Abstract
What can Linux learn from DTrace: what went well, and what didn’t go well, on its path to success? This talk will discuss not just the DTrace software, but lessons from the marketing and adoption of a system tracer, and an inside look at how DTrace was really deployed and used in production environments. It will also cover ongoing problems with DTrace, and how Linux may surpass them and continue to advance the field of system tracing. A world expert and core contributor to DTrace, Brendan now works at Netflix on Linux performance with the various Linux tracers, and will summarize his experiences and suggestions for improvements (ftrace, perf_events, eBPF, SystemTap, ktap, sysdig, LTTng, and the DTrace Linux ports). He has also been contributing to various tracers: recently promoting ftrace and perf_events adoption through articles and front-end scripts, and testing eBPF.