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samarasa
Asked: 2011-06-23 20:31:52 +0800 CST

How to install "perf" monitoring tool?

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How do I install the perf monitoring tool?

software-installation

12 Answers

  1. On Ubuntu I had to install three packages:

    apt-get install linux-tools-common linux-tools-generic linux-tools-`uname -r`
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  2. Best Answer

    The perf utility can be found in the linux-tools package.

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  3. Make sure you are installing this tool for the right Kernel release. If you just type:

    sudo apt-get install linux-tools

    It will install it for the latest Linux release in your machine and in case you are booting a previous version (say for stability reason), it will err. In my case it installed for .45 instead of .43 and I had to use the following command to install it:

    sudo apt-get install linux-tools-3.2.0.43

    You can find your Kernel release by typing : uname -r

    To make sure it's working right you can try this: perf record /bin/ls

    Just in case you are going to install Zoom tool, you need to have Perf installed for being able to use all its utilities.

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  4. To get the latest version of perf irrespective of the kernel version (perf version is independent of the kernel version):

    git clone --depth 1 https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git
cd linux/tools/perf
make
cp perf /usr/bin

    perf --version to check the current version

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  5. In 14.04, the linux-tools package does not exist unqualified:

    $ sudo apt-get install linux-tools
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Package linux-tools is a virtual package provided by:
  linux-tools-virtual 3.13.0.36.43
  linux-tools-lowlatency 3.13.0.36.43
  linux-tools-generic-lts-trusty 3.13.0.36.43
  linux-tools-generic-lts-saucy 3.13.0.36.43
  linux-tools-generic 3.13.0.36.43
You should explicitly select one to install.

E: Package 'linux-tools' has no installation candidate

    Instead, you can install one of the packages listed, depending upon the kernel you have installed. Most users will want linux-tools-generic.

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  6. Ubuntu:

    sudo apt install linux-tools-common

    https://packages.ubuntu.com/eoan/linux-tools-common

    Debian:

    sudo apt install linux-perf

    https://packages.debian.org/buster/linux-perf

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  7. I installed Linux 3.17.2 on my machine and tried

    sudo apt-get install linux-tools-3.17.2

    it showed that linux-tools is not present. In this case, download the required linux kernel version, go to linux->tools->perf : 

    cd linux/tools/perf

    and then run make command : 

    make

    and then run make install command: 

    make install

    and then reboot. You just installed perf manually.

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  8. Running the following two commands will do it!

    sudo apt-get install linux-tools-common 
sudo apt-get install linux-tools
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  9. Here's how it worked for me On Ubuntu 18.04:

    After Command 'perf' not found, it suggested to install with sudo apt install linux-tools-common. Doing so and trying to run perf afterward still resulted in:

    WARNING: perf not found for kernel 4.15.0-39

  You may need to install the following packages for this specific kernel:
    linux-tools-4.15.0-39-generic
    linux-cloud-tools-4.15.0-39-generic

  You may also want to install one of the following packages to keep up to date:
    linux-tools-generic
    linux-cloud-tools-generic

    I decided for sudo apt-get install linux-tools-generic and this was enough.

    In case you run into permission-error when trying to use perf as non-root, look here:

    Run perf without root-rights

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  10. On ubuntu "perf" is a shell script that calls a kernel specific perf binary.

    But that's not actually needed, perf is compatible. Just remove the wrapper from /usr/bin and copy any of the perf binaries from ./lib/linux-tools* to it.

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