Chapter 18. Getting started with perf
As a system administrator, you can use the perf
tool to collect and analyze performance data of your system.
18.1. Introduction to perf
The perf
user-space tool interfaces with the kernel-based subsystem Performance Counters for Linux (PCL). perf
is a powerful tool that uses the Performance Monitoring Unit (PMU) to measure, record, and monitor a variety of hardware and software events. perf
also supports tracepoints, kprobes, and uprobes.
18.2. Installing perf
This procedure installs the perf
user-space tool.
Procedure
Install the
perf
tool:# yum install perf
18.3. Common perf commands
perf stat
- This command provides overall statistics for common performance events, including instructions executed and clock cycles consumed. Options allow for selection of events other than the default measurement events.
perf record
-
This command records performance data into a file,
perf.data
, which can be later analyzed using theperf report
command. perf report
-
This command reads and displays the performance data from the
perf.data
file created byperf record
. perf list
- This command lists the events available on a particular machine. These events will vary based on performance monitoring hardware and software configuration of the system.
perf top
-
This command performs a similar function to the
top
utility. It generates and displays a performance counter profile in realtime. perf trace
-
This command performs a similar function to the
strace
tool. It monitors the system calls used by a specified thread or process and all signals received by that application. perf help
-
This command displays a complete list of
perf
commands.
Additional resources
-
Add the
--help
option to a subcommand to open the man page.