Archive for the ‘Solaris’ Category
The USE Method: SmartOS Performance Checklist
The USE Method provides a strategy for performing a complete check of system health, identifying common bottlenecks and errors. For each system resource, metrics for utilization, saturation and errors are identified and checked. Any issues discovered are then investigated using further strategies. In this post, I’ll provide an example of a USE-based metric list for [...]
In: illumos, omnios, performance, smartos, Solaris, usemethod, zones
The USE Method: Solaris Performance Checklist
The USE Method provides a strategy for performing a complete a check of system health, identifying common bottlenecks and errors. For each system resource, metrics for utilization, saturation and errors are identified and checked. Any issues discovered are then investigated using further strategies. In this post, I’ll provide an example of a USE-based metric list [...]
In: performance, Solaris, usemethod
Solaris 11 DTrace syscall Provider Changes
Oracle Solaris 11 dropped many commonly used probes from the DTrace syscall provider, a disappointing side-effect of some code refactoring in the system call trap table (PSARC 2010/441 “delete obsolete system call traps”). This breaks a lot of scripts and one liners, including many that are used to teach beginners DTrace. Functionality is still (I [...]
In: DTrace, Solaris, solaris11, syscall
DTrace for Linux
Yesterday (October 4, 2011) Oracle made the surprising announcement that they would be porting some key Solaris features, DTrace and Zones, to Oracle Enterprise Linux. As one of the original authors, the news about DTrace was particularly interesting to me, so I started digging. I should note that this isn’t the first time I’ve written [...]
In: DTrace, illumos, Linux, OEL, OOW, OpenSolaris, Oracle, Solaris
DTrace Book short videos
The DTrace book was launched earlier this year, and I just filmed a couple of new short videos about it. Here are:
DTrace book Introduction
DTrace book and Solaris 11
You may also like to see some of the other videos I’ve had filmed in the pas…
In: book, DTrace, Solaris, video
vmstat videos
vmstat(1M) is a widely used tool for system performance analysis, but also one that tricky to understand. I’ve recently been giving performance talks, which include a quick explanation of metrics from common tools including vmstat. Afterwards it has been stressed to me how useful that has been for the audience, and so to share this [...]
In: performance, Solaris, video, vmstat
Another detour: short-circuiting cat(1)
What do you think happens when you do this: # cat vmcore.4 > /dev/null If you’ve used Unix systems before, you might expect this to read vmcore.4 into memory and do nothing with it, since cat(1) reads a file, and "> /dev/null" sends it to the null driver, which accepts data and does nothing. This [...]
Leaving Oracle
I joined the Solaris Kernel Group in 2001 at what turned out to be a remarkable place and time for the industry. More by luck and intuition than by premonition, I found myself surrounded by superlative engineers working on revolutionary technologies that were the products of their own experience and imagination rather than managerial fiat. [...]
In: DTrace, Fishworks, Oracle, Solaris
Good-bye, Sun
In Februrary 1996, I came out to Sun Microsystems to interview for a job knowing only two things: that I wanted to do operating systems kernel development — and that I didn’t particularly want to work for Sun. I was right on the first count, but knew I was wrong on the second just moments [...]
