DataSource recording zeroes for non-zero raw responses

Ok, cool. Script it is then. That should be fine.

Regardless of whether the documentation gives a timeframe, gauge might be the right thing to do. Derive and counter both take the delta from the previous poll and divide by the expected poll rate between them. If the result of your poll is 5960 and that’s the number you’re expecting to see, then you should use gauge. Counter would take 5960 from the current poll, and 5960 from the previous poll and find the delta (0). Then it would divide that delta by the poll rate between them, which would still give you 0. 

tl;dr only use counter/derive if you know the metric you are reading is actually a counter (like an odometer).