VIProf: Vertically Integrated Full-System Performance Profiler
Hussam Mousa, Chandra Krintz, Lamia Youseff, and Rich Wolski
Workshop on Next-Generation Software (w/IPDPS), March, 2007
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Abstract
In this paper, we present
VIProf, a full-system, performance sampling
system capable of extracting runtime behavior across an entire software
stack. Our long-term goal is to employ VIProf profiles to guide online optimization
of programs and their execution environments according to the dynamically
changing execution behavior and resource availability. VIProf thus,
must be transparent while producing accurate and useful performance
profiles.
We overview the design and implementation of VIProf and
empirically evaluate the system using a popular software stack -- one that includes
a Linux operating system, a Java Virtual Machine, and a set of applications.
This composition is commonly employed and important for high-end systems such
as application and web servers as well as Computational Grid services.
We show that VIProf introduces little overhead and is
able to capture accurate (function-level) full-system performance datathat previously required multiple profiles and extensive, manual, and offline
post-processing of profile data.