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- <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /><title>pg_test_timing</title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet.css" /><link rev="made" href="pgsql-docs@lists.postgresql.org" /><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.79.1" /><link rel="prev" href="pgtestfsync.html" title="pg_test_fsync" /><link rel="next" href="pgupgrade.html" title="pg_upgrade" /></head><body><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/transitional" class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="5" align="center"><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="application">pg_test_timing</span></th></tr><tr><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="pgtestfsync.html" title="pg_test_fsync">Prev</a> </td><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="u" href="reference-server.html" title="PostgreSQL Server Applications">Up</a></td><th width="60%" align="center">PostgreSQL Server Applications</th><td width="10%" align="right"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 12.4 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="10%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="pgupgrade.html" title="pg_upgrade">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr></hr></div><div class="refentry" id="PGTESTTIMING"><div class="titlepage"></div><a id="id-1.9.5.11.1" class="indexterm"></a><div class="refnamediv"><h2><span class="refentrytitle"><span class="application">pg_test_timing</span></span></h2><p>pg_test_timing — measure timing overhead</p></div><div class="refsynopsisdiv"><h2>Synopsis</h2><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p id="id-1.9.5.11.4.1"><code class="command">pg_test_timing</code> [<em class="replaceable"><code>option</code></em>...]</p></div></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.5.11.5"><h2>Description</h2><p>
- <span class="application">pg_test_timing</span> is a tool to measure the timing overhead
- on your system and confirm that the system time never moves backwards.
- Systems that are slow to collect timing data can give less accurate
- <code class="command">EXPLAIN ANALYZE</code> results.
- </p></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.5.11.6"><h2>Options</h2><p>
- <span class="application">pg_test_timing</span> accepts the following
- command-line options:
-
- </p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term"><code class="option">-d <em class="replaceable"><code>duration</code></em></code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--duration=<em class="replaceable"><code>duration</code></em></code></span></dt><dd><p>
- Specifies the test duration, in seconds. Longer durations
- give slightly better accuracy, and are more likely to discover
- problems with the system clock moving backwards. The default
- test duration is 3 seconds.
- </p></dd><dt><span class="term"><code class="option">-V</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--version</code></span></dt><dd><p>
- Print the <span class="application">pg_test_timing</span> version and exit.
- </p></dd><dt><span class="term"><code class="option">-?</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--help</code></span></dt><dd><p>
- Show help about <span class="application">pg_test_timing</span> command line
- arguments, and exit.
- </p></dd></dl></div><p>
- </p></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.5.11.7"><h2>Usage</h2><div class="refsect2" id="id-1.9.5.11.7.2"><h3>Interpreting Results</h3><p>
- Good results will show most (>90%) individual timing calls take less than
- one microsecond. Average per loop overhead will be even lower, below 100
- nanoseconds. This example from an Intel i7-860 system using a TSC clock
- source shows excellent performance:
-
- </p><pre class="screen">
- Testing timing overhead for 3 seconds.
- Per loop time including overhead: 35.96 ns
- Histogram of timing durations:
- < us % of total count
- 1 96.40465 80435604
- 2 3.59518 2999652
- 4 0.00015 126
- 8 0.00002 13
- 16 0.00000 2
- </pre><p>
- </p><p>
- Note that different units are used for the per loop time than the
- histogram. The loop can have resolution within a few nanoseconds (ns),
- while the individual timing calls can only resolve down to one microsecond
- (us).
- </p></div><div class="refsect2" id="id-1.9.5.11.7.3"><h3>Measuring Executor Timing Overhead</h3><p>
- When the query executor is running a statement using
- <code class="command">EXPLAIN ANALYZE</code>, individual operations are timed as well
- as showing a summary. The overhead of your system can be checked by
- counting rows with the <span class="application">psql</span> program:
-
- </p><pre class="screen">
- CREATE TABLE t AS SELECT * FROM generate_series(1,100000);
- \timing
- SELECT COUNT(*) FROM t;
- EXPLAIN ANALYZE SELECT COUNT(*) FROM t;
- </pre><p>
- </p><p>
- The i7-860 system measured runs the count query in 9.8 ms while
- the <code class="command">EXPLAIN ANALYZE</code> version takes 16.6 ms, each
- processing just over 100,000 rows. That 6.8 ms difference means the timing
- overhead per row is 68 ns, about twice what pg_test_timing estimated it
- would be. Even that relatively small amount of overhead is making the fully
- timed count statement take almost 70% longer. On more substantial queries,
- the timing overhead would be less problematic.
- </p></div><div class="refsect2" id="id-1.9.5.11.7.4"><h3>Changing Time Sources</h3><p>
- On some newer Linux systems, it's possible to change the clock source used
- to collect timing data at any time. A second example shows the slowdown
- possible from switching to the slower acpi_pm time source, on the same
- system used for the fast results above:
-
- </p><pre class="screen">
- # cat /sys/devices/system/clocksource/clocksource0/available_clocksource
- tsc hpet acpi_pm
- # echo acpi_pm > /sys/devices/system/clocksource/clocksource0/current_clocksource
- # pg_test_timing
- Per loop time including overhead: 722.92 ns
- Histogram of timing durations:
- < us % of total count
- 1 27.84870 1155682
- 2 72.05956 2990371
- 4 0.07810 3241
- 8 0.01357 563
- 16 0.00007 3
- </pre><p>
- </p><p>
- In this configuration, the sample <code class="command">EXPLAIN ANALYZE</code> above
- takes 115.9 ms. That's 1061 ns of timing overhead, again a small multiple
- of what's measured directly by this utility. That much timing overhead
- means the actual query itself is only taking a tiny fraction of the
- accounted for time, most of it is being consumed in overhead instead. In
- this configuration, any <code class="command">EXPLAIN ANALYZE</code> totals involving
- many timed operations would be inflated significantly by timing overhead.
- </p><p>
- FreeBSD also allows changing the time source on the fly, and it logs
- information about the timer selected during boot:
-
- </p><pre class="screen">
- # dmesg | grep "Timecounter"
- Timecounter "ACPI-fast" frequency 3579545 Hz quality 900
- Timecounter "i8254" frequency 1193182 Hz quality 0
- Timecounters tick every 10.000 msec
- Timecounter "TSC" frequency 2531787134 Hz quality 800
- # sysctl kern.timecounter.hardware=TSC
- kern.timecounter.hardware: ACPI-fast -> TSC
- </pre><p>
- </p><p>
- Other systems may only allow setting the time source on boot. On older
- Linux systems the "clock" kernel setting is the only way to make this sort
- of change. And even on some more recent ones, the only option you'll see
- for a clock source is "jiffies". Jiffies are the older Linux software clock
- implementation, which can have good resolution when it's backed by fast
- enough timing hardware, as in this example:
-
- </p><pre class="screen">
- $ cat /sys/devices/system/clocksource/clocksource0/available_clocksource
- jiffies
- $ dmesg | grep time.c
- time.c: Using 3.579545 MHz WALL PM GTOD PIT/TSC timer.
- time.c: Detected 2400.153 MHz processor.
- $ pg_test_timing
- Testing timing overhead for 3 seconds.
- Per timing duration including loop overhead: 97.75 ns
- Histogram of timing durations:
- < us % of total count
- 1 90.23734 27694571
- 2 9.75277 2993204
- 4 0.00981 3010
- 8 0.00007 22
- 16 0.00000 1
- 32 0.00000 1
- </pre></div><div class="refsect2" id="id-1.9.5.11.7.5"><h3>Clock Hardware and Timing Accuracy</h3><p>
- Collecting accurate timing information is normally done on computers using
- hardware clocks with various levels of accuracy. With some hardware the
- operating systems can pass the system clock time almost directly to
- programs. A system clock can also be derived from a chip that simply
- provides timing interrupts, periodic ticks at some known time interval. In
- either case, operating system kernels provide a clock source that hides
- these details. But the accuracy of that clock source and how quickly it can
- return results varies based on the underlying hardware.
- </p><p>
- Inaccurate time keeping can result in system instability. Test any change
- to the clock source very carefully. Operating system defaults are sometimes
- made to favor reliability over best accuracy. And if you are using a virtual
- machine, look into the recommended time sources compatible with it. Virtual
- hardware faces additional difficulties when emulating timers, and there are
- often per operating system settings suggested by vendors.
- </p><p>
- The Time Stamp Counter (TSC) clock source is the most accurate one available
- on current generation CPUs. It's the preferred way to track the system time
- when it's supported by the operating system and the TSC clock is
- reliable. There are several ways that TSC can fail to provide an accurate
- timing source, making it unreliable. Older systems can have a TSC clock that
- varies based on the CPU temperature, making it unusable for timing. Trying
- to use TSC on some older multicore CPUs can give a reported time that's
- inconsistent among multiple cores. This can result in the time going
- backwards, a problem this program checks for. And even the newest systems
- can fail to provide accurate TSC timing with very aggressive power saving
- configurations.
- </p><p>
- Newer operating systems may check for the known TSC problems and switch to a
- slower, more stable clock source when they are seen. If your system
- supports TSC time but doesn't default to that, it may be disabled for a good
- reason. And some operating systems may not detect all the possible problems
- correctly, or will allow using TSC even in situations where it's known to be
- inaccurate.
- </p><p>
- The High Precision Event Timer (HPET) is the preferred timer on systems
- where it's available and TSC is not accurate. The timer chip itself is
- programmable to allow up to 100 nanosecond resolution, but you may not see
- that much accuracy in your system clock.
- </p><p>
- Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) provides a Power
- Management (PM) Timer, which Linux refers to as the acpi_pm. The clock
- derived from acpi_pm will at best provide 300 nanosecond resolution.
- </p><p>
- Timers used on older PC hardware include the 8254 Programmable Interval
- Timer (PIT), the real-time clock (RTC), the Advanced Programmable Interrupt
- Controller (APIC) timer, and the Cyclone timer. These timers aim for
- millisecond resolution.
- </p></div></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.5.11.8"><h2>See Also</h2><span class="simplelist"><a class="xref" href="sql-explain.html" title="EXPLAIN"><span class="refentrytitle">EXPLAIN</span></a></span></div></div><div class="navfooter"><hr /><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="pgtestfsync.html">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="reference-server.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="pgupgrade.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top"><span class="application">pg_test_fsync</span> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> <span class="application">pg_upgrade</span></td></tr></table></div></body></html>
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