linux-kernel - Re: [perfmon2] [announce] Performance Counters for Linux, v6

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Message-ID: <20090126221038.GA7440@elte.hu>
Date:	Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:10:38 +0100
From:	Ingo Molnar <mingo@...e.hu>
To:	"Luck, Tony" <tony.luck@...el.com>
Cc:	Corey Ashford <cjashfor@...ux.vnet.ibm.com>,
	Peter Zijlstra <a.p.zijlstra@...llo.nl>,
	Andrew Morton <akpm@...ux-foundation.org>,
	Papi <ptools-perfapi@...utk.edu>,
	"David S. Miller" <davem@...emloft.net>,
	Mike Galbraith <efault@....de>,
	"linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org" <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	Eric Dumazet <dada1@...mosbay.com>,
	Paul Mackerras <paulus@...ba.org>, Peter Anvin <hpa@...or.com>,
	"eranian@...il.com" <eranian@...il.com>,
	Thomas Gleixner <tglx@...utronix.de>,
	"perfmon2-devel@...ts.sourceforge.net" 
	<perfmon2-devel@...ts.sourceforge.net>,
	Arjan van de Ven <arjan@...radead.org>
Subject: Re: [perfmon2] [announce] Performance Counters for Linux, v6


* Luck, Tony <tony.luck@...el.com> wrote:

> > - or the PMU capability is expressed as a special counter type (if it's
> >   useful enough) - and then either the write() method or ioctl is extended
> >   to express attributes we want to set/change while a counter is running.
> 
> The product of:
>         {exotic PMU modes} * {creative performance measurement ideas}
>
> will produce a large number of candidates for these special counters (at 
> least on ia64 ... which has a large number of exotic PMU options).
> 
> I don't think that I'm qualified to judge which of them are "useful 
> enough" to warrant a special counter type.

it should certainly be done on a case by case basis. They need to be 
consciously exposed not just summarily exported to user-space, because PMU 
hw features have security implications so it has to be done all 
explicitly.

	Ingo
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