Collecting performance data using external collection script

About this task

The external data collection script allows a Hotspots Detection or System Scorecard Activity to be run on a machine that does not have the Rational Developer for Power server component installed.

This feature is useful in circumstances when installation of the Rational Developer for Power server is impractical, or when the server is not under the control of the performance engineer. For instance, if a product developed with Rational Developer for Power experiences a performance problem by a customer, the development team may distribute the RDPPA_External_Data_Collection.tar file to the customer so that they may run the data collection on the exact system where the problem was encountered.

Procedure

  1. Copy the file /opt/IBM/RDPower/8.5/rse/pa/RDPPA_External_Data_Collection.tar from a server with Rational Developer for Power, to the directory containing the executable to be performance analyzed on the second server.
  2. Untar the file: tar -xvf RDPPA_External_Data_Collection.tar
  3. Run the data collection as follows:
    Usage:  RDPPA_external_collection.sh [-h] [-a "arguments"] [-d <delay>] [-t <profile duration>] [-s "shared libraries"] target
    	-h	print help message
    	-a	specify arguments for the target executable, enclosed in double quotes
    	-d	specify a delay, in seconds, between launching the program and collecting performance data
    	-t	specify a duration of time, in seconds, to collect performance data
    	-s	specify a set of shared libraries or other binaries from which to collection debug information, enclosed in double quotes
  4. After the data collection is complete, it will produce a file of the form RDPPA_<date>_<time>.ptz
  5. Transfer the .ptz file back to the client machine.
  6. Import the .ptz file into an existing, corresponding project.

    Ideally, the project to which the .ptz file is being imported to will contain source code corresponding to the specific build of the executable run on the remote server. If the source code does not correspond correctly with the code used to build the executable, discrepancies may arise in the Performance Source Viewer.

    See Importing Activities run from the external collection script for instructions on how to import the .ptz file.


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