[Cbe-oss-dev] PS3 performance analysis - errors on loading cellperfctr module

[Geoff Levand]

Dimitar Lukarski wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> 
>     I am try to get some performance analysis on PS3 running under
> Yellow Dog Linux 5.0 and IBM SDK 2.1.
>     I recompile the newest kernel 2.6.23 with oprofile modules. I also
> installed cellperfctr-tools-2007.03.19-1.ppc64.rpm plus the modules. But
> when I try to load it - it gives errors.
> 
>     Is it problem with my kernel compilation or just PS3 does not
> support SPU sampling ?
> 
>  
> # modprobe cellperfctr
> FATAL: Error inserting cellperfctr
> (/lib/modules/2.6.23custom/extra/cellperfctr.ko): Unknown symbol in
> module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg)
> 
> 
> # dmesg | tail
> cellperfctr: Unknown symbol cbe_read_pm07_control
> cellperfctr: Unknown symbol cbe_read_pm
> cellperfctr: Unknown symbol cbe_write_pm07_control
> cellperfctr: Unknown symbol cbe_read_ctr
> cellperfctr: Unknown symbol cbe_read_trace_buffer
> cellperfctr: Unknown symbol rtas_call
> cellperfctr: Unknown symbol cbe_write_phys_ctr
> cellperfctr: Unknown symbol cbe_write_ctr
> cellperfctr: Unknown symbol cbe_write_pm
> cellperfctr: Unknown symbol rtas_token


The Cell's hardware profiling support is a hypervisor resource, so on PS3
you cannot access those resources directly as you can when Linux is running
on the raw hardware.  The IBM Cell Blade for example runs without a hypervisor,
and it uses cellperfctr.ko.  There currently is no Linux profiling support
on PS3 other than the standard oprofile timer based sampling that the
generic powerpc code provides.

In general there is a desire to provide some kind of Cell specific profiling
support for the PS3, but nothing has been announced. 

-Geoff