Performance profiling generates measurement overhead during parallel
program execution. Measurement overhead, in turn, introduces
intrusion in a program's runtime performance behavior. Intrusion can
be mitigated by controlling instrumentation degree, allowing a
tradeoff of accuracy for detail. Alternatively, the accuracy in
profile results can be improved by reducing the intrusion error due to
measurement overhead. Models for compensation of measurement overhead
in parallel performance profiling are described. An approach based on
rational reconstruction is used to understand properties of
compensation solutions for different parallel scenarios. From this
analysis, a general algorithm for on-the-fly overhead assessment and
compensation is derived.
Keywords:
Performance measurement and analysis, parallel computing, profiling,
intrusion, overhead compensation.