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diff --git a/community/gsoc/project_ideas/dtrace.mdwn b/community/gsoc/project_ideas/dtrace.mdwn new file mode 100644 index 00000000..252c303a --- /dev/null +++ b/community/gsoc/project_ideas/dtrace.mdwn @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +[[!meta copyright="Copyright © 2008, 2009, 2011 Free Software Foundation, +Inc."]] + +[[!meta license="""[[!toggle id="license" text="GFDL 1.2+"]][[!toggleable +id="license" text="Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this +document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or +any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant +Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license +is included in the section entitled [[GNU Free Documentation +License|/fdl]]."]]"""]] + +[[!meta title="dtrace Support"]] + +One of the main problems of the current Hurd implementation is very poor +[[performance]]. While we have a bunch of ideas what could cause the performance +problems, these are mostly just guesses. Better understanding what really +causes bad performance is necessary to improve the situation. + +For that, we need tools for performance measurements. While all kinds of more +or less specific [[profiling]] tools could be conceived, the most promising and +generic approach seems to be a framework for logging certain events in the +running system (both in the microkernel and in the Hurd servers). This would +allow checking how much time is spent in certain modules, how often certain +situations occur, how things interact, etc. It could also prove helpful in +debugging some issues that are otherwise hard to find because of complex +interactions. + +The most popular framework for that is Sun's dtrace; but there might be others. +The student has to evaluate the existing options, deciding which makes most +sense for the Hurd; and implement that one. (Apple's implementation of dtrace +in their Mach-based kernel might be helpful here...) + +This project requires ability to evaluate possible solutions, and experience +with integrating existing components as well as low-level programming. + +Possible mentors: Samuel Thibault (youpi) + +Related: [[profiling]], [[LTTng]], [[SystemTap]] + +Exercise: In lack of a good exercise directly related to this task, just pick +one of the kernel-related or generally low-level tasks from the bug/task +trackers on savannah, and make a go at it. You might not be able to finish the +task in a limited amount of time, but you should at least be able to make a +detailed analysis of the issue. + +*Status*: Andei Barbu was working on +[SystemTap](http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~abarbu/hurd/) for GSoC 2008, but it +turned out too Linux-specific. He implemented kernel probes, but there is no +nice frontend yet. |