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lenky0401 / CoreFreq

CoreFreq is a CPU monitoring software designed for the 64-bits Processors.

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CoreFreq

Purpose

CoreFreq, a CPU monitoring software with BIOS like functionalities, is designed for the 64-bits Processors of architecture Intel Atom, Core2, Nehalem, SandyBridge and superiors; AMD Families 0Fh ... 17h (Zen), 18h (Hygon Dhyana)

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CoreFreq provides a framework to retrieve CPU data with a high degree of precision:

  • Core frequencies & ratios; SpeedStep (EIST), Turbo Boost, Hyper-Threading (HTT) and Base Clock
  • Performance counters including Time Stamp Counter (TSC), Unhalted Core Cycles (UCC), Unhalted Reference Cycles (URC)
  • Number of instructions per cycle or second, IPS, IPC, or CPI
  • CPU C-States C0 C1 C3 C6 C7 - C1E - Auto/UnDemotion of C1 C3
  • DTS Temperature and Tjunction Max, Thermal Monitoring TM1 TM2 state, Vcore
  • Topology map including Caches for boostrap & application CPU
  • Processor features, brand & architecture strings
  • In progress: Uncore, Memory Controller channels & geometry, DIMM timings,
    Stress tools, Power & Energy (RAPL, OSPM, HWP, TDP), Overclocking, cpuidle & cpufreq driver, Mitigation Mechanisms

To reach this goal, CoreFreq implements a Linux Kernel module which employs the followings:

  • asm code to keep as near as possible the readings of the performance counters;
  • per-CPU, implements slab data memory and high-resolution timer;
  • compliant with suspend / resume and CPU Hot-Plug;
  • a shared memory to protect kernel from the user-space part of the software;
  • atomic synchronization of threads to avoid mutexes and deadlock.

Build & Run

Prerequisites

a- Intel only: For a better accuracy, disable the Kernel NMI Watchdog

Add the below parameter in the kernel boot loader { Grub, SysLinux } ...

nmi_watchdog=0

... and build with the fixed performance counters

make MSR_CORE_PERF_UC=MSR_CORE_PERF_FIXED_CTR1 MSR_CORE_PERF_URC=MSR_CORE_PERF_FIXED_CTR2

b- AMD and Intel: No Virtualization

VMs don't provide access to the registers that the CoreFreq driver employs :

  • Fixed Performance Counters
  • Model Specific Registers
  • PCI Registers

c- Rendering

The UI renders best with an ASCII 7-Bit console or Xterm with VT100 and ANSI colors support

Dependencies

  • The Linux Kernel with a minimum version 3.3
  • The GNU C Library

Build

  1. Software needed:
  • GNU C Compiler with GNU extensions
  • GNU Make tool
  • Linux Kernel Header files to build modules
    • Mandatory : CONFIG_MODULES, CONFIG_SMP, CONFIG_X86_MSR
    • Optionally: CONFIG_HOTPLUG_CPU, CONFIG_CPU_IDLE, CONFIG_CPU_FREQ, CONFIG_PM_SLEEP, CONFIG_DMI, CONFIG_XEN, CONFIG_AMD_NB, CONFIG_HAVE_PERF_EVENTS, CONFIG_SCHED_MUQSS, CONFIG_SCHED_BMQ

  1. Clone the source code into a working directory.
    💲git clone https://github.com/cyring/CoreFreq.git

  2. Build the programs.
    💲cd CoreFreq
    💲make

cc -Wall -pthread -c corefreqd.c -o corefreqd.o
cc -Wall -c corefreqm.c -o corefreqm.o
cc corefreqd.c corefreqm.c -o corefreqd -lpthread -lm -lrt
cc -Wall -c corefreq-cli.c -o corefreq-cli.o
cc -Wall -c corefreq-ui.c -o corefreq-ui.o
cc corefreq-cli.c corefreq-ui.c -o corefreq-cli -lm -lrt
make -C /lib/modules/x.y.z/build M=/workdir/CoreFreq modules
make[1]: Entering directory '/usr/lib/modules/x.y.z/build'
  CC [M]  /workdir/CoreFreq/corefreqk.o
  Building modules, stage 2.
  MODPOST 1 modules
  CC      /workdir/CoreFreq/corefreqk.mod.o
  LD [M]  /workdir/CoreFreq/corefreqk.ko
make[1]: Leaving directory '/usr/lib/modules/x.y.z/build'
  1. (Optionally) Sign the driver If module signature verification is enabled into Kernel, you will have to sign the corefreqk.ko driver.

Install

Manual

  1. Copying CoreFreq into the binaries directory
    #️⃣make install

Distribution package

  1. Although CoreFreq is released in the ArchLinux AUR ; other sources of distribution may require to reload the systemd daemons:
    #️⃣systemctl daemon-reload

Start

  1. When built from source code:
  • Load the kernel module, from current directory, as root.
    #️⃣insmod corefreqk.ko
  • Start the daemon, as root.
    #️⃣corefreqd
  • Start the client, as a user (in another terminal or console).
    💲corefreq-cli
  1. When manually installed or from a distribution package:
  • Load the kernel module, as root.
    #️⃣modprobe corefreqk
  • Start the daemon, as root.
    #️⃣systemctl start corefreqd
  • Start the client, as a user.
    💲corefreq-cli

Stop

  1. Press [CTRL]+[x] or [CTRL]+[C] to stop the client.

  2. Press [CTRL]+[C] to stop the daemon (in foreground) or kill its background job.

  3. Unload the kernel module
    #️⃣rmmod corefreqk.ko

Try

Download the CoreFreq Live CD from the Wiki
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Screenshots

Linux kernel module

Use lsmod, dmesg or journalctl -k to check if the module is started:

CoreFreq: Processor [06_1A] Architecture [Nehalem/Bloomfield] CPU [8/8]

Daemon

CoreFreq Daemon.  Copyright (C) 2015-2020 CYRIL INGENIERIE

  Processor [Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz]
  Architecture [Nehalem/Bloomfield] 8/8 CPU Online.

Client

Without arguments, the corefreq-cli program displays Top Monitoring
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Remark: Drawing will stall if the terminal width is lower than 80 columns, or its height is less than required.

  • With the option '-c', the client traces counters. alt text

  • Using option '-m' corefreq-cli shows the CPU topology alt text

  • With the option '-i' corefreq-cli traces the number of instructions per second / cycle

CPU     IPS            IPC            CPI
#00     0.000579/s     0.059728/c    16.742698/i
#01     0.000334/s     0.150569/c     6.641471/i
#02     0.000598/s     0.161326/c     6.198641/i
#03     0.000294/s     0.233535/c     4.282013/i
#04     0.000240/s     0.042931/c    23.293141/i
#05     0.000284/s     0.158661/c     6.302765/i
#06     0.000128/s     0.128031/c     7.810631/i
#07     0.000088/s     0.150406/c     6.648674/i
  • Use the option '-s' to show the Processor information (BSP)

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ArchLinux

corefreq-git can be installed from the Arch User Repository.

Debian, Ubuntu

  • Installing the DKMS package will pull the Kernel development packages
    #️⃣apt-get install dkms
  • Or, install selectively the development packages prerequisites.
    #️⃣apt-get install libpthread-stubs0-dev

Red Hat, CentOS

  • Development packages prerequisites.
    #️⃣yum install kernel-devel
    #️⃣yum group install "Development Tools"

Q&A

  • Q: Turbo Technology is activated however CPUs don't reach those frequencies ?

  • Q: The CPU ratio does not go above its minimum value ?

  • Q: The UI shows erratic counters values !

    A: In the kernel boot command argument line, disable the NMI Watchdog
    nmi_watchdog=0

  • Q: The Processor does not enter the C-States ?

    A: Check if at least one Idle driver is running.
    Accordingly to the Processor specs, provide a max_cstate value in the kernel argument as below.
    intel_idle.max_cstate=value
    A: CoreFreq can also register itself as a cpuidle driver.
    This time, any idle driver will have to be blacklisted in the kernel command line; such as:
    modprobe.blacklist=intel_cstate idle=halt intel_idle.max_cstate=0
    Start the CoreFreq driver with the Register_CPU_Idle parameter:
    #️⃣insmod corefreqk.ko Register_CPU_Idle=1

  • Q: The CoreFreq UI refreshes itself slowly, with a delay after the actual CPUs usage ?

    A: The sampling time to read the counters can be reduced or increased using a CoreFreq module argument:
    #️⃣insmod corefreqk.ko SleepInterval=value
    where <value> is supplied in milliseconds between a minimum of 100 ms and a maximum of 4500 ms. 1000 ms is the default value.

  • Q: The base clock reports a wrong frequency value ?

    A: CoreFreq uses various algorithms to estimate the base clock.

    1. The delta of two TimeStamp counters during a defined interval
    2. The value provided in the Processor brand string divided by the maximum ratio (without Turbo)
    3. A static value advertised by the manufacturer specs.
    4. The MSR_FSB_FREQ bits provided with the Core, Core2 and Atom architectures.

    The CoreFreq module can be started as follow to ignore the first algorithm (frequency estimation):
    #️⃣insmod corefreqk.ko AutoClock=0

    Remark: algorithms # 2, 3 and 4 will not return any under/over-clock frequency.

  • Q: The CPU temperature is wrong ?

    A: CoreFreq employs two msr to calculate the temperature.
    MSR_IA32_TEMPERATURE_TARGET - MSR_IA32_THERM_STATUS [DTS]

    Remark: if the MSR_IA32_TEMPERATURE_TARGET is not provided by the Processor, a default value of 100 degree Celsius is considered as a target.

  • Q: The menu option "Memory Controller" does not open any window ?

    A: Although Uncore and IMC features are under development, they can be activated with the Experimental driver argument:
    #️⃣insmod corefreqk.ko Experimental=1

  • Q: The Instructions and PMC0 counters are stuck to zero ?

    A: The PCE bit of control register CR4 allows RDPMC in ring 3
    #️⃣echo "2" > /sys/devices/cpu/rdpmc
    #️⃣insmod corefreqk.ko RDPMC_Enable=1

  • Q: How to solely control the OSPM or the HWP Performance P-States ?

    A: Without the Kernel cpufreq framework (aka CONFIG_CPU_FREQ), CoreFreq will take the full control over P-States.
    This allow the User to select a capped frequency from the UI, either per Core, either for the whole Processor.

    A: With cpufreq built into Kernel, allow CoreFreq to register as a cpufreq driver.
    In the Kernel boot command line, two ways:

  1. disable cpufreq with the Kernel parameter
    cpufreq.off=1
  2. blacklist any P-state driver; such as:
    modprobe.blacklist=acpi_cpufreq,pcc_cpufreq intel_pstate=disable
    next, load the CoreFreq driver with its Register_CPU_Freq parameter:
    #️⃣insmod corefreqk.ko Register_CPU_Freq=1

  • Q: The CPU freeze or the System crash.

    A: This Processor is not or partially implemented in CoreFreq.
    Please open an issue in the CPU support Wiki page.

  • Q: What are the parameters of the CoreFreq driver ?

    A: Use the modinfo command to list them:

$ modinfo corefreqk.ko
parm:           ArchID:Force an architecture (ID) (int)
parm:           AutoClock:Auto estimate the clock frequency (int)
parm:           SleepInterval:Timer interval (ms) (uint)
parm:           TickInterval:System requested interval (ms) (uint)
parm:           Experimental:Enable features under development (int)
parm:           Target_Ratio_Unlock:1:Target Ratio Unlock; 0:Lock (short)
parm:           Clock_Ratio_Unlock:1:MinRatio; 2:MaxRatio; 3:Both Unlock (short)
parm:           Turbo_Ratio_Unlock:1:Turbo Ratio Unlock; 0:Lock (short)
parm:           Uncore_Ratio_Unlock:1:Uncore Ratio Unlock; 0:Lock (short)
parm:           ServiceProcessor:Select a CPU to run services with (int)
parm:           RDPMC_Enable:Enable RDPMC bit in CR4 register (ushort)
parm:           NMI_Disable:Disable the NMI Handler (ushort)
parm:           PkgCStateLimit:Package C-State Limit (short)
parm:           IOMWAIT_Enable:I/O MWAIT Redirection Enable (short)
parm:           CStateIORedir:Power Mgmt IO Redirection C-State (short)
parm:           SpeedStep_Enable:Enable SpeedStep (short)
parm:           C1E_Enable:Enable SpeedStep C1E (short)
parm:           TurboBoost_Enable:Enable Turbo Boost (short)
parm:           C3A_Enable:Enable C3 Auto Demotion (short)
parm:           C1A_Enable:Enable C3 Auto Demotion (short)
parm:           C3U_Enable:Enable C3 UnDemotion (short)
parm:           C1U_Enable:Enable C1 UnDemotion (short)
parm:           CC6_Enable:Enable Core C6 State (short)
parm:           PC6_Enable:Enable Package C6 State (short)
parm:           ODCM_Enable:Enable On-Demand Clock Modulation (short)
parm:           ODCM_DutyCycle:ODCM DutyCycle [0-7] | [0-14] (short)
parm:           PowerMGMT_Unlock:Unlock Power Management (short)
parm:           PowerPolicy:Power Policy Preference [0-15] (short)
parm:           PState_FID:P-State Frequency Id (int)
parm:           PState_VID:P-State Voltage Id (int)
parm:           HWP_Enable:Hardware-Controlled Performance States (short)
parm:           HWP_EPP:Energy Performance Preference (short)
parm:           Clear_Events:Clear Thermal and Power Events (uint)
parm:           ThermalScope:[0:None; 1:SMT; 2:Core; 3:Package] (int)
parm:           VoltageScope:[0:None; 1:SMT; 2:Core; 3:Package] (int)
parm:           PowerScope:[0:None; 1:SMT; 2:Core; 3:Package] (int)
parm:           Register_CPU_Idle:Register the Kernel cpuidle driver (short)
parm:           Register_Governor:Register the Kernel governor (short)
parm:           Register_CPU_Freq:Register the Kernel cpufreq driver (short)
parm:           Mech_IBRS:Mitigation Mechanism IBRS (short)
parm:           Mech_STIBP:Mitigation Mechanism STIBP (short)
parm:           Mech_SSBD:Mitigation Mechanism SSBD (short)
parm:           Mech_IBPB:Mitigation Mechanism IBPB (short)
parm:           Mech_L1D_FLUSH:Mitigation Mechanism Cache L1D Flush (short)

Algorithm

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About

CyrIng

Copyright (C) 2015-2020 CYRIL INGENIERIE

About

CoreFreq is a CPU monitoring software designed for the 64-bits Processors.

License:GNU General Public License v2.0

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