VTune on Fedora 3: why all sources are compiled?

[jcdenton]

hi, i am trying to install VTune 3.0 eval version on FC3 ( kernel: 2.6.9-1.667smp). its a P4 2.4 GHz processor with 1 GB ram. now, as expected, vdk installation requires to build the driver since there is no built-in driver shipped with the product. and we require the kernel sources for building the driver. fortunately (!!) enough, FC3 by default does not install the kernel sources in the /usr/src directory. however, with some circus, i could do it using kernel-2.6.9-1.667.src.rpm. now my kernel source tree would be located in /usr/src/redhat/BUILD/kernel-2.6.9/linux-2.6.9 . so, now i proceed as below: ./install from vt_cli_3.0 directory. choose 'custom' option and choose to install only vdk for time being. now since the vtune driver needs to be biult, i am promted for the kernel source directory: i give /usr/src/redhat/BUILD/kernel-2.6.9/linux-2.6.9/ promt for kernel config file: i give /usr/src/redhat/BUILD/kernel-2.6.9/linux-2.6.9/configs/kernel-2.6.9-i686-smp.config now, it starts ( or so it seems to me ) to compile all the kernel sources from scratch !! and i get a feeling that the whole kernel is getting compiled again and the kernel is going to be installed all over again .... can anyone assure me that this compiling of the kernel is totally harmless and it will not do any harm to the existing configuration on my system...? ( because i cannot afford it to happen !! ) thanks in anticipation, jcd

[jeffrey-gallagher]

FC3 is not supported by VTune 3.0 for Linux. Your odds of a successful installation are not high. Naturally we'd urge you to look at the release notes for supported RH and SuSE versions, and stick to those.

When the VTune installer compiles a new kernel during the phase of installation you're describing, we do NOT install it as the boot kernel for your server.The kernel simply sits on the filesystem without ever being booted up, unless you manually make it so.

This means you end up with additional copies of the kernel, but no, they won't affect your currently running kernel. You will still boot up with kernel you already booted up under, the one you know and love.

Note that the important piece for VTune regarding this process is the creation of a kernel module, created to the specific kernel on which you are you are currently running, that has to be loaded (insmod) into the kernel for vtune to run, thus:

# lsmod# show me all currently loaded kernel modules

# lsmod | grep vtune

vtune_drv-x32-2.4.21-27.ELsmpsmp # on my lab system, for example

The new kernel is an artifact of the kernel module creation and installation process. Some folks just delete or renamethem, if they find themselves experimenting with multiple vtune installations.

jdg

[jcdenton]

ok, thanks !!

you've answered my question to the point !! so i can go ahead and play with it without harming the kernel..

will post my progress ( or retrogress !! ) regarding the installation..

-jcd

[jcdenton]

woah !!

i could finally install VTune on FC3..!! its up and running now..

but with one catch...there lurks message in a corner...saying VTune is not supported on this platform and the results may not be correct...is this really serious..? can we hear it once from jdg..?

-jcd

[jeffrey-gallagher]

Hey jcd,

You may have a double whammy here, from what you've reported. You may have installed on an unsupported OS and, apparently, an unsupported processor.

What is the processor you're running on, anyway?

cheers

jdg

[jcdenton]

oops !! thats scary then....

my processor is a P4 SMP...this is what /proc/cpuinfo says:

processor : 1
vendor_id : GenuineIntel
cpu family : 15
model : 4
model name : Intel Pentium 4 CPU 3.00GHz
stepping : 1
cpu MHz : 3000.974
cache size : 1024 KB

i thought P4 is supported..

-jcd

[jeffrey-gallagher]

Absolutely P4 is supported!

The error you reported SOUNDS similar to the error one gets if one tries to install on a non-supported CPU. Thanks for confirming that you're on a P4, which means the FC3OS is the main unsupported bit in your current installation.

You can see why we'd issue the disclaimer: FC3 wasn't even out when we wrote and tested the VTune 3.0 software. (Testing occurs on two continents, utilizing a large automated test battery, over a period of weeks, and a great many enginnering hours.) This sort of resource usage always requires advanced planning!)

Regardless, FC3 is not yet supported, and that means, absolutely, you may get results that are not accurate.

Intel's advice holds: stick to the released OSes that are listed as supported in the Release Notes.

cheers

jdg