dcsnoop - Trace directory entry cache (dcache) lookups. Uses Linux eBPF/bcc.
Contents
Description
By default, this traces every failed dcache lookup (cache miss), and shows the process performing the
lookup and the filename requested. A -a option can be used to show all lookups, not just failed ones.
The output of this tool can be verbose, and is intended for further investigations of dcache performance
beyond dcstat(8), which prints per-second summaries.
This uses kernel dynamic tracing of the d_lookup() function, and will need and will need updating to
match any changes to this function.
Since this uses BPF, only the root user can use this tool.
Examples
Trace failed dcache lookups:
# dcsnoop
Trace all dcache lookups:
# dcsnoop-aFields
TIME(s)
Time of lookup, in seconds.
PID Process ID.
COMM Process name.
T Type: R == reference (only visible with -a), M == miss. A miss will print two lines, one for the
reference, and one for the miss.
FILE The file name component that was being looked up. This contains trailing pathname components
(after '/'), which will be the subject of subsequent lookups.
Name
dcsnoop - Trace directory entry cache (dcache) lookups. Uses Linux eBPF/bcc.
Options
-h Print usage message.
-a Trace references, not just failed lookups.
Os
Linux
Overhead
File name lookups can be frequent (depending on the workload), and this tool prints a line for each
failed lookup, and with -a, each reference as well. The output may be verbose, and the incurred overhead,
while optimized to some extent, may still be from noticeable to significant. This is only really intended
for deeper investigations beyond dcstat(8), when absolutely necessary. Measure and quantify the overhead
in a test environment before use.
Requirements
CONFIG_BPF and bcc.
See Also
dcstat(1) USER COMMANDS 2016-02-10 dcsnoop(8)
Source
This is from bcc.
https://github.com/iovisor/bcc
Also look in the bcc distribution for a companion _examples.txt file containing example usage, output,
and commentary for this tool.
Stability
Unstable - in development.
Synopsis
dcsnoop[-h][-a]
