Documentation/trace/user_events.rst - linux - Git at Google

 =========================================
 user_events: User-based Event Tracing
 =========================================

 :Author: Beau Belgrave

 Overview
 --------
 User based trace events allow user processes to create events and trace data
 that can be viewed via existing tools, such as ftrace and perf.
 To enable this feature, build your kernel with CONFIG_USER_EVENTS=y.

 Programs can view status of the events via
 /sys/kernel/tracing/user_events_status and can both register and write
 data out via /sys/kernel/tracing/user_events_data.

 Programs can also use /sys/kernel/tracing/dynamic_events to register and
 delete user based events via the u: prefix. The format of the command to
 dynamic_events is the same as the ioctl with the u: prefix applied. This
 requires CAP_PERFMON due to the event persisting, otherwise -EPERM is returned.

 Typically programs will register a set of events that they wish to expose to
 tools that can read trace_events (such as ftrace and perf). The registration
 process tells the kernel which address and bit to reflect if any tool has
 enabled the event and data should be written. The registration will give back
 a write index which describes the data when a write() or writev() is called
 on the /sys/kernel/tracing/user_events_data file.

 The structures referenced in this document are contained within the
 /include/uapi/linux/user_events.h file in the source tree.

 **NOTE:** *Both user_events_status and user_events_data are under the tracefs
 filesystem and may be mounted at different paths than above.*

 Registering
 -----------
 Registering within a user process is done via ioctl() out to the
 /sys/kernel/tracing/user_events_data file. The command to issue is
 DIAG_IOCSREG.

 This command takes a packed struct user_reg as an argument::

   struct user_reg {
         /* Input: Size of the user_reg structure being used */
         __u32 size;

         /* Input: Bit in enable address to use */
         __u8 enable_bit;

         /* Input: Enable size in bytes at address */
         __u8 enable_size;

         /* Input: Flags to use, if any */
         __u16 flags;

         /* Input: Address to update when enabled */
         __u64 enable_addr;

         /* Input: Pointer to string with event name, description and flags */
         __u64 name_args;

         /* Output: Index of the event to use when writing data */
         __u32 write_index;
   } __attribute__((__packed__));

 The struct user_reg requires all the above inputs to be set appropriately.

 + size: This must be set to sizeof(struct user_reg).

 + enable_bit: The bit to reflect the event status at the address specified by
   enable_addr.

 + enable_size: The size of the value specified by enable_addr.
   This must be 4 (32-bit) or 8 (64-bit). 64-bit values are only allowed to be
   used on 64-bit kernels, however, 32-bit can be used on all kernels.

 + flags: The flags to use, if any.
   Callers should first attempt to use flags and retry without flags to ensure
   support for lower versions of the kernel. If a flag is not supported -EINVAL
   is returned.

 + enable_addr: The address of the value to use to reflect event status. This
   must be naturally aligned and write accessible within the user program.

 + name_args: The name and arguments to describe the event, see command format
   for details.

 The following flags are currently supported.

 + USER_EVENT_REG_PERSIST: The event will not delete upon the last reference
   closing. Callers may use this if an event should exist even after the
   process closes or unregisters the event. Requires CAP_PERFMON otherwise
   -EPERM is returned.

 Upon successful registration the following is set.

 + write_index: The index to use for this file descriptor that represents this
   event when writing out data. The index is unique to this instance of the file
   descriptor that was used for the registration. See writing data for details.

 User based events show up under tracefs like any other event under the
 subsystem named "user_events". This means tools that wish to attach to the
 events need to use /sys/kernel/tracing/events/user_events/[name]/enable
 or perf record -e user_events:[name] when attaching/recording.

 **NOTE:** The event subsystem name by default is "user_events". Callers should
 not assume it will always be "user_events". Operators reserve the right in the
 future to change the subsystem name per-process to accommodate event isolation.

 Command Format
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 The command string format is as follows::

   name[:FLAG1[,FLAG2...]] [Field1[;Field2...]]

 Supported Flags
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 None yet

 Field Format
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^
 ::

   type name [size]

 Basic types are supported (__data_loc, u32, u64, int, char, char[20], etc).
 User programs are encouraged to use clearly sized types like u32.

 **NOTE:** *Long is not supported since size can vary between user and kernel.*

 The size is only valid for types that start with a struct prefix.
 This allows user programs to describe custom structs out to tools, if required.

 For example, a struct in C that looks like this::

   struct mytype {
     char data[20];
   };

 Would be represented by the following field::

   struct mytype myname 20

 Deleting
 --------
 Deleting an event from within a user process is done via ioctl() out to the
 /sys/kernel/tracing/user_events_data file. The command to issue is
 DIAG_IOCSDEL.

 This command only requires a single string specifying the event to delete by
 its name. Delete will only succeed if there are no references left to the
 event (in both user and kernel space). User programs should use a separate file
 to request deletes than the one used for registration due to this.

 **NOTE:** By default events will auto-delete when there are no references left
 to the event. If programs do not want auto-delete, they must use the
 USER_EVENT_REG_PERSIST flag when registering the event. Once that flag is used
 the event exists until DIAG_IOCSDEL is invoked. Both register and delete of an
 event that persists requires CAP_PERFMON, otherwise -EPERM is returned.

 Unregistering
 -------------
 If after registering an event it is no longer wanted to be updated then it can
 be disabled via ioctl() out to the /sys/kernel/tracing/user_events_data file.
 The command to issue is DIAG_IOCSUNREG. This is different than deleting, where
 deleting actually removes the event from the system. Unregistering simply tells
 the kernel your process is no longer interested in updates to the event.

 This command takes a packed struct user_unreg as an argument::

   struct user_unreg {
         /* Input: Size of the user_unreg structure being used */
         __u32 size;

         /* Input: Bit to unregister */
         __u8 disable_bit;

         /* Input: Reserved, set to 0 */
         __u8 __reserved;

         /* Input: Reserved, set to 0 */
         __u16 __reserved2;

         /* Input: Address to unregister */
         __u64 disable_addr;
   } __attribute__((__packed__));

 The struct user_unreg requires all the above inputs to be set appropriately.

 + size: This must be set to sizeof(struct user_unreg).

 + disable_bit: This must be set to the bit to disable (same bit that was
   previously registered via enable_bit).

 + disable_addr: This must be set to the address to disable (same address that was
   previously registered via enable_addr).

 **NOTE:** Events are automatically unregistered when execve() is invoked. During
 fork() the registered events will be retained and must be unregistered manually
 in each process if wanted.

 Status
 ------
 When tools attach/record user based events the status of the event is updated
 in realtime. This allows user programs to only incur the cost of the write() or
 writev() calls when something is actively attached to the event.

 The kernel will update the specified bit that was registered for the event as
 tools attach/detach from the event. User programs simply check if the bit is set
 to see if something is attached or not.

 Administrators can easily check the status of all registered events by reading
 the user_events_status file directly via a terminal. The output is as follows::

   Name [# Comments]
   ...

   Active: ActiveCount
   Busy: BusyCount

 For example, on a system that has a single event the output looks like this::

   test

   Active: 1
   Busy: 0

 If a user enables the user event via ftrace, the output would change to this::

   test # Used by ftrace

   Active: 1
   Busy: 1

 Writing Data
 ------------
 After registering an event the same fd that was used to register can be used
 to write an entry for that event. The write_index returned must be at the start
 of the data, then the remaining data is treated as the payload of the event.

 For example, if write_index returned was 1 and I wanted to write out an int
 payload of the event. Then the data would have to be 8 bytes (2 ints) in size,
 with the first 4 bytes being equal to 1 and the last 4 bytes being equal to the
 value I want as the payload.

 In memory this would look like this::

   int index;
   int payload;

 User programs might have well known structs that they wish to use to emit out
 as payloads. In those cases writev() can be used, with the first vector being
 the index and the following vector(s) being the actual event payload.

 For example, if I have a struct like this::

   struct payload {
         int src;
         int dst;
         int flags;
   } __attribute__((__packed__));

 It's advised for user programs to do the following::

   struct iovec io[2];
   struct payload e;

   io[0].iov_base = &write_index;
   io[0].iov_len = sizeof(write_index);
   io[1].iov_base = &e;
   io[1].iov_len = sizeof(e);

   writev(fd, (const struct iovec*)io, 2);

 **NOTE:** *The write_index is not emitted out into the trace being recorded.*

 Example Code
 ------------
 See sample code in samples/user_events.
	=========================================
	user_events: User-based Event Tracing
	=========================================

	:Author: Beau Belgrave

	Overview
	--------
	User based trace events allow user processes to create events and trace data
	that can be viewed via existing tools, such as ftrace and perf.
	To enable this feature, build your kernel with CONFIG_USER_EVENTS=y.

	Programs can view status of the events via
	/sys/kernel/tracing/user_events_status and can both register and write
	data out via /sys/kernel/tracing/user_events_data.

	Programs can also use /sys/kernel/tracing/dynamic_events to register and
	delete user based events via the u: prefix. The format of the command to
	dynamic_events is the same as the ioctl with the u: prefix applied. This
	requires CAP_PERFMON due to the event persisting, otherwise -EPERM is returned.

	Typically programs will register a set of events that they wish to expose to
	tools that can read trace_events (such as ftrace and perf). The registration
	process tells the kernel which address and bit to reflect if any tool has
	enabled the event and data should be written. The registration will give back
	a write index which describes the data when a write() or writev() is called
	on the /sys/kernel/tracing/user_events_data file.

	The structures referenced in this document are contained within the
	/include/uapi/linux/user_events.h file in the source tree.

	NOTE: *Both user_events_status and user_events_data are under the tracefs
	filesystem and may be mounted at different paths than above.*

	Registering
	-----------
	Registering within a user process is done via ioctl() out to the
	/sys/kernel/tracing/user_events_data file. The command to issue is
	DIAG_IOCSREG.

	This command takes a packed struct user_reg as an argument::

	struct user_reg {
	/* Input: Size of the user_reg structure being used */
	__u32 size;

	/* Input: Bit in enable address to use */
	__u8 enable_bit;

	/* Input: Enable size in bytes at address */
	__u8 enable_size;

	/* Input: Flags to use, if any */
	__u16 flags;

	/* Input: Address to update when enabled */
	__u64 enable_addr;

	/* Input: Pointer to string with event name, description and flags */
	__u64 name_args;

	/* Output: Index of the event to use when writing data */
	__u32 write_index;
	} __attribute__((__packed__));

	The struct user_reg requires all the above inputs to be set appropriately.

	+ size: This must be set to sizeof(struct user_reg).

	+ enable_bit: The bit to reflect the event status at the address specified by
	enable_addr.

	+ enable_size: The size of the value specified by enable_addr.
	This must be 4 (32-bit) or 8 (64-bit). 64-bit values are only allowed to be
	used on 64-bit kernels, however, 32-bit can be used on all kernels.

	+ flags: The flags to use, if any.
	Callers should first attempt to use flags and retry without flags to ensure
	support for lower versions of the kernel. If a flag is not supported -EINVAL
	is returned.

	+ enable_addr: The address of the value to use to reflect event status. This
	must be naturally aligned and write accessible within the user program.

	+ name_args: The name and arguments to describe the event, see command format
	for details.

	The following flags are currently supported.

	+ USER_EVENT_REG_PERSIST: The event will not delete upon the last reference
	closing. Callers may use this if an event should exist even after the
	process closes or unregisters the event. Requires CAP_PERFMON otherwise
	-EPERM is returned.

	Upon successful registration the following is set.

	+ write_index: The index to use for this file descriptor that represents this
	event when writing out data. The index is unique to this instance of the file
	descriptor that was used for the registration. See writing data for details.

	User based events show up under tracefs like any other event under the
	subsystem named "user_events". This means tools that wish to attach to the
	events need to use /sys/kernel/tracing/events/user_events/[name]/enable
	or perf record -e user_events:[name] when attaching/recording.

	NOTE: The event subsystem name by default is "user_events". Callers should
	not assume it will always be "user_events". Operators reserve the right in the
	future to change the subsystem name per-process to accommodate event isolation.

	Command Format
	^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
	The command string format is as follows::

	name[:FLAG1[,FLAG2...]] [Field1[;Field2...]]

	Supported Flags
	^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
	None yet

	Field Format
	^^^^^^^^^^^^
	::

	type name [size]

	Basic types are supported (__data_loc, u32, u64, int, char, char[20], etc).
	User programs are encouraged to use clearly sized types like u32.

	NOTE: Long is not supported since size can vary between user and kernel.

	The size is only valid for types that start with a struct prefix.
	This allows user programs to describe custom structs out to tools, if required.

	For example, a struct in C that looks like this::

	struct mytype {
	char data[20];
	};

	Would be represented by the following field::

	struct mytype myname 20

	Deleting
	--------
	Deleting an event from within a user process is done via ioctl() out to the
	/sys/kernel/tracing/user_events_data file. The command to issue is
	DIAG_IOCSDEL.

	This command only requires a single string specifying the event to delete by
	its name. Delete will only succeed if there are no references left to the
	event (in both user and kernel space). User programs should use a separate file
	to request deletes than the one used for registration due to this.

	NOTE: By default events will auto-delete when there are no references left
	to the event. If programs do not want auto-delete, they must use the
	USER_EVENT_REG_PERSIST flag when registering the event. Once that flag is used
	the event exists until DIAG_IOCSDEL is invoked. Both register and delete of an
	event that persists requires CAP_PERFMON, otherwise -EPERM is returned.

	Unregistering
	-------------
	If after registering an event it is no longer wanted to be updated then it can
	be disabled via ioctl() out to the /sys/kernel/tracing/user_events_data file.
	The command to issue is DIAG_IOCSUNREG. This is different than deleting, where
	deleting actually removes the event from the system. Unregistering simply tells
	the kernel your process is no longer interested in updates to the event.

	This command takes a packed struct user_unreg as an argument::

	struct user_unreg {
	/* Input: Size of the user_unreg structure being used */
	__u32 size;

	/* Input: Bit to unregister */
	__u8 disable_bit;

	/* Input: Reserved, set to 0 */
	__u8 __reserved;

	/* Input: Reserved, set to 0 */
	__u16 __reserved2;

	/* Input: Address to unregister */
	__u64 disable_addr;
	} __attribute__((__packed__));

	The struct user_unreg requires all the above inputs to be set appropriately.

	+ size: This must be set to sizeof(struct user_unreg).

	+ disable_bit: This must be set to the bit to disable (same bit that was
	previously registered via enable_bit).

	+ disable_addr: This must be set to the address to disable (same address that was
	previously registered via enable_addr).

	NOTE: Events are automatically unregistered when execve() is invoked. During
	fork() the registered events will be retained and must be unregistered manually
	in each process if wanted.

	Status
	------
	When tools attach/record user based events the status of the event is updated
	in realtime. This allows user programs to only incur the cost of the write() or
	writev() calls when something is actively attached to the event.

	The kernel will update the specified bit that was registered for the event as
	tools attach/detach from the event. User programs simply check if the bit is set
	to see if something is attached or not.

	Administrators can easily check the status of all registered events by reading
	the user_events_status file directly via a terminal. The output is as follows::

	Name [# Comments]
	...

	Active: ActiveCount
	Busy: BusyCount

	For example, on a system that has a single event the output looks like this::

	test

	Active: 1
	Busy: 0

	If a user enables the user event via ftrace, the output would change to this::

	test # Used by ftrace

	Active: 1
	Busy: 1

	Writing Data
	------------
	After registering an event the same fd that was used to register can be used
	to write an entry for that event. The write_index returned must be at the start
	of the data, then the remaining data is treated as the payload of the event.

	For example, if write_index returned was 1 and I wanted to write out an int
	payload of the event. Then the data would have to be 8 bytes (2 ints) in size,
	with the first 4 bytes being equal to 1 and the last 4 bytes being equal to the
	value I want as the payload.

	In memory this would look like this::

	int index;
	int payload;

	User programs might have well known structs that they wish to use to emit out
	as payloads. In those cases writev() can be used, with the first vector being
	the index and the following vector(s) being the actual event payload.

	For example, if I have a struct like this::

	struct payload {
	int src;
	int dst;
	int flags;
	} __attribute__((__packed__));

	It's advised for user programs to do the following::

	struct iovec io[2];
	struct payload e;

	io[0].iov_base = &write_index;
	io[0].iov_len = sizeof(write_index);
	io[1].iov_base = &e;
	io[1].iov_len = sizeof(e);

	writev(fd, (const struct iovec*)io, 2);

	NOTE: The write_index is not emitted out into the trace being recorded.

	Example Code
	------------
	See sample code in samples/user_events.