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Visual Performance Analyzer

An Eclipse-based visual performance toolkit.


Date Posted: September 14, 2006
Overview Requirements DownloadFAQsForum Reviews

1. Where can I find usage guides?
2. Are any other user guides available?
3. Does VPA work with any server?
4. Need I install VPA on every system I want to profile?
5. Why won't my listing file open in VPA?
6. After a remote connection has been created, can I modify the server launcher settings?
7. How can I generate the .pipe and .config files that Pipeline Analyzer reads?
8. Why can't I see resource information about Pipeline Analyzer?
10. How can I start and stop AIX Tprof in the middle of an application?
11. Why can I not profile a Java application with Performance Inspector?
12. Why don't all the Code Analyzer views work on Linux Fedora Core 6?
13. What can I do if VPA fails to load on Linux Fedora Core 6?


1. Where can I find usage guides?

Within VPA, please follow the Help link; the Help contents list available user guides.
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2. Are any other user guides available?

Dynamic help is also available. While VPA is open, simply press F1 in a view and a pane will open with information about the tool and the view you are in.
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3. Does VPA work with any server?

VPA can open profiles generated on any server as long as they are in XML format. For remote profiling with AIX servers, you need a Power4 or Power5 processor on the system.
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4. Need I install VPA on every system I want to profile?

No; you can generate a profile on the system and then copy VPA input files to your ThinkPad or desktop that is running VPA.
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5. Why won't my listing file open in VPA?

When you open a listing file in VPA, it is associated with the current process and symbol that you have selected. Make sure you select the process and symbol that the listing file was generated with, and then associate the listing file.
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6. After a remote connection has been created, can I modify the server launcher settings?

No. Unfortunately, this is an RSE issue. In order to change the settings, you must right-click in order to delete the connection and create it again.
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7. How can I generate the .pipe and .config files that Pipeline Analyzer reads?

Please see IBM Performance Simulator for Linux on POWER here on alphaWorks.
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8. Why can't I see resource information about Pipeline Analyzer?

In Pipeline Analyzer, the Scroll mode and Resource mode views are defined in the .config file. You can not switch modes manually. If you open the .config file using a text editor, you will notice that the first line specifies the type of this file. But, once again, you cannot modify this type manually because, for Scroll mode and Resource mode files, the .pipe file contents are different. If you want to see the resource mode view working, you must find resource mode .pipe and .config files. For information about how to generate a .pipe file with resource information, please see the manuals in VPA Help.
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9. When I launch Visual Performance Analyzer installer on AIX or Linux, why does it exit without any prompt?

It happens when your free disk space is so limited so that the installer cannot extract itself successfully. Please ensure you have at least 200 MB free disk space.
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10. How can I start and stop AIX Tprof in the middle of an application?

Please enter the following code:
#java -Xrunvpn_jpa:instructions=1 i2d.class &
#tprof -ujek -A -I -N -d -r report -x sleep 100 &
#trcon
#trcoff

Then Tprof can get the trace file between line 3 and line 4. If you think the time is too long, you can kill the process (sleep 100) manually.

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11. Why can I not profile a Java application with Performance Inspector?

This limitation is due to the profiling tools not being found under the PATH environment variable. Please add its directory, such as C:\IBMPERF\bin, to the PATH environment variable. Then restart VPA so that the new PATH variable will take effect.
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12. Why don't all the Code Analyzer views work on Linux Fedora Core 6?

VPA is using the Eclipse 3.1.1 SDK, and it appears to have a library conflict with Firefox 1.5.0.7. There are two views in Code Analyzer (Instruction Properties and Browser) that will not work on Fedora Core 6. VPA runs well on Fedora Core 5, and the Eclipse SDK it uses will be updated in future releases to solve this problem.
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13. What can I do if VPA fails to load on Linux Fedora Core 6?

If VPA failed to launch at all, you can try this to prevent VPA from locating Firefox, as follows:

vi /etc/gre.d/gre.conf

Use # to comment all lines, as in the following:

#[firefox 1.5.0.7]
#GRE_PATH=/usr/lib/firefox-1.5.0.7

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View screenshots:
Dynamic analysis in Code Analyzer

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Related technologies

For platform(s):
AIX, Java, Linux, MVS, Microsoft Windows NT Server, OS/390, S/390, Win32, Windows, Windows 2000, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server, Windows NT, Windows NT 4.0, Windows NT 4.0 (SP 5), Windows NT SP6, Windows NT SP6a, z/OS, zSeries

For topics:
AIX, analysis, Cell Broadband Engine Architecture (CBEA), Eclipse, Java technology, linux, Parsers, performance, Power Architecture, trace, visualization, XML


 

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