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Introduction to Linux Performance Tuning

Course Summary

The Introduction to Linux Performance Tuning training course is designed to demonstrate how to tune a production system running Linux.

 

The course begins with an overview of performance methodologies, terminologies, and concepts. Next, it examines system levels and components like processes, threads, memory, disk I/o, and file systems. The course concludes with an exploration of OS specific tuning tools, like prstat on Solaris and strace on Linux.

 

Prerequisites:

  • A fundamental background in Linux is expected, this builds off those foundations.
Purpose
Learn how to get the most out of a production Linux server
Audience
System administrators responsible for the care-and-feeding of production Linux systems
Role
System Administrator
Skill Level
Intermediate
Style
Lecture | Hands-on Activities | Labs
Duration
3 Days
Related Technologies
Linux

 

Learning Objectives
  • Describe 4 key performance tuning terms
  • Define a performance tuning strategy for an organization
  • Devise a baseline
  • Measure tuning increases/decreases against the baseline

What You'll Learn:

In the Introduction to Linux Performance Tuning training course, you'll learn:
  • Performance Methodology
    • Terms for performance analysis
    • Isolate and mitigate bottlenecks
    • Identify outcomes for tuning
    • Set up regular monitoring
  • Observing the System
    • Common performance tools
    • Interpret sar, vmstat, and iostat output
    • Third-party analysis tools
    • Infer trouble from system reports
  • CPU Performance Measurement
    • Calculate the impact of caches and busses
    • Observe caching performance
    • Utilize CPI to measure utilization
    • Tune the process scheduler
  • Managing Processes & Threads
    • Measure process utilization
    • Physical and virtual process size
    • Trace a process
    • Trace a Virtual Machine
  • Memory Management
    • How virtual memory works
    • Swap vs page behavior
    • Large/huge page size support
  • Tuning Disk to I/O Demand
    • Utilization, Saturation and Throughput
    • Sequential and random demand
    • Plot disk activity
  • Observing File System Latency
    • The STREAMS model for I/O
    • Match Workload to I/O Services
    • SAN/NAS File Systems
    • What Distributed File Systems do
  • Tuning for the Network
    • Observe network latency
    • Calculate distance in Hops
  • Solaris-specific Tools
    • prstat
    • truss
    • p-tools
    • DTrace
  • Linux-specific tools
    • top
    • strace
    • valgrind
    • SystemTap
  • JVM-specific tools
    • jps
    • jstat
    • jhat
    • VisualVM
    • JMX telemetry
real world content

Real-World Content

Project-focused demos and labs using your tool stack and environment, not some canned "training room" lab.
expert practitioners

Expert Practitioners

Industry experts that bring their battle scars into the classroom.
experiential learning

Experiential Learning

More coding than lecture, coupled with architectural and design discussions.
tailored outlines

Tailored Outlines

One-size-fits-all doesn't apply to training teams. That's where we come in!
“I appreciated the instructor's technique of writing live code examples rather than using fixed slide decks to present the material.”

VMware

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