linux/Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst
Rong Xu d5dc958361 kbuild: Add Propeller configuration for kernel build
Add the build support for using Clang's Propeller optimizer. Like
AutoFDO, Propeller uses hardware sampling to gather information
about the frequency of execution of different code paths within a
binary. This information is then used to guide the compiler's
optimization decisions, resulting in a more efficient binary.

The support requires a Clang compiler LLVM 19 or later, and the
create_llvm_prof tool
(https://github.com/google/autofdo/releases/tag/v0.30.1). This
commit is limited to x86 platforms that support PMU features
like LBR on Intel machines and AMD Zen3 BRS.

Here is an example workflow for building an AutoFDO+Propeller
optimized kernel:

1) Build the kernel on the host machine, with AutoFDO and Propeller
   build config
      CONFIG_AUTOFDO_CLANG=y
      CONFIG_PROPELLER_CLANG=y
   then
      $ make LLVM=1 CLANG_AUTOFDO_PROFILE=<autofdo_profile>

“<autofdo_profile>” is the profile collected when doing a non-Propeller
AutoFDO build. This step builds a kernel that has the same optimization
level as AutoFDO, plus a metadata section that records basic block
information. This kernel image runs as fast as an AutoFDO optimized
kernel.

2) Install the kernel on test/production machines.

3) Run the load tests. The '-c' option in perf specifies the sample
   event period. We suggest using a suitable prime number,
   like 500009, for this purpose.
   For Intel platforms:
      $ perf record -e BR_INST_RETIRED.NEAR_TAKEN:k -a -N -b -c <count> \
        -o <perf_file> -- <loadtest>
   For AMD platforms:
      The supported system are: Zen3 with BRS, or Zen4 with amd_lbr_v2
      # To see if Zen3 support LBR:
      $ cat proc/cpuinfo | grep " brs"
      # To see if Zen4 support LBR:
      $ cat proc/cpuinfo | grep amd_lbr_v2
      # If the result is yes, then collect the profile using:
      $ perf record --pfm-events RETIRED_TAKEN_BRANCH_INSTRUCTIONS:k -a \
        -N -b -c <count> -o <perf_file> -- <loadtest>

4) (Optional) Download the raw perf file to the host machine.

5) Generate Propeller profile:
   $ create_llvm_prof --binary=<vmlinux> --profile=<perf_file> \
     --format=propeller --propeller_output_module_name \
     --out=<propeller_profile_prefix>_cc_profile.txt \
     --propeller_symorder=<propeller_profile_prefix>_ld_profile.txt

   “create_llvm_prof” is the profile conversion tool, and a prebuilt
   binary for linux can be found on
   https://github.com/google/autofdo/releases/tag/v0.30.1 (can also build
   from source).

   "<propeller_profile_prefix>" can be something like
   "/home/user/dir/any_string".

   This command generates a pair of Propeller profiles:
   "<propeller_profile_prefix>_cc_profile.txt" and
   "<propeller_profile_prefix>_ld_profile.txt".

6) Rebuild the kernel using the AutoFDO and Propeller profile files.
      CONFIG_AUTOFDO_CLANG=y
      CONFIG_PROPELLER_CLANG=y
   and
      $ make LLVM=1 CLANG_AUTOFDO_PROFILE=<autofdo_profile> \
        CLANG_PROPELLER_PROFILE_PREFIX=<propeller_profile_prefix>

Co-developed-by: Han Shen <shenhan@google.com>
Signed-off-by: Han Shen <shenhan@google.com>
Signed-off-by: Rong Xu <xur@google.com>
Suggested-by: Sriraman Tallam <tmsriram@google.com>
Suggested-by: Krzysztof Pszeniczny <kpszeniczny@google.com>
Suggested-by: Nick Desaulniers <ndesaulniers@google.com>
Suggested-by: Stephane Eranian <eranian@google.com>
Tested-by: Yonghong Song <yonghong.song@linux.dev>
Tested-by: Nathan Chancellor <nathan@kernel.org>
Reviewed-by: Kees Cook <kees@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Masahiro Yamada <masahiroy@kernel.org>
2024-11-27 09:38:27 +09:00

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================================
Development tools for the kernel
================================
This document is a collection of documents about development tools that can
be used to work on the kernel. For now, the documents have been pulled
together without any significant effort to integrate them into a coherent
whole; patches welcome!
A brief overview of testing-specific tools can be found in
Documentation/dev-tools/testing-overview.rst
.. toctree::
:caption: Table of contents
:maxdepth: 2
testing-overview
checkpatch
clang-format
coccinelle
sparse
kcov
gcov
kasan
kmsan
ubsan
kmemleak
kcsan
kfence
gdb-kernel-debugging
kgdb
kselftest
kunit/index
ktap
checkuapi
gpio-sloppy-logic-analyzer
autofdo
propeller
.. only:: subproject and html
Indices
=======
* :ref:`genindex`