Performance Tuning for Linux Servers

by Johnson, Sandra K., Ph.D.

• ISBN13: 9780137136285
• ISBN10: 0137136285
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-05-27
• Publisher: IBM Press

Summary

Linux Server Performance Tuning provides the knowledge and skills needed to understand and improve the performance of Linux servers. It describes the collective practical experience of IBM Linux Technology Center experts in Linux performance monitoring, evaluation and measurement, analysis, and tuning of Linux servers. It discusses methodologies for improving and maximizing the performance of business server applications running on an Intel-based hardware platform and the Linux operating system. Readers will obtains valuable insight into the tuning techniques needed to improve the performance of their software running on Linux. This includes an overview of the Linux kernel (including installation), a synopsis of the various Linux performance tools that can be used to isolate performance issues, and how to use them, and tuning principles, strategies and techniques for various Linux components such as the scheduler, memory and I/O subsystems. In addition, case studies for tuning these subsystems are also included, as well as the performance characterization of several Linux server applications, including web servers, database servers, application servers, and print and file servers.

Author Biography

Sandra K. Johnson, Ph.D., is a Senior Technical Staff Member and the Chief Technology Officer of Global Small and Medium Business, IBM Systems and Technology Group. She was formerly the Linux Performance Architect with the IBM Linux Technology Center in Austin, Texas. She has more than sixteen years of experience in designing and evaluating the performance of operating systems and applications. Johnson is a member of the IBM Academy of Technology.

Gerrit Huizenga is a software engineer and architect for Linux Base Technologies in the IBM Linux Technology Center in Beaverton, Oregon. Gerrit has been architecting, designing, and implementing operating system capabilities with a focus on performance, scalability, standards, and security for twenty years. Prior to his work at the IBM Linux Technology Center, Gerrit was the Chief Technologist for Operating Systems at Sequent Computer Systems, Inc.

Badari Pulavarty is a senior engineer at the IBM Linux Technology Center in Beaverton, Oregon. He has fifteen years of experience developing UNIX operating systems.

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Editors

About the Contributors

Linux Overview

Linux Installation Issues

Introduction

Preinstallation Planning

Configurable 2.6 Kernel Features

Linux Logging Facility System

Initialization: BSD Versus System V Initialization

Summary

References

Kernel Overview

Introduction

The Evolution of Linux

Linux Kernel Architecture

Process Management

Interprocess Communications

The Linux Symmetrical Multiprocessing (SMP)

Model File Systems

New Features in Linux 2.6

Summary

References

Overview of Server Architectures

Introduction

Linux Servers

Processors and Multiprocessing Memory I/O

Linux Enterprise Servers

Linux Clusters

Examples of Server Systems

Summary

Performance Analysis Tools

System Performance Monitoring

Introduction

Background on Linux and Performance Analysis

CPU Utilization Memory Utilization I/O

Utilization Network

Utilization Summary

References

System Trace Tools

Introduction

Requirements for System Tracing

The top Utility strace OProfile

Performance Inspector

Summary

References

Benchmarks as an Aid to Understanding Workload Performance

Introduction

Benchmarking to Improve Your Workload

What Types of Benchmarks Are There?

Microbenchmarks Web Server Benchmarks

Summary

System Tuning

System Performance Principles and Strategy: A Benchmarking Methodology Case Study

Introduction

Performance Evaluation Methodologies

Benchmarking Methodology

Case Study Analysis

Methodology Benchmarks

Summary

Acknowledgments

References

Scheduler Tuning

Introduction

Single-Processor

Systems Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP)

Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA)

Symmetric Multithreading (SMT)

The 2.6 Linux Scheduler Load Balancing

Tunable Parts of the Scheduler

Summary

References

The Linux Virtual Memory Performance Implications

Introduction

Memory and Address Space

High-Memory Support Paging and Swapping

The Linux Page Tables

New Features in Linux 2.6

Summary

References

I/O Subsystems Performance Implications

Introduction

I/O Scheduling and the Block I/O (BIO)

Layer Read and Write Request Batches Read Anticipation Heuristic I/O

Components that Affect Performance Addressing an I/O Device

Summary

References

File System Tuning

Introduction

File System Fundamentals

Journaled File Systems

Disks Factor into File System

Performance Fragmenting a File System

File Synchronization bdflush Parameters Asynchronous

Input and Output Raw Disk I/O

Ext2 and Ext3 ReiserFS

Journaled File System (JFS)

Next-Generation File System (XFS)

Summary

References

Network Tuning

Introduction

The Network

Protocol Stack

Kernel Parameter

Tuning Mechanisms

Kernel Auto Tuning Core

Kernel Parameter Descriptions TCP/IPv4

Protocol Kernel Parameters

Summary

References

Interprocess Communication

Introduction

What Is Interprocess Communication?

Linux SysV IPC Resources and the ipcs Command

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.