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authorDaniel Baumann <daniel.baumann@progress-linux.org>2024-05-04 14:31:17 +0000
committerDaniel Baumann <daniel.baumann@progress-linux.org>2024-05-04 14:31:17 +0000
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Adding upstream version 1.37.1.upstream/1.37.1upstream
Signed-off-by: Daniel Baumann <daniel.baumann@progress-linux.org>
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+<!--
+title: "perf.plugin"
+custom_edit_url: https://github.com/netdata/netdata/edit/master/collectors/perf.plugin/README.md
+-->
+
+# perf.plugin
+
+`perf.plugin` collects system-wide CPU performance statistics from Performance Monitoring Units (PMU) using
+the `perf_event_open()` system call.
+
+## Important Notes
+
+Accessing hardware PMUs requires root permissions, so the plugin is setuid to root.
+
+Keep in mind that the number of PMUs in a system is usually quite limited and every hardware monitoring
+event for every CPU core needs a separate file descriptor to be opened.
+
+## Charts
+
+The plugin provides statistics for general hardware and software performance monitoring events:
+
+Hardware events:
+
+1. CPU cycles
+2. Instructions
+3. Branch instructions
+4. Cache operations
+5. BUS cycles
+6. Stalled frontend and backend cycles
+
+Software events:
+
+1. CPU migrations
+2. Alignment faults
+3. Emulation faults
+
+Hardware cache events:
+
+1. L1D cache operations
+2. L1D prefetch cache operations
+3. L1I cache operations
+4. LL cache operations
+5. DTLB cache operations
+6. ITLB cache operations
+7. PBU cache operations
+
+## Configuration
+
+The plugin is disabled by default because the number of PMUs is usually quite limited and it is not desired to
+allow Netdata to struggle silently for PMUs, interfering with other performance monitoring software. If you need to
+enable the perf plugin, edit /etc/netdata/netdata.conf and set:
+
+```raw
+[plugins]
+ perf = yes
+```
+
+```raw
+[plugin:perf]
+ update every = 1
+ command options = all
+```
+
+You can use the `command options` parameter to pick what data should be collected and which charts should be
+displayed. If `all` is used, all general performance monitoring counters are probed and corresponding charts
+are enabled for the available counters. You can also define a particular set of enabled charts using the
+following keywords: `cycles`, `instructions`, `branch`, `cache`, `bus`, `stalled`, `migrations`, `alignment`,
+`emulation`, `L1D`, `L1D-prefetch`, `L1I`, `LL`, `DTLB`, `ITLB`, `PBU`.
+
+## Debugging
+
+You can run the plugin by hand:
+
+```raw
+sudo /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/perf.plugin 1 all debug
+```
+
+You will get verbose output on what the plugin does.
+
+