ftrace

Ftrace

Ftrace is a Linux kernel internal tracer used to observe and debug kernel behavior, including scheduling, function calls, interrupts, and more. It provides detailed execution tracing of the Linux kernel with low overhead.
System & Hardware System Diagnostics & Monitoring
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tracing debugging kernel linux
Ftrace alternatives ➤

Ftrace: Linux Kernel Tracer

Ftrace is a Linux kernel internal tracer used to observe and debug kernel behavior, including scheduling, function calls, interrupts, and more. It provides detailed execution tracing of the Linux kernel with low overhead.

What is Ftrace?

Ftrace is an internal tracing tool built into the Linux kernel that can be used to observe, analyze, and debug the kernel's behavior and internals in real time. Some of the key things that ftrace can trace include:

  • Kernel function calls and execution times
  • Interrupt handling
  • Scheduling events and latencies
  • Memory allocation/freeing
  • Disk I/O tracing

Ftrace works by hooking tracepoints inserted in kernel code which fire events that can be collected, filtered, and formatted when tracing is enabled. It is extremely low overhead so it can be left running continuously with minimal impact to system performance.

Some of the key uses of ftrace include debugging kernel issues like crashes, lockups, or performance problems; analyzing scheduling latencies; understanding memory usage; optimizing I/O; and gaining visibility into the kernel's overall behavior during development and testing. Various plugins and frontends are available for ftrace to simplify tracing, analysis, and visualization of the kernel's internals.

Ftrace Features

Features

  1. Kernel function tracing
  2. Interrupt handler tracing
  3. Scheduling and preemption tracing
  4. Function graph tracing
  5. Customizable events and filters

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Low overhead

Built into the Linux kernel

Detailed execution tracing

Helpful for debugging and optimization

Cons

Can impact performance if tracing unneeded code paths

Requires rebuilding kernel with Ftrace enabled

Somewhat complex configuration

Official Links

Official Website
https://elinux.org/Ftrace

The Best Ftrace Alternatives

Top System & Hardware and System Diagnostics & Monitoring and other similar apps like Ftrace

Here are some alternatives to Ftrace:

Process Monitor icon
Process Monitor
Strace icon
strace
Ltrace icon
ltrace
DTrace icon
DTrace
SystemTap icon
SystemTap
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Process Monitor

Process Monitor is a advanced system monitoring and troubleshooting utility for Windows developed by Sysinternals. It provides a detailed, real-time view of file system, Registry, process, thread and DLL activity on a system.Some key features of Process Monitor include:Monitors process activities like file system, Registry, network, DLL loading/unloading etc. in...
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Strace

strace is a Linux debugging utility that captures and records all system calls made by a process and the signals received by that process. It allows users to troubleshoot issues, monitor interactions between processes and the kernel, and trace program execution in detail.Some key features and uses of strace include:Tracing...
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Ltrace

ltrace is a program tracing utility intended for debugging issues in running processes on Linux and some other Unix-like systems. It intercepts and records dynamic library calls which are called by processes during execution.Specifically, it traces calls made by programs to shared libraries such as system calls and other dynamic...
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DTrace

DTrace is a comprehensive dynamic tracing framework created by Sun Microsystems for troubleshooting kernel and application problems on production systems in real time. It gives administrators, developers, and service personnel a unified interface for concisely answering arbitrary questions about the behavior of the operating system and user programs.Key capabilities of...
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SystemTap

SystemTap is an open source scripting language and tool for dynamically tracing and monitoring Linux systems. It allows users to collect system information in real time to help diagnose performance or functional problems.Some key features of SystemTap include:Allows for dynamic instrumentation of a running Linux kernel without having to recompile...
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