Observing processor level statistics such as level 2 cache misses or cycles per instruction, and tying such events to lines of code, has been a non-trivial task, even more so on a system wide basis. This talk demonstrates the extensions to DTrace which allow access to processor event counters and shows how to achieve a systemic view of system behaviour from processor to application code. A short introduction to DTrace and the CPC framework is also included.
Dr. Clive King is a Senior Staff Engineer and Sun’s UK OS Ambassador for education. He spends his working life solving a diverse range customer performance and availability issues - being Sun’s process when there is no process for a problem. He teaches courses on problem solving, risk management and decision-making within Sun. He is a BCS Fellow and a degree scheme assessor for the BCS. In past lives he was a University systems administrator, an AI researcher and supported Cray supercomputers.