Program Visualization at the System Level

University of Notre DameJian Mu and Dirk Van Bruggen

The Problem

Simple programs can be complex strace offers a look into the system calls Output is difficult to decipher How does the program run? What files/resources are used?

The Solution

Create a program to assist in visualizations Create a Data Pipeline

Create Modules for each stage

Strace Parser Data Processor Visualizer

Initial Results

• Where did all the time go?

Initial Results cont.

• Where is the I/O concentrated?• Time and Count

Following Calls Through Time

How Much Overhead?

ls cp mv0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

w/o Vizw/ VizDifference

Sec

onds

The Road Ahead

GUI to Tie everything together Additional Modules

Visualization Debugging

In-Depth Performance Evaluation Effectiveness Study

Questions?