net_bytes_out" {
 		return "bytes_out"
@@ -48,3 +46,213 @@ func GangliaSlopeType(point lp.CCMetric) uint {
 	}
 	return 3
 }
+
+const DEFAULT_GANGLIA_METRIC_TMAX = 300
+const DEFAULT_GANGLIA_METRIC_SLOPE = "both"
+
+type GangliaMetric struct {
+	Name  string
+	Type  string
+	Slope string
+	Tmax  int
+	Unit  string
+}
+
+type GangliaMetricGroup struct {
+	Name    string
+	Metrics []GangliaMetric
+}
+
+var CommonGangliaMetrics = []GangliaMetricGroup{
+	{
+		Name: "memory",
+		Metrics: []GangliaMetric{
+			{"mem_total", "float", "zero", 1200, "KB"},
+			{"swap_total", "float", "zero", 1200, "KB"},
+			{"mem_free", "float", "both", 180, "KB"},
+			{"mem_shared", "float", "both", 180, "KB"},
+			{"mem_buffers", "float", "both", 180, "KB"},
+			{"mem_cached", "float", "both", 180, "KB"},
+			{"swap_free", "float", "both", 180, "KB"},
+			{"mem_sreclaimable", "float", "both", 180, "KB"},
+			{"mem_slab", "float", "both", 180, "KB"},
+		},
+	},
+	{
+		Name: "cpu",
+		Metrics: []GangliaMetric{
+			{"cpu_num", "uint32", "zero", 1200, "CPUs"},
+			{"cpu_speed", "uint32", "zero", 1200, "MHz"},
+			{"cpu_user", "float", "both", 90, "%"},
+			{"cpu_nice", "float", "both", 90, "%"},
+			{"cpu_system", "float", "both", 90, "%"},
+			{"cpu_idle", "float", "both", 3800, "%"},
+			{"cpu_aidle", "float", "both", 90, "%"},
+			{"cpu_wio", "float", "both", 90, "%"},
+			{"cpu_intr", "float", "both", 90, "%"},
+			{"cpu_sintr", "float", "both", 90, "%"},
+			{"cpu_steal", "float", "both", 90, "%"},
+			{"cpu_guest", "float", "both", 90, "%"},
+			{"cpu_gnice", "float", "both", 90, "%"},
+		},
+	},
+	{
+		Name: "load",
+		Metrics: []GangliaMetric{
+			{"load_one", "float", "both", 70, ""},
+			{"load_five", "float", "both", 325, ""},
+			{"load_fifteen", "float", "both", 950, ""},
+		},
+	},
+	{
+		Name: "disk",
+		Metrics: []GangliaMetric{
+			{"disk_total", "double", "both", 1200, "GB"},
+			{"disk_free", "double", "both", 180, "GB"},
+			{"part_max_used", "float", "both", 180, "%"},
+		},
+	},
+	{
+		Name: "network",
+		Metrics: []GangliaMetric{
+			{"bytes_out", "float", "both", 300, "bytes/sec"},
+			{"bytes_in", "float", "both", 300, "bytes/sec"},
+			{"pkts_in", "float", "both", 300, "packets/sec"},
+			{"pkts_out", "float", "both", 300, "packets/sec"},
+		},
+	},
+	{
+		Name: "process",
+		Metrics: []GangliaMetric{
+			{"proc_run", "uint32", "both", 950, ""},
+			{"proc_total", "uint32", "both", 950, ""},
+		},
+	},
+	{
+		Name: "system",
+		Metrics: []GangliaMetric{
+			{"boottime", "uint32", "zero", 1200, "s"},
+			{"sys_clock", "uint32", "zero", 1200, "s"},
+			{"machine_type", "string", "zero", 1200, ""},
+			{"os_name", "string", "zero", 1200, ""},
+			{"os_release", "string", "zero", 1200, ""},
+			{"mtu", "uint32", "both", 1200, ""},
+		},
+	},
+}
+
+type GangliaMetricConfig struct {
+	Type  string
+	Slope string
+	Tmax  int
+	Unit  string
+	Group string
+	Value string
+}
+
+func GetCommonGangliaConfig(point lp.CCMetric) GangliaMetricConfig {
+	mname := GangliaMetricRename(point.Name())
+	for _, group := range CommonGangliaMetrics {
+		for _, metric := range group.Metrics {
+			if metric.Name == mname {
+				valueStr := ""
+				value, ok := point.GetField("value")
+				if ok {
+					switch real := value.(type) {
+					case float64:
+						valueStr = fmt.Sprintf("%f", real)
+					case float32:
+						valueStr = fmt.Sprintf("%f", real)
+					case int64:
+						valueStr = fmt.Sprintf("%d", real)
+					case int32:
+						valueStr = fmt.Sprintf("%d", real)
+					case int:
+						valueStr = fmt.Sprintf("%d", real)
+					case uint64:
+						valueStr = fmt.Sprintf("%d", real)
+					case uint32:
+						valueStr = fmt.Sprintf("%d", real)
+					case uint:
+						valueStr = fmt.Sprintf("%d", real)
+					case string:
+						valueStr = real
+					default:
+					}
+				}
+				return GangliaMetricConfig{
+					Group: group.Name,
+					Type:  metric.Type,
+					Slope: metric.Slope,
+					Tmax:  metric.Tmax,
+					Unit:  metric.Unit,
+					Value: valueStr,
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return GangliaMetricConfig{
+		Group: "",
+		Type:  "",
+		Slope: "",
+		Tmax:  0,
+		Unit:  "",
+		Value: "",
+	}
+}
+
+func GetGangliaConfig(point lp.CCMetric) GangliaMetricConfig {
+	group := ""
+	if g, ok := point.GetMeta("group"); ok {
+		group = g
+	}
+	unit := ""
+	if u, ok := point.GetMeta("unit"); ok {
+		unit = u
+	}
+	valueType := "double"
+	valueStr := ""
+	value, ok := point.GetField("value")
+	if ok {
+		switch real := value.(type) {
+		case float64:
+			valueStr = fmt.Sprintf("%f", real)
+			valueType = "double"
+		case float32:
+			valueStr = fmt.Sprintf("%f", real)
+			valueType = "float"
+		case int64:
+			valueStr = fmt.Sprintf("%d", real)
+			valueType = "int32"
+		case int32:
+			valueStr = fmt.Sprintf("%d", real)
+			valueType = "int32"
+		case int:
+			valueStr = fmt.Sprintf("%d", real)
+			valueType = "int32"
+		case uint64:
+			valueStr = fmt.Sprintf("%d", real)
+			valueType = "uint32"
+		case uint32:
+			valueStr = fmt.Sprintf("%d", real)
+			valueType = "uint32"
+		case uint:
+			valueStr = fmt.Sprintf("%d", real)
+			valueType = "uint32"
+		case string:
+			valueStr = real
+			valueType = "string"
+		default:
+			valueType = "invalid"
+		}
+	}
+
+	return GangliaMetricConfig{
+		Group: group,
+		Type:  valueType,
+		Slope: DEFAULT_GANGLIA_METRIC_SLOPE,
+		Tmax:  DEFAULT_GANGLIA_METRIC_TMAX,
+		Unit:  unit,
+		Value: valueStr,
+	}
+}
diff --git a/sinks/gangliaSink.go b/sinks/gangliaSink.go
index fa95f43..22096af 100644
--- a/sinks/gangliaSink.go
+++ b/sinks/gangliaSink.go
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ type GangliaSinkConfig struct {
 	AddTagsAsDesc   bool   `json:"add_tags_as_desc,omitempty"`
 	ClusterName     string `json:"cluster_name,omitempty"`
 	AddTypeToName   bool   `json:"add_type_to_name,omitempty"`
+	AddUnits        bool   `json:"add_units,omitempty"`
 }
 
 type GangliaSink struct {
@@ -33,16 +34,73 @@ type GangliaSink struct {
 	config         GangliaSinkConfig
 }
 
-func (s *GangliaSink) Init(config json.RawMessage) error {
+func (s *GangliaSink) Write(point lp.CCMetric) error {
 	var err error = nil
-	s.name = "GangliaSink"
+	//var tagsstr []string
+	var argstr []string
+
+	// Get metric name
+	metricname := GangliaMetricRename(point.Name())
+
+	// Get metric config (type, value, ... in suitable format)
+	conf := GetCommonGangliaConfig(point)
+	if len(conf.Type) == 0 {
+		conf = GetGangliaConfig(point)
+	}
+	if len(conf.Type) == 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("metric %s has no 'value' field", metricname)
+	}
+
+	if s.config.AddGangliaGroup {
+		argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--group=%s", conf.Group))
+	}
+	if s.config.AddUnits && len(conf.Unit) > 0 {
+		argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--units=%s", conf.Unit))
+	}
+
+	if len(s.config.ClusterName) > 0 {
+		argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--cluster=%s", s.config.ClusterName))
+	}
+	// if s.config.AddTagsAsDesc && len(tagsstr) > 0 {
+	// 	argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--desc=%q", strings.Join(tagsstr, ",")))
+	// }
+	if len(s.gmetric_config) > 0 {
+		argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--conf=%s", s.gmetric_config))
+	}
+	if s.config.AddTypeToName {
+		argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--name=%s", GangliaMetricName(point)))
+	} else {
+		argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--name=%s", metricname))
+	}
+	argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--slope=%s", conf.Slope))
+	argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--value=%s", conf.Value))
+	argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--type=%s", conf.Type))
+	argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--tmax=%d", conf.Tmax))
+
+	cclog.ComponentDebug(s.name, s.gmetric_path, strings.Join(argstr, " "))
+	command := exec.Command(s.gmetric_path, argstr...)
+	command.Wait()
+	_, err = command.Output()
+	return err
+}
+
+func (s *GangliaSink) Flush() error {
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (s *GangliaSink) Close() {
+}
+
+func NewGangliaSink(name string, config json.RawMessage) (Sink, error) {
+	s := new(GangliaSink)
+	s.name = fmt.Sprintf("GangliaSink(%s)", name)
 	s.config.AddTagsAsDesc = false
 	s.config.AddGangliaGroup = false
 	if len(config) > 0 {
 		err := json.Unmarshal(config, &s.config)
 		if err != nil {
 			cclog.ComponentError(s.name, "Error reading config for", s.name, ":", err.Error())
-			return err
+			return nil, err
 		}
 	}
 	s.gmetric_path = ""
@@ -60,98 +118,10 @@ func (s *GangliaSink) Init(config json.RawMessage) error {
 		}
 	}
 	if len(s.gmetric_path) == 0 {
-		err = errors.New("cannot find executable 'gmetric'")
+		return nil, errors.New("cannot find executable 'gmetric'")
 	}
 	if len(s.config.GmetricConfig) > 0 {
 		s.gmetric_config = s.config.GmetricConfig
 	}
-	return err
-}
-
-func (s *GangliaSink) Write(point lp.CCMetric) error {
-	var err error = nil
-	var tagsstr []string
-	var argstr []string
-	if s.config.AddGangliaGroup {
-		if point.HasTag("group") {
-			g, _ := point.GetTag("group")
-			argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--group=%s", g))
-		} else if point.HasMeta("group") {
-			g, _ := point.GetMeta("group")
-			argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--group=%s", g))
-		}
-	}
-
-	for key, value := range point.Tags() {
-		switch key {
-		case "unit":
-			argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--units=%s", value))
-		default:
-			tagsstr = append(tagsstr, fmt.Sprintf("%s=%s", key, value))
-		}
-	}
-	if s.config.MetaAsTags {
-		for key, value := range point.Meta() {
-			switch key {
-			case "unit":
-				argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--units=%s", value))
-			default:
-				tagsstr = append(tagsstr, fmt.Sprintf("%s=%s", key, value))
-			}
-		}
-	}
-	if len(s.config.ClusterName) > 0 {
-		argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--cluster=%s", s.config.ClusterName))
-	}
-	if s.config.AddTagsAsDesc && len(tagsstr) > 0 {
-		argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--desc=%q", strings.Join(tagsstr, ",")))
-	}
-	if len(s.gmetric_config) > 0 {
-		argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--conf=%s", s.gmetric_config))
-	}
-	name := GangliaMetricRename(point)
-	if s.config.AddTypeToName {
-		argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--name=%s", GangliaMetricName(point)))
-	} else {
-		argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--name=%s", name))
-	}
-	slope := GangliaSlopeType(point)
-	slopeStr := "both"
-	if slope == 0 {
-		slopeStr = "zero"
-	}
-	argstr = append(argstr, fmt.Sprintf("--slope=%s", slopeStr))
-
-	for k, v := range point.Fields() {
-		if k == "value" {
-			switch value := v.(type) {
-			case float64:
-				argstr = append(argstr,
-					fmt.Sprintf("--value=%v", value), "--type=double")
-			case float32:
-				argstr = append(argstr,
-					fmt.Sprintf("--value=%v", value), "--type=float")
-			case int:
-				argstr = append(argstr,
-					fmt.Sprintf("--value=%d", value), "--type=int32")
-			case int64:
-				argstr = append(argstr,
-					fmt.Sprintf("--value=%d", value), "--type=int32")
-			case string:
-				argstr = append(argstr,
-					fmt.Sprintf("--value=%q", value), "--type=string")
-			}
-		}
-	}
-	command := exec.Command(s.gmetric_path, argstr...)
-	command.Wait()
-	_, err = command.Output()
-	return err
-}
-
-func (s *GangliaSink) Flush() error {
-	return nil
-}
-
-func (s *GangliaSink) Close() {
+	return s, nil
 }
diff --git a/sinks/httpSink.go b/sinks/httpSink.go
index ce46bab..c2dd2ea 100644
--- a/sinks/httpSink.go
+++ b/sinks/httpSink.go
@@ -38,57 +38,6 @@ type HttpSink struct {
 	flushDelay      time.Duration
 }
 
-func (s *HttpSink) Init(config json.RawMessage) error {
-	// Set default values
-	s.name = "HttpSink"
-	s.config.MaxIdleConns = 10
-	s.config.IdleConnTimeout = "5s"
-	s.config.Timeout = "5s"
-	s.config.FlushDelay = "1s"
-
-	// Read config
-	if len(config) > 0 {
-		err := json.Unmarshal(config, &s.config)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-	}
-	if len(s.config.URL) == 0 {
-		return errors.New("`url` config option is required for HTTP sink")
-	}
-	if s.config.MaxIdleConns > 0 {
-		s.maxIdleConns = s.config.MaxIdleConns
-	}
-	if len(s.config.IdleConnTimeout) > 0 {
-		t, err := time.ParseDuration(s.config.IdleConnTimeout)
-		if err == nil {
-			s.idleConnTimeout = t
-		}
-	}
-	if len(s.config.Timeout) > 0 {
-		t, err := time.ParseDuration(s.config.Timeout)
-		if err == nil {
-			s.timeout = t
-		}
-	}
-	if len(s.config.FlushDelay) > 0 {
-		t, err := time.ParseDuration(s.config.FlushDelay)
-		if err == nil {
-			s.flushDelay = t
-		}
-	}
-	tr := &http.Transport{
-		MaxIdleConns:    s.maxIdleConns,
-		IdleConnTimeout: s.idleConnTimeout,
-	}
-	s.client = &http.Client{Transport: tr, Timeout: s.timeout}
-	s.buffer = &bytes.Buffer{}
-	s.encoder = influx.NewEncoder(s.buffer)
-	s.encoder.SetPrecision(time.Second)
-
-	return nil
-}
-
 func (s *HttpSink) Write(m lp.CCMetric) error {
 	if s.buffer.Len() == 0 && s.flushDelay != 0 {
 		// This is the first write since the last flush, start the flushTimer!
@@ -169,3 +118,54 @@ func (s *HttpSink) Close() {
 	}
 	s.client.CloseIdleConnections()
 }
+
+func NewHttpSink(name string, config json.RawMessage) (Sink, error) {
+	s := new(HttpSink)
+	// Set default values
+	s.name = fmt.Sprintf("HttpSink(%s)", name)
+	s.config.MaxIdleConns = 10
+	s.config.IdleConnTimeout = "5s"
+	s.config.Timeout = "5s"
+	s.config.FlushDelay = "1s"
+
+	// Read config
+	if len(config) > 0 {
+		err := json.Unmarshal(config, &s.config)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+	}
+	if len(s.config.URL) == 0 {
+		return nil, errors.New("`url` config option is required for HTTP sink")
+	}
+	if s.config.MaxIdleConns > 0 {
+		s.maxIdleConns = s.config.MaxIdleConns
+	}
+	if len(s.config.IdleConnTimeout) > 0 {
+		t, err := time.ParseDuration(s.config.IdleConnTimeout)
+		if err == nil {
+			s.idleConnTimeout = t
+		}
+	}
+	if len(s.config.Timeout) > 0 {
+		t, err := time.ParseDuration(s.config.Timeout)
+		if err == nil {
+			s.timeout = t
+		}
+	}
+	if len(s.config.FlushDelay) > 0 {
+		t, err := time.ParseDuration(s.config.FlushDelay)
+		if err == nil {
+			s.flushDelay = t
+		}
+	}
+	tr := &http.Transport{
+		MaxIdleConns:    s.maxIdleConns,
+		IdleConnTimeout: s.idleConnTimeout,
+	}
+	s.client = &http.Client{Transport: tr, Timeout: s.timeout}
+	s.buffer = &bytes.Buffer{}
+	s.encoder = influx.NewEncoder(s.buffer)
+	s.encoder.SetPrecision(time.Second)
+	return s, nil
+}
diff --git a/sinks/influxAsyncSink.go b/sinks/influxAsyncSink.go
index 20aa60c..81b7f78 100644
--- a/sinks/influxAsyncSink.go
+++ b/sinks/influxAsyncSink.go
@@ -30,11 +30,10 @@ type InfluxAsyncSinkConfig struct {
 
 type InfluxAsyncSink struct {
 	sink
-	client    influxdb2.Client
-	writeApi  influxdb2Api.WriteAPI
-	retPolicy string
-	errors    <-chan error
-	config    InfluxAsyncSinkConfig
+	client   influxdb2.Client
+	writeApi influxdb2Api.WriteAPI
+	errors   <-chan error
+	config   InfluxAsyncSinkConfig
 }
 
 func (s *InfluxAsyncSink) connect() error {
@@ -68,39 +67,6 @@ func (s *InfluxAsyncSink) connect() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (s *InfluxAsyncSink) Init(config json.RawMessage) error {
-	s.name = "InfluxSink"
-
-	// Set default for maximum number of points sent to server in single request.
-	s.config.BatchSize = 100
-
-	if len(config) > 0 {
-		err := json.Unmarshal(config, &s.config)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-	}
-	if len(s.config.Host) == 0 ||
-		len(s.config.Port) == 0 ||
-		len(s.config.Database) == 0 ||
-		len(s.config.Organization) == 0 ||
-		len(s.config.Password) == 0 {
-		return errors.New("not all configuration variables set required by InfluxAsyncSink")
-	}
-
-	// Connect to InfluxDB server
-	err := s.connect()
-
-	// Start background: Read from error channel
-	s.errors = s.writeApi.Errors()
-	go func() {
-		for err := range s.errors {
-			cclog.ComponentError(s.name, err.Error())
-		}
-	}()
-	return err
-}
-
 func (s *InfluxAsyncSink) Write(m lp.CCMetric) error {
 	s.writeApi.WritePoint(
 		m.ToPoint(s.config.MetaAsTags),
@@ -118,3 +84,40 @@ func (s *InfluxAsyncSink) Close() {
 	s.writeApi.Flush()
 	s.client.Close()
 }
+
+func NewInfluxAsyncSink(name string, config json.RawMessage) (Sink, error) {
+	s := new(InfluxAsyncSink)
+	s.name = fmt.Sprintf("InfluxSink(%s)", name)
+
+	// Set default for maximum number of points sent to server in single request.
+	s.config.BatchSize = 100
+
+	if len(config) > 0 {
+		err := json.Unmarshal(config, &s.config)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+	}
+	if len(s.config.Host) == 0 ||
+		len(s.config.Port) == 0 ||
+		len(s.config.Database) == 0 ||
+		len(s.config.Organization) == 0 ||
+		len(s.config.Password) == 0 {
+		return nil, errors.New("not all configuration variables set required by InfluxAsyncSink")
+	}
+
+	// Connect to InfluxDB server
+	if err := s.connect(); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Unable to connect: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Start background: Read from error channel
+	s.errors = s.writeApi.Errors()
+	go func() {
+		for err := range s.errors {
+			cclog.ComponentError(s.name, err.Error())
+		}
+	}()
+
+	return s, nil
+}
diff --git a/sinks/influxSink.go b/sinks/influxSink.go
index 99304c0..d156585 100644
--- a/sinks/influxSink.go
+++ b/sinks/influxSink.go
@@ -57,26 +57,6 @@ func (s *InfluxSink) connect() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (s *InfluxSink) Init(config json.RawMessage) error {
-	s.name = "InfluxSink"
-	if len(config) > 0 {
-		err := json.Unmarshal(config, &s.config)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-	}
-	if len(s.config.Host) == 0 ||
-		len(s.config.Port) == 0 ||
-		len(s.config.Database) == 0 ||
-		len(s.config.Organization) == 0 ||
-		len(s.config.Password) == 0 {
-		return errors.New("not all configuration variables set required by InfluxSink")
-	}
-
-	// Connect to InfluxDB server
-	return s.connect()
-}
-
 func (s *InfluxSink) Write(m lp.CCMetric) error {
 	err :=
 		s.writeApi.WritePoint(
@@ -94,3 +74,27 @@ func (s *InfluxSink) Close() {
 	cclog.ComponentDebug(s.name, "Closing InfluxDB connection")
 	s.client.Close()
 }
+
+func NewInfluxSink(name string, config json.RawMessage) (Sink, error) {
+	s := new(InfluxSink)
+	s.name = fmt.Sprintf("InfluxSink(%s)", name)
+	if len(config) > 0 {
+		err := json.Unmarshal(config, &s.config)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+	}
+	if len(s.config.Host) == 0 ||
+		len(s.config.Port) == 0 ||
+		len(s.config.Database) == 0 ||
+		len(s.config.Organization) == 0 ||
+		len(s.config.Password) == 0 {
+		return nil, errors.New("not all configuration variables set required by InfluxSink")
+	}
+
+	// Connect to InfluxDB server
+	if err := s.connect(); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Unable to connect: %v", err)
+	}
+	return s, nil
+}
diff --git a/sinks/libgangliaSink.go b/sinks/libgangliaSink.go
index ed19145..1fc7863 100644
--- a/sinks/libgangliaSink.go
+++ b/sinks/libgangliaSink.go
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ package sinks
 
 /*
 #cgo CFLAGS: -DGM_PROTOCOL_GUARD
-#cgo LDFLAGS: -L. -lganglia -Wl,--unresolved-symbols=ignore-in-object-files
+#cgo LDFLAGS: -L. -Wl,--unresolved-symbols=ignore-in-object-files
 #include <stdlib.h>
 
 // This is a copy&paste snippet of ganglia.h (BSD-3 license)
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"unsafe"
 
+	cclog "github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-metric-collector/internal/ccLogger"
 	lp "github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-metric-collector/internal/ccMetric"
 	"github.com/NVIDIA/go-nvml/pkg/dl"
 )
@@ -81,21 +82,21 @@ const (
 	GMOND_CONFIG_FILE    = `/etc/ganglia/gmond.conf`
 )
 
-type LibgangliaSinkSpecialMetric struct {
-	MetricName string `json:"metric_name,omitempty"`
-	NewName    string `json:"new_name,omitempty"`
-	Slope      string `json:"slope,omitempty"`
-}
+// type LibgangliaSinkSpecialMetric struct {
+// 	MetricName string `json:"metric_name,omitempty"`
+// 	NewName    string `json:"new_name,omitempty"`
+// 	Slope      string `json:"slope,omitempty"`
+// }
 
 type LibgangliaSinkConfig struct {
 	defaultSinkConfig
-	GangliaLib      string                                 `json:"libganglia_path,omitempty"`
-	GmondConfig     string                                 `json:"gmond_config,omitempty"`
-	AddGangliaGroup bool                                   `json:"add_ganglia_group,omitempty"`
-	AddTypeToName   bool                                   `json:"add_type_to_name,omitempty"`
-	AddUnits        bool                                   `json:"add_units,omitempty"`
-	ClusterName     string                                 `json:"cluster_name,omitempty"`
-	SpecialMetrics  map[string]LibgangliaSinkSpecialMetric `json:"rename_metrics,omitempty"` // Map to rename metric name from key to value
+	GangliaLib      string `json:"libganglia_path,omitempty"`
+	GmondConfig     string `json:"gmond_config,omitempty"`
+	AddGangliaGroup bool   `json:"add_ganglia_group,omitempty"`
+	AddTypeToName   bool   `json:"add_type_to_name,omitempty"`
+	AddUnits        bool   `json:"add_units,omitempty"`
+	ClusterName     string `json:"cluster_name,omitempty"`
+	//SpecialMetrics  map[string]LibgangliaSinkSpecialMetric `json:"rename_metrics,omitempty"` // Map to rename metric name from key to value
 	//AddTagsAsDesc   bool              `json:"add_tags_as_desc,omitempty"`
 }
 
@@ -108,61 +109,6 @@ type LibgangliaSink struct {
 	cstrCache      map[string]*C.char
 }
 
-func (s *LibgangliaSink) Init(config json.RawMessage) error {
-	var err error = nil
-	s.name = "LibgangliaSink"
-	//s.config.AddTagsAsDesc = false
-	s.config.AddGangliaGroup = false
-	s.config.AddTypeToName = false
-	s.config.AddUnits = true
-	s.config.GmondConfig = string(GMOND_CONFIG_FILE)
-	s.config.GangliaLib = string(GANGLIA_LIB_NAME)
-	if len(config) > 0 {
-		err = json.Unmarshal(config, &s.config)
-		if err != nil {
-			fmt.Println(s.name, "Error reading config for", s.name, ":", err.Error())
-			return err
-		}
-	}
-	lib := dl.New(s.config.GangliaLib, GANGLIA_LIB_DL_FLAGS)
-	if lib == nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("error instantiating DynamicLibrary for %s", s.config.GangliaLib)
-	}
-
-	// Set up cache for the C strings
-	s.cstrCache = make(map[string]*C.char)
-	// s.cstrCache["globals"] = C.CString("globals")
-
-	// s.cstrCache["override_hostname"] = C.CString("override_hostname")
-	// s.cstrCache["override_ip"] = C.CString("override_ip")
-
-	// Add some constant strings
-	s.cstrCache["GROUP"] = C.CString("GROUP")
-	s.cstrCache["CLUSTER"] = C.CString("CLUSTER")
-	s.cstrCache[""] = C.CString("")
-
-	// Add cluster name for lookup in Write()
-	if len(s.config.ClusterName) > 0 {
-		s.cstrCache[s.config.ClusterName] = C.CString(s.config.ClusterName)
-	}
-	// Add supported types for later lookup in Write()
-	s.cstrCache["double"] = C.CString("double")
-	s.cstrCache["int32"] = C.CString("int32")
-	s.cstrCache["string"] = C.CString("string")
-
-	// Create Ganglia pool
-	s.global_context = C.Ganglia_pool_create(nil)
-	// Load Ganglia configuration
-	s.cstrCache[s.config.GmondConfig] = C.CString(s.config.GmondConfig)
-	s.gmond_config = C.Ganglia_gmond_config_create(s.cstrCache[s.config.GmondConfig], 0)
-	//globals := C.cfg_getsec(gmond_config, s.cstrCache["globals"])
-	//override_hostname := C.cfg_getstr(globals, s.cstrCache["override_hostname"])
-	//override_ip := C.cfg_getstr(globals, s.cstrCache["override_ip"])
-
-	s.send_channels = C.Ganglia_udp_send_channels_create(s.global_context, s.gmond_config)
-	return nil
-}
-
 func (s *LibgangliaSink) Write(point lp.CCMetric) error {
 	var err error = nil
 	var c_name *C.char
@@ -179,72 +125,48 @@ func (s *LibgangliaSink) Write(point lp.CCMetric) error {
 	}
 
 	// Get metric name
-	metricname := GangliaMetricRename(point)
-	if s.config.AddTypeToName {
-		c_name = lookup(GangliaMetricName(point))
-	} else {
-		c_name = lookup(metricname)
-	}
+	metricname := GangliaMetricRename(point.Name())
 
-	// Get the value C string and lookup the type string in the cache
-	value, ok := point.GetField("value")
-	if !ok {
+	conf := GetCommonGangliaConfig(point)
+	if len(conf.Type) == 0 {
+		conf = GetGangliaConfig(point)
+	}
+	if len(conf.Type) == 0 {
 		return fmt.Errorf("metric %s has no 'value' field", metricname)
 	}
-	switch real := value.(type) {
-	case float64:
-		c_value = C.CString(fmt.Sprintf("%f", real))
-		c_type = lookup("double")
-	case float32:
-		c_value = C.CString(fmt.Sprintf("%f", real))
-		c_type = lookup("float")
-	case int64:
-		c_value = C.CString(fmt.Sprintf("%d", real))
-		c_type = lookup("int32")
-	case int32:
-		c_value = C.CString(fmt.Sprintf("%d", real))
-		c_type = lookup("int32")
-	case int:
-		c_value = C.CString(fmt.Sprintf("%d", real))
-		c_type = lookup("int32")
-	case string:
-		c_value = C.CString(real)
-		c_type = lookup("string")
-	default:
-		return fmt.Errorf("metric %s has invalid 'value' type for %s", point.Name(), s.name)
+
+	if s.config.AddTypeToName {
+		metricname = GangliaMetricName(point)
 	}
 
+	c_value = C.CString(conf.Value)
+	c_type = lookup(conf.Type)
+	c_name = lookup(metricname)
+
 	// Add unit
+	unit := ""
 	if s.config.AddUnits {
-		if tagunit, tagok := point.GetTag("unit"); tagok {
-			c_unit = lookup(tagunit)
-		} else if metaunit, metaok := point.GetMeta("unit"); metaok {
-			c_unit = lookup(metaunit)
-		} else {
-			c_unit = lookup("")
-		}
-	} else {
-		c_unit = lookup("")
+		unit = conf.Unit
 	}
+	c_unit = lookup(unit)
 
 	// Determine the slope of the metric. Ganglia's own collector mostly use
 	// 'both' but the mem and swap total uses 'zero'.
-	slope := GangliaSlopeType(point)
 	slope_type := C.GANGLIA_SLOPE_BOTH
-	switch slope {
-	case 0:
+	switch conf.Slope {
+	case "zero":
 		slope_type = C.GANGLIA_SLOPE_ZERO
+	case "both":
+		slope_type = C.GANGLIA_SLOPE_BOTH
 	}
 
 	// Create a new Ganglia metric
 	gmetric := C.Ganglia_metric_create(s.global_context)
 	// Set name, value, type and unit in the Ganglia metric
-	// Since we don't have this information from the collectors,
-	// we assume that the metric value can go up and down (slope),
-	// and there is no maximum for 'dmax' and 'tmax'.
-	// Ganglia's collectors set 'tmax' but not 'dmax'
+	// The default slope_type is both directions, so up and down. Some metrics want 'zero' slope, probably constant.
+	// The 'tmax' value is by default 300.
 	rval := C.int(0)
-	rval = C.Ganglia_metric_set(gmetric, c_name, c_value, c_type, c_unit, C.uint(slope_type), 0, 0)
+	rval = C.Ganglia_metric_set(gmetric, c_name, c_value, c_type, c_unit, C.uint(slope_type), C.uint(conf.Tmax), 0)
 	switch rval {
 	case 1:
 		C.free(unsafe.Pointer(c_value))
@@ -254,10 +176,10 @@ func (s *LibgangliaSink) Write(point lp.CCMetric) error {
 		return errors.New("one of your parameters has an invalid character '\"'")
 	case 3:
 		C.free(unsafe.Pointer(c_value))
-		return fmt.Errorf("the type parameter \"%s\" is not a valid type", C.GoString(c_type))
+		return fmt.Errorf("the type parameter \"%s\" is not a valid type", conf.Type)
 	case 4:
 		C.free(unsafe.Pointer(c_value))
-		return fmt.Errorf("the value parameter \"%s\" does not represent a number", C.GoString(c_value))
+		return fmt.Errorf("the value parameter \"%s\" does not represent a number", conf.Value)
 	default:
 	}
 
@@ -266,8 +188,8 @@ func (s *LibgangliaSink) Write(point lp.CCMetric) error {
 		C.Ganglia_metadata_add(gmetric, lookup("CLUSTER"), lookup(s.config.ClusterName))
 	}
 	// Set the group metadata in the Ganglia metric if configured
-	if group, ok := point.GetMeta("group"); ok && s.config.AddGangliaGroup {
-		c_group := lookup(group)
+	if s.config.AddGangliaGroup {
+		c_group := lookup(conf.Group)
 		C.Ganglia_metadata_add(gmetric, lookup("GROUP"), c_group)
 	}
 
@@ -302,3 +224,63 @@ func (s *LibgangliaSink) Close() {
 		C.free(unsafe.Pointer(cstr))
 	}
 }
+
+func NewLibgangliaSink(name string, config json.RawMessage) (Sink, error) {
+	s := new(LibgangliaSink)
+	var err error = nil
+	s.name = fmt.Sprintf("LibgangliaSink(%s)", name)
+	//s.config.AddTagsAsDesc = false
+	s.config.AddGangliaGroup = false
+	s.config.AddTypeToName = false
+	s.config.AddUnits = true
+	s.config.GmondConfig = string(GMOND_CONFIG_FILE)
+	s.config.GangliaLib = string(GANGLIA_LIB_NAME)
+	if len(config) > 0 {
+		err = json.Unmarshal(config, &s.config)
+		if err != nil {
+			cclog.ComponentError(s.name, "Error reading config:", err.Error())
+			return nil, err
+		}
+	}
+	lib := dl.New(s.config.GangliaLib, GANGLIA_LIB_DL_FLAGS)
+	if lib == nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error instantiating DynamicLibrary for %s", s.config.GangliaLib)
+	}
+	err = lib.Open()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error opening %s: %v", s.config.GangliaLib, err)
+	}
+
+	// Set up cache for the C strings
+	s.cstrCache = make(map[string]*C.char)
+	// s.cstrCache["globals"] = C.CString("globals")
+
+	// s.cstrCache["override_hostname"] = C.CString("override_hostname")
+	// s.cstrCache["override_ip"] = C.CString("override_ip")
+
+	// Add some constant strings
+	s.cstrCache["GROUP"] = C.CString("GROUP")
+	s.cstrCache["CLUSTER"] = C.CString("CLUSTER")
+	s.cstrCache[""] = C.CString("")
+
+	// Add cluster name for lookup in Write()
+	if len(s.config.ClusterName) > 0 {
+		s.cstrCache[s.config.ClusterName] = C.CString(s.config.ClusterName)
+	}
+	// Add supported types for later lookup in Write()
+	s.cstrCache["double"] = C.CString("double")
+	s.cstrCache["int32"] = C.CString("int32")
+	s.cstrCache["string"] = C.CString("string")
+
+	// Create Ganglia pool
+	s.global_context = C.Ganglia_pool_create(nil)
+	// Load Ganglia configuration
+	s.cstrCache[s.config.GmondConfig] = C.CString(s.config.GmondConfig)
+	s.gmond_config = C.Ganglia_gmond_config_create(s.cstrCache[s.config.GmondConfig], 0)
+	//globals := C.cfg_getsec(gmond_config, s.cstrCache["globals"])
+	//override_hostname := C.cfg_getstr(globals, s.cstrCache["override_hostname"])
+	//override_ip := C.cfg_getstr(globals, s.cstrCache["override_ip"])
+
+	s.send_channels = C.Ganglia_udp_send_channels_create(s.global_context, s.gmond_config)
+	return s, nil
+}
diff --git a/sinks/metricSink.go b/sinks/metricSink.go
index d76f5f2..8fe02d7 100644
--- a/sinks/metricSink.go
+++ b/sinks/metricSink.go
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 package sinks
 
 import (
-	"encoding/json"
-
 	lp "github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-metric-collector/internal/ccMetric"
 )
 
@@ -17,7 +15,6 @@ type sink struct {
 }
 
 type Sink interface {
-	Init(config json.RawMessage) error
 	Write(point lp.CCMetric) error
 	Flush() error
 	Close()
diff --git a/sinks/natsSink.go b/sinks/natsSink.go
index 187157e..0d7987e 100644
--- a/sinks/natsSink.go
+++ b/sinks/natsSink.go
@@ -53,30 +53,6 @@ func (s *NatsSink) connect() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (s *NatsSink) Init(config json.RawMessage) error {
-	s.name = "NatsSink"
-	if len(config) > 0 {
-		err := json.Unmarshal(config, &s.config)
-		if err != nil {
-			cclog.ComponentError(s.name, "Error reading config for", s.name, ":", err.Error())
-			return err
-		}
-	}
-	if len(s.config.Host) == 0 ||
-		len(s.config.Port) == 0 ||
-		len(s.config.Database) == 0 {
-		return errors.New("not all configuration variables set required by NatsSink")
-	}
-	// Setup Influx line protocol
-	s.buffer = &bytes.Buffer{}
-	s.buffer.Grow(1025)
-	s.encoder = influx.NewEncoder(s.buffer)
-	s.encoder.SetPrecision(time.Second)
-	s.encoder.SetMaxLineBytes(1024)
-	// Setup infos for connection
-	return s.connect()
-}
-
 func (s *NatsSink) Write(m lp.CCMetric) error {
 	if s.client != nil {
 		_, err := s.encoder.Encode(m.ToPoint(s.config.MetaAsTags))
@@ -105,3 +81,31 @@ func (s *NatsSink) Close() {
 		s.client.Close()
 	}
 }
+
+func NewNatsSink(name string, config json.RawMessage) (Sink, error) {
+	s := new(NatsSink)
+	s.name = fmt.Sprintf("NatsSink(%s)", name)
+	if len(config) > 0 {
+		err := json.Unmarshal(config, &s.config)
+		if err != nil {
+			cclog.ComponentError(s.name, "Error reading config for", s.name, ":", err.Error())
+			return nil, err
+		}
+	}
+	if len(s.config.Host) == 0 ||
+		len(s.config.Port) == 0 ||
+		len(s.config.Database) == 0 {
+		return nil, errors.New("not all configuration variables set required by NatsSink")
+	}
+	// Setup Influx line protocol
+	s.buffer = &bytes.Buffer{}
+	s.buffer.Grow(1025)
+	s.encoder = influx.NewEncoder(s.buffer)
+	s.encoder.SetPrecision(time.Second)
+	s.encoder.SetMaxLineBytes(1024)
+	// Setup infos for connection
+	if err := s.connect(); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Unable to connect: %v", err)
+	}
+	return s, nil
+}
diff --git a/sinks/sinkManager.go b/sinks/sinkManager.go
index 487e7ca..f531f5d 100644
--- a/sinks/sinkManager.go
+++ b/sinks/sinkManager.go
@@ -13,14 +13,14 @@ import (
 const SINK_MAX_FORWARD = 50
 
 // Map of all available sinks
-var AvailableSinks = map[string]Sink{
-	"influxdb":    new(InfluxSink),
-	"stdout":      new(StdoutSink),
-	"nats":        new(NatsSink),
-	"http":        new(HttpSink),
-	"ganglia":     new(GangliaSink),
-	"influxasync": new(InfluxAsyncSink),
-	"libganglia":  new(LibgangliaSink),
+var AvailableSinks = map[string]func(name string, config json.RawMessage) (Sink, error){
+	"ganglia":     NewGangliaSink,
+	"libganglia":  NewLibgangliaSink,
+	"stdout":      NewStdoutSink,
+	"nats":        NewNatsSink,
+	"influxdb":    NewInfluxSink,
+	"influxasync": NewInfluxAsyncSink,
+	"http":        NewHttpSink,
 }
 
 // Metric collector manager data structure
@@ -149,8 +149,7 @@ func (sm *sinkManager) AddOutput(name string, rawConfig json.RawMessage) error {
 		cclog.ComponentError("SinkManager", "SKIP", name, "unknown sink:", sinkConfig.Type)
 		return err
 	}
-	s := AvailableSinks[sinkConfig.Type]
-	err = s.Init(rawConfig)
+	s, err := AvailableSinks[sinkConfig.Type](name, rawConfig)
 	if err != nil {
 		cclog.ComponentError("SinkManager", "SKIP", s.Name(), "initialization failed:", err.Error())
 		return err
diff --git a/sinks/stdoutSink.go b/sinks/stdoutSink.go
index 5d0761a..acf2621 100644
--- a/sinks/stdoutSink.go
+++ b/sinks/stdoutSink.go
@@ -19,34 +19,6 @@ type StdoutSink struct {
 	}
 }
 
-func (s *StdoutSink) Init(config json.RawMessage) error {
-	s.name = "StdoutSink"
-	if len(config) > 0 {
-		err := json.Unmarshal(config, &s.config)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-	}
-
-	s.output = os.Stdout
-	if len(s.config.Output) > 0 {
-		switch strings.ToLower(s.config.Output) {
-		case "stdout":
-			s.output = os.Stdout
-		case "stderr":
-			s.output = os.Stderr
-		default:
-			f, err := os.OpenFile(s.config.Output, os.O_CREATE|os.O_WRONLY, os.FileMode(0600))
-			if err != nil {
-				return err
-			}
-			s.output = f
-		}
-	}
-	s.meta_as_tags = s.config.MetaAsTags
-	return nil
-}
-
 func (s *StdoutSink) Write(m lp.CCMetric) error {
 	fmt.Fprint(
 		s.output,
@@ -65,3 +37,33 @@ func (s *StdoutSink) Close() {
 		s.output.Close()
 	}
 }
+
+func NewStdoutSink(name string, config json.RawMessage) (Sink, error) {
+	s := new(StdoutSink)
+	s.name = fmt.Sprintf("StdoutSink(%s)", name)
+	if len(config) > 0 {
+		err := json.Unmarshal(config, &s.config)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+	}
+
+	s.output = os.Stdout
+	if len(s.config.Output) > 0 {
+		switch strings.ToLower(s.config.Output) {
+		case "stdout":
+			s.output = os.Stdout
+		case "stderr":
+			s.output = os.Stderr
+		default:
+			f, err := os.OpenFile(s.config.Output, os.O_CREATE|os.O_WRONLY, os.FileMode(0600))
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+			s.output = f
+		}
+	}
+	s.meta_as_tags = s.config.MetaAsTags
+
+	return s, nil
+}