Glossary

C

C2C

Cache-to-cache. perf c2c is a builtin perf tool for analyzing shared data accesses and problems like false sharing.

Core

1. Used to refer to events on the CPU's PMU, contrast with Uncore and Offcore.
2. Part of the topology containing multiple SMT threads.

E

Event Selector

See evsel.

evlist

1. A perf command to list the events within a perf.data file.
2. A list of event selectors. The evlist API is part of libperf.

evsel

An event selector describes a perf event that will be opened on multiple CPUs or threads. The evsel API is part of libperf.

F

False Sharing

When a cache line is accidentally shared, and written-to, by two threads because of the layout of data being so that it is on the same cache line.

H

HITM

A load that hit a modified cacheline.

Hyperthread

Intel/x86 term for SMT.

M

Metric

Taking multiple performance counters, typcally in perf stat, and then computing a human meaningful value like memory bandwidth.

O

Offcore

TODO

Off-CPU

Off-CPU is data collected when a task gets context switched. Brendan Gregg discusses Off-CPU analysis. Combining on-CPU time, measured with a performance counter, with off-CPU time will give wall clock time. Linux perf 5.20 adds a command line option to perf record to gather off-CPU data.

P

perf.data

By default output from various perf commands is stored in a file named perf.data.

Perf Event

A kernel abstraction used to reference data being gathered about a particular kind of kernel event.

S

SMT

Simultaneous multithreading.

T

Task

Kernel term for a process (if just 1 thread) or thread.

U

Uncore

Functions of the microprocessor not in the core.