Storage Performance Snapshot FAQ (Preview)

Find out about how to use your results, what information is collected, how to use the tool without internet access, and where to go for more information.

Note

This is a PREVIEW FEATURE. A preview feature may or may not appear in a future production release. It is available for your use in the hopes that you will provide feedback on its usefulness and help determine its future. Data collected with a preview feature is not guaranteed to be backward compatible with future releases. Please send your feedback to parallel.studio.support@intel.com for VTune Amplifier XE and to intelsystemstudio@intel.com for VTune Amplifier for Systems.

What is stored in the data file?

The results of the dstat collection are stored in the data file. The information that is collected is specified by the start collection script, which is a text file included with the Storage Performance Snapshot files you installed.

Can I open two results at the same time? Can I overlay two results?

Two results can be opened in different browser windows. Results cannot be overlaid or viewed in the same window.

My system has a low CPU I/O Wait and CPU Idle, but there are devices with high I/O Per Second (IOPS). What does it mean?

Even though your system has devices with large numbers of I/O Per Second (IOPS), these devices are not on the critical path and are not limiting system performance. All of the cores on the system are able to continue making progress on their tasks and are not waiting for the storage devices with high IOPS to respond. If you are experiencing low system performance, you should check the behavior of the rest of your system. Intel® VTune™ Amplifier XE would be a good place to start.

Where can I go for help and tutorials on using advanced features of Storage Performance Snapshot?

A user forum related to all Intel® Performance Snapshot tools is available from https://software.intel.com/en-us/forums/intel-performance-snapshot. Online help, including information about interpreting common snapshot results, is available from the Intel® Developer Zone or from the drop-down menu within Storage Performance Snapshot.

What are the supported operating systems and browsers for Storage Performance Snapshot?

Operating Systems: Linux* (tested on Ubuntu* and Red Hat*)

Browsers:

Internet Explorer* (when viewing result files from the Intel Developer Zone website or when a web server is configured)
Google Chrome*
Mozilla Firefox*

Can I use Internet Explorer* to view my result files?

Internet Explorer* can be used to view result files when Storage Performance Snapshot is accessed from the Intel Developer Zone website. Google Chrome* and Mozilla Firefox* are also supported.

To view your result files using the Storage Performance Snapshot that is installed on your file system (<install-dir>/storage-snapshot/index.html), configure a web server or use a different supported browser.

How do I print the results?

You can use the "print to file" function from your browser's Print action to create a printable version of your results. The result file name is included at the top of your printed result, but the full path to the file is omitted for information security.

Is my data file uploaded to the Intel server? Are any of my workload details offloaded?

No. All files stay on your local system.

I don't have internet access/my system is behind a firewall/I cannot reach the server. Is it possible to view my results without using the web browser?

Storage Performance Snapshot is available by default when you install Intel® VTune™ Amplifier XE as part of Intel® Parallel Studio, Intel® VTune™ Amplifier for Systems as part of Intel® System Studio, or the standalone version of Intel VTune Amplifier XE. The Intel Performance Snapshot tools are also available as an offline package from the Intel Developer Zone.

How do I submit a feature request? How do I report a problem?

Feature requests and problems can be submitted through the user forum or using the Send Feedback link within the tool.