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doc/src/sgml/ref/pgtesttiming.sgml
PostgreSQL documentation
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<refentry id="pgtesttiming">
 <indexterm zone="pgtesttiming">
  <primary>pg_test_timing</primary>
 </indexterm>

 <refmeta>
  <refentrytitle><application>pg_test_timing</application></refentrytitle>
  <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
  <refmiscinfo>Application</refmiscinfo>
 </refmeta>

 <refnamediv>
  <refname>pg_test_timing</refname>
  <refpurpose>measure timing overhead</refpurpose>
 </refnamediv>

 <refsynopsisdiv>
  <cmdsynopsis>
   <command>pg_test_timing</command>
   <arg rep="repeat"><replaceable>option</replaceable></arg>
  </cmdsynopsis>
 </refsynopsisdiv>

 <refsect1>
  <title>Description</title>

 <para>
  <application>pg_test_timing</application> is a tool to measure the timing overhead
  on your system and confirm that the system time never moves backwards.
  Systems that are slow to collect timing data can give less accurate
  <command>EXPLAIN ANALYZE</command> results.
 </para>
 </refsect1>

 <refsect1>
  <title>Options</title>

   <para>
    <application>pg_test_timing</application> accepts the following
    command-line options:

    <variablelist>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-d <replaceable class="parameter">duration</replaceable></option></term>
      <term><option>--duration=<replaceable class="parameter">duration</replaceable></option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Specifies the test duration, in seconds. Longer durations
        give slightly better accuracy, and are more likely to discover
        problems with the system clock moving backwards. The default
        test duration is 3 seconds.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-V</option></term>
      <term><option>--version</option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Print the <application>pg_test_timing</application> version and exit.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-?</option></term>
      <term><option>--help</option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Show help about <application>pg_test_timing</application> command line
        arguments, and exit.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>
   </para>

 </refsect1>

 <refsect1>
  <title>Usage</title>

 <refsect2>
  <title>Interpreting Results</title>

  <para>
   Good results will show most (>90%) individual timing calls take less than
   one microsecond. Average per loop overhead will be even lower, below 100
   nanoseconds. This example from an Intel i7-860 system using a TSC clock
   source shows excellent performance:

<screen><![CDATA[
Testing timing overhead for 3 seconds.
Per loop time including overhead: 35.96 ns
Histogram of timing durations:
  < us   % of total      count
     1     96.40465   80435604
     2      3.59518    2999652
     4      0.00015        126
     8      0.00002         13
    16      0.00000          2
]]></screen>
  </para>

  <para>
   Note that different units are used for the per loop time than the
   histogram. The loop can have resolution within a few nanoseconds (ns),
   while the individual timing calls can only resolve down to one microsecond
   (us).
  </para>

 </refsect2>
 <refsect2>
  <title>Measuring Executor Timing Overhead</title>

  <para>
   When the query executor is running a statement using
   <command>EXPLAIN ANALYZE</command>, individual operations are timed as well
   as showing a summary.  The overhead of your system can be checked by
   counting rows with the <application>psql</application> program:

<screen>
CREATE TABLE t AS SELECT * FROM generate_series(1,100000);
\timing
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM t;
EXPLAIN ANALYZE SELECT COUNT(*) FROM t;
</screen>
  </para>

  <para>
   The i7-860 system measured runs the count query in 9.8 ms while
   the <command>EXPLAIN ANALYZE</command> version takes 16.6 ms, each
   processing just over 100,000 rows.  That 6.8 ms difference means the timing
   overhead per row is 68 ns, about twice what pg_test_timing estimated it
   would be.  Even that relatively small amount of overhead is making the fully
   timed count statement take almost 70% longer.  On more substantial queries,
   the timing overhead would be less problematic.
  </para>

 </refsect2>

 <refsect2>
  <title>Changing Time Sources</title>
  <para>
   On some newer Linux systems, it's possible to change the clock source used
   to collect timing data at any time.  A second example shows the slowdown
   possible from switching to the slower acpi_pm time source, on the same
   system used for the fast results above:

<screen><![CDATA[
# cat /sys/devices/system/clocksource/clocksource0/available_clocksource
tsc hpet acpi_pm
# echo acpi_pm > /sys/devices/system/clocksource/clocksource0/current_clocksource
# pg_test_timing
Per loop time including overhead: 722.92 ns
Histogram of timing durations:
  < us   % of total      count
     1     27.84870    1155682
     2     72.05956    2990371
     4      0.07810       3241
     8      0.01357        563
    16      0.00007          3
]]></screen>
  </para>

  <para>
   In this configuration, the sample <command>EXPLAIN ANALYZE</command> above
   takes 115.9 ms.  That's 1061 ns of timing overhead, again a small multiple
   of what's measured directly by this utility.  That much timing overhead
   means the actual query itself is only taking a tiny fraction of the
   accounted for time, most of it is being consumed in overhead instead.  In
   this configuration, any <command>EXPLAIN ANALYZE</command> totals involving
   many timed operations would be inflated significantly by timing overhead.
  </para>

  <para>
   FreeBSD also allows changing the time source on the fly, and it logs
   information about the timer selected during boot:

<screen>
# dmesg | grep "Timecounter"
Timecounter "ACPI-fast" frequency 3579545 Hz quality 900
Timecounter "i8254" frequency 1193182 Hz quality 0
Timecounters tick every 10.000 msec
Timecounter "TSC" frequency 2531787134 Hz quality 800
# sysctl kern.timecounter.hardware=TSC
kern.timecounter.hardware: ACPI-fast -> TSC
</screen>
  </para>

  <para>
   Other systems may only allow setting the time source on boot.  On older
   Linux systems the "clock" kernel setting is the only way to make this sort
   of change.  And even on some more recent ones, the only option you'll see
   for a clock source is "jiffies".  Jiffies are the older Linux software clock
   implementation, which can have good resolution when it's backed by fast
   enough timing hardware, as in this example:

<screen><![CDATA[
$ cat /sys/devices/system/clocksource/clocksource0/available_clocksource
jiffies
$ dmesg | grep time.c
time.c: Using 3.579545 MHz WALL PM GTOD PIT/TSC timer.
time.c: Detected 2400.153 MHz processor.
$ pg_test_timing
Testing timing overhead for 3 seconds.
Per timing duration including loop overhead: 97.75 ns
Histogram of timing durations:
  < us   % of total      count
     1     90.23734   27694571
     2      9.75277    2993204
     4      0.00981       3010
     8      0.00007         22
    16      0.00000          1
    32      0.00000          1
]]></screen></para>

 </refsect2>

 <refsect2>
  <title>Clock Hardware and Timing Accuracy</title>

  <para>
   Collecting accurate timing information is normally done on computers using
   hardware clocks with various levels of accuracy.  With some hardware the
   operating systems can pass the system clock time almost directly to
   programs.  A system clock can also be derived from a chip that simply
   provides timing interrupts, periodic ticks at some known time interval.  In
   either case, operating system kernels provide a clock source that hides
   these details.  But the accuracy of that clock source and how quickly it can
   return results varies based on the underlying hardware.
  </para>

  <para>
   Inaccurate time keeping can result in system instability.  Test any change
   to the clock source very carefully.  Operating system defaults are sometimes
   made to favor reliability over best accuracy. And if you are using a virtual
   machine, look into the recommended time sources compatible with it.  Virtual
   hardware faces additional difficulties when emulating timers, and there are
   often per operating system settings suggested by vendors.
  </para>

  <para>
   The Time Stamp Counter (TSC) clock source is the most accurate one available
   on current generation CPUs. It's the preferred way to track the system time
   when it's supported by the operating system and the TSC clock is
   reliable. There are several ways that TSC can fail to provide an accurate
   timing source, making it unreliable. Older systems can have a TSC clock that
   varies based on the CPU temperature, making it unusable for timing. Trying
   to use TSC on some older multicore CPUs can give a reported time that's
   inconsistent among multiple cores. This can result in the time going
   backwards, a problem this program checks for.  And even the newest systems
   can fail to provide accurate TSC timing with very aggressive power saving
   configurations.
  </para>

  <para>
   Newer operating systems may check for the known TSC problems and switch to a
   slower, more stable clock source when they are seen.  If your system
   supports TSC time but doesn't default to that, it may be disabled for a good
   reason.  And some operating systems may not detect all the possible problems
   correctly, or will allow using TSC even in situations where it's known to be
   inaccurate.
  </para>

  <para>
   The High Precision Event Timer (HPET) is the preferred timer on systems
   where it's available and TSC is not accurate.  The timer chip itself is
   programmable to allow up to 100 nanosecond resolution, but you may not see
   that much accuracy in your system clock.
  </para>

  <para>
   Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) provides a Power
   Management (PM) Timer, which Linux refers to as the acpi_pm.  The clock
   derived from acpi_pm will at best provide 300 nanosecond resolution.
  </para>

  <para>
   Timers used on older PC hardware include the 8254 Programmable Interval
   Timer (PIT), the real-time clock (RTC), the Advanced Programmable Interrupt
   Controller (APIC) timer, and the Cyclone timer.  These timers aim for
   millisecond resolution.
  </para>
  </refsect2>
 </refsect1>

 <refsect1>
  <title>See Also</title>

  <simplelist type="inline">
   <member><xref linkend="sql-explain"/></member>
  </simplelist>
 </refsect1>
</refentry>
