CoreFreq

Purpose

CoreFreq, a CPU monitoring software with BIOS like functionalities, is designed for the 64-bits Processors of architecture Intel Atom, Core2, Nehalem, SandyBridge and superiors; AMD Families 0Fh ... 17h (Zen), 18h (Hygon Dhyana)

CoreFreq provides a framework to retrieve CPU data with a high degree of precision:

• Core frequencies & ratios; SpeedStep (EIST), Turbo Boost, Hyper-Threading (HTT) and Base Clock
• Performance counters including Time Stamp Counter (TSC), Unhalted Core Cycles (UCC), Unhalted Reference Cycles (URC)
• Number of instructions per cycle or second, IPS, IPC, or CPI
• CPU C-States C0 C1 C3 C6 C7 - C1E - Auto/UnDemotion of C1 C3
• DTS Temperature and Tjunction Max, Thermal Monitoring TM1 TM2 state, Vcore
• Topology map including Caches for boostrap & application CPU
• Processor features, brand & architecture strings
• In progress: Uncore, Memory Controller channels & geometry, DIMM timings,
  Stress tools, Power & Energy (RAPL, OSPM, HWP, TDP), Overclocking, cpuidle & cpufreq driver, Mitigation Mechanisms

To reach this goal, CoreFreq implements a Linux Kernel module which employs the followings:

• asm code to keep as near as possible the readings of the performance counters;
• per-CPU, implements slab data memory and high-resolution timer;
• compliant with suspend / resume and CPU Hot-Plug;
• a shared memory to protect kernel from the user-space part of the software;
• atomic synchronization of threads to avoid mutexes and deadlock.

Build & Run

Prerequisites

a- Intel only: For a better accuracy, disable the Kernel NMI Watchdog

Add the below parameter in the kernel boot loader { Grub, SysLinux } ...

nmi_watchdog=0

... and build with the fixed performance counters

make MSR_CORE_PERF_UC=MSR_CORE_PERF_FIXED_CTR1 MSR_CORE_PERF_URC=MSR_CORE_PERF_FIXED_CTR2

b- AMD and Intel: No Virtualization

VMs don't provide access to the registers that the CoreFreq driver employs :

• Fixed Performance Counters
• Model Specific Registers
• PCI Registers

c- Rendering

The UI renders best with an ASCII 7-Bit console or Xterm with VT100 and ANSI colors support

Dependencies

• The Linux Kernel with a minimum version 3.3
• The GNU C Library

Build

1. Software needed:

• GNU C Compiler with GNU extensions
• GNU Make tool
• Linux Kernel Header files to build modules
  • Mandatory : CONFIG_MODULES, CONFIG_SMP, CONFIG_X86_MSR
  • Optionally: CONFIG_HOTPLUG_CPU, CONFIG_CPU_IDLE, CONFIG_CPU_FREQ, CONFIG_PM_SLEEP, CONFIG_DMI, CONFIG_XEN, CONFIG_AMD_NB, CONFIG_HAVE_PERF_EVENTS, CONFIG_SCHED_MUQSS, CONFIG_SCHED_BMQ

2. Clone the source code into a working directory.
   💲git clone https://github.com/cyring/CoreFreq.git

3. Build the programs.
   💲cd CoreFreq
   💲make

cc -Wall -pthread -c corefreqd.c -o corefreqd.o
cc -Wall -c corefreqm.c -o corefreqm.o
cc corefreqd.c corefreqm.c -o corefreqd -lpthread -lm -lrt
cc -Wall -c corefreq-cli.c -o corefreq-cli.o
cc -Wall -c corefreq-ui.c -o corefreq-ui.o
cc corefreq-cli.c corefreq-ui.c -o corefreq-cli -lm -lrt
make -C /lib/modules/x.y.z/build M=/workdir/CoreFreq modules
make[1]: Entering directory '/usr/lib/modules/x.y.z/build'
  CC [M]  /workdir/CoreFreq/corefreqk.o
  Building modules, stage 2.
  MODPOST 1 modules
  CC      /workdir/CoreFreq/corefreqk.mod.o
  LD [M]  /workdir/CoreFreq/corefreqk.ko
make[1]: Leaving directory '/usr/lib/modules/x.y.z/build'

4. (Optionally) Sign the driver If module signature verification is enabled into Kernel, you will have to sign the corefreqk.ko driver.

• See module-signing.rst from the Kernel documentation
• See the Gentoo Wiki

Install

Manual

5. Copying CoreFreq into the binaries directory
   #️⃣make install

Distribution package

6. Although CoreFreq is released in the ArchLinux AUR ; other sources of distribution may require to reload the systemd daemons:
   #️⃣systemctl daemon-reload

Start

7. When built from source code:

• Load the kernel module, from current directory, as root.
  #️⃣insmod corefreqk.ko
• Start the daemon, as root.
  #️⃣corefreqd
• Start the client, as a user (in another terminal or console).
  💲corefreq-cli

8. When manually installed or from a distribution package:

• Load the kernel module, as root.
  #️⃣modprobe corefreqk
• Start the daemon, as root.
  #️⃣systemctl start corefreqd
• Start the client, as a user.
  💲corefreq-cli

Stop

9. Press [CTRL]+[x] or [CTRL]+[C] to stop the client.

10. Press [CTRL]+[C] to stop the daemon (in foreground) or kill its background job.

11. Unload the kernel module
    #️⃣rmmod corefreqk.ko

Try

Download the CoreFreq Live CD from the Wiki

Screenshots

Linux kernel module

Use lsmod, dmesg or journalctl -k to check if the module is started:

CoreFreq: Processor [06_1A] Architecture [Nehalem/Bloomfield] CPU [8/8]

Daemon

CoreFreq Daemon.  Copyright (C) 2015-2020 CYRIL INGENIERIE

  Processor [Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz]
  Architecture [Nehalem/Bloomfield] 8/8 CPU Online.

Client

Without arguments, the corefreq-cli program displays Top Monitoring

Remark: Drawing will stall if the terminal width is lower than 80 columns, or its height is less than required.

• With the option '-c', the client traces counters.

• Using option '-m' corefreq-cli shows the CPU topology

• With the option '-i' corefreq-cli traces the number of instructions per second / cycle

CPU     IPS            IPC            CPI
#00     0.000579/s     0.059728/c    16.742698/i
#01     0.000334/s     0.150569/c     6.641471/i
#02     0.000598/s     0.161326/c     6.198641/i
#03     0.000294/s     0.233535/c     4.282013/i
#04     0.000240/s     0.042931/c    23.293141/i
#05     0.000284/s     0.158661/c     6.302765/i
#06     0.000128/s     0.128031/c     7.810631/i
#07     0.000088/s     0.150406/c     6.648674/i

• Use the option '-s' to show the Processor information (BSP)

ArchLinux

corefreq-git can be installed from the Arch User Repository.

Debian, Ubuntu

• Installing the DKMS package will pull the Kernel development packages
  #️⃣apt-get install dkms
• Or, install selectively the development packages prerequisites.
  #️⃣apt-get install libpthread-stubs0-dev

Red Hat, CentOS

• Development packages prerequisites.
  #️⃣yum install kernel-devel
  #️⃣yum group install "Development Tools"

Q&A

• Q: Turbo Technology is activated however CPUs don't reach those frequencies ?

• Q: The CPU ratio does not go above its minimum value ?

• Q: The UI shows erratic counters values !

  A: In the kernel boot command argument line, disable the NMI Watchdog
  nmi_watchdog=0

• Q: The Processor does not enter the C-States ?

  A: Check if at least one Idle driver is running.
  Accordingly to the Processor specs, provide a max_cstate value in the kernel argument as below.
  intel_idle.max_cstate=value
  A: CoreFreq can also register itself as a cpuidle driver.
  This time, any idle driver will have to be blacklisted in the kernel command line; such as:
  modprobe.blacklist=intel_cstate idle=halt intel_idle.max_cstate=0
  Start the CoreFreq driver with the Register_CPU_Idle parameter:
  #️⃣insmod corefreqk.ko Register_CPU_Idle=1

• Q: The CoreFreq UI refreshes itself slowly, with a delay after the actual CPUs usage ?

  A: The sampling time to read the counters can be reduced or increased using a CoreFreq module argument:
  #️⃣insmod corefreqk.ko SleepInterval=value
  where <value> is supplied in milliseconds between a minimum of 100 ms and a maximum of 4500 ms. 1000 ms is the default value.

• Q: The base clock reports a wrong frequency value ?

  A: CoreFreq uses various algorithms to estimate the base clock.

  1. The delta of two TimeStamp counters during a defined interval
  2. The value provided in the Processor brand string divided by the maximum ratio (without Turbo)
  3. A static value advertised by the manufacturer specs.
  4. The MSR_FSB_FREQ bits provided with the Core, Core2 and Atom architectures.

  The CoreFreq module can be started as follow to ignore the first algorithm (frequency estimation):
  #️⃣insmod corefreqk.ko AutoClock=0

  Remark: algorithms # 2, 3 and 4 will not return any under/over-clock frequency.

• Q: The CPU temperature is wrong ?

  A: CoreFreq employs two msr to calculate the temperature.
  MSR_IA32_TEMPERATURE_TARGET - MSR_IA32_THERM_STATUS [DTS]

  Remark: if the MSR_IA32_TEMPERATURE_TARGET is not provided by the Processor, a default value of 100 degree Celsius is considered as a target.

• Q: The menu option "Memory Controller" does not open any window ?

  A: Although Uncore and IMC features are under development, they can be activated with the Experimental driver argument:
  #️⃣insmod corefreqk.ko Experimental=1

• Q: The Instructions and PMC0 counters are stuck to zero ?

  A: The PCE bit of control register CR4 allows RDPMC in ring 3
  #️⃣echo "2" > /sys/devices/cpu/rdpmc
  #️⃣insmod corefreqk.ko RDPMC_Enable=1

• Q: How to solely control the OSPM or the HWP Performance P-States ?

  A: Without the Kernel cpufreq framework (aka CONFIG_CPU_FREQ), CoreFreq will take the full control over P-States.
  This allow the User to select a capped frequency from the UI, either per Core, either for the whole Processor.

  A: With cpufreq built into Kernel, allow CoreFreq to register as a cpufreq driver.
  In the Kernel boot command line, two ways:

1. disable cpufreq with the Kernel parameter
   cpufreq.off=1
2. blacklist any P-state driver; such as:
   modprobe.blacklist=acpi_cpufreq,pcc_cpufreq intel_pstate=disable
   next, load the CoreFreq driver with its Register_CPU_Freq parameter:
   #️⃣insmod corefreqk.ko Register_CPU_Freq=1

• Q: The CPU freeze or the System crash.

  A: This Processor is not or partially implemented in CoreFreq.
  Please open an issue in the CPU support Wiki page.

• Q: What are the parameters of the CoreFreq driver ?

  A: Use the modinfo command to list them:

$ modinfo corefreqk.ko
parm:           ArchID:Force an architecture (ID) (int)
parm:           AutoClock:Auto estimate the clock frequency (int)
parm:           SleepInterval:Timer interval (ms) (uint)
parm:           TickInterval:System requested interval (ms) (uint)
parm:           Experimental:Enable features under development (int)
parm:           Target_Ratio_Unlock:1:Target Ratio Unlock; 0:Lock (short)
parm:           Clock_Ratio_Unlock:1:MinRatio; 2:MaxRatio; 3:Both Unlock (short)
parm:           Turbo_Ratio_Unlock:1:Turbo Ratio Unlock; 0:Lock (short)
parm:           Uncore_Ratio_Unlock:1:Uncore Ratio Unlock; 0:Lock (short)
parm:           ServiceProcessor:Select a CPU to run services with (int)
parm:           RDPMC_Enable:Enable RDPMC bit in CR4 register (ushort)
parm:           NMI_Disable:Disable the NMI Handler (ushort)
parm:           PkgCStateLimit:Package C-State Limit (short)
parm:           IOMWAIT_Enable:I/O MWAIT Redirection Enable (short)
parm:           CStateIORedir:Power Mgmt IO Redirection C-State (short)
parm:           SpeedStep_Enable:Enable SpeedStep (short)
parm:           C1E_Enable:Enable SpeedStep C1E (short)
parm:           TurboBoost_Enable:Enable Turbo Boost (short)
parm:           C3A_Enable:Enable C3 Auto Demotion (short)
parm:           C1A_Enable:Enable C3 Auto Demotion (short)
parm:           C3U_Enable:Enable C3 UnDemotion (short)
parm:           C1U_Enable:Enable C1 UnDemotion (short)
parm:           CC6_Enable:Enable Core C6 State (short)
parm:           PC6_Enable:Enable Package C6 State (short)
parm:           ODCM_Enable:Enable On-Demand Clock Modulation (short)
parm:           ODCM_DutyCycle:ODCM DutyCycle [0-7] | [0-14] (short)
parm:           PowerMGMT_Unlock:Unlock Power Management (short)
parm:           PowerPolicy:Power Policy Preference [0-15] (short)
parm:           PState_FID:P-State Frequency Id (int)
parm:           PState_VID:P-State Voltage Id (int)
parm:           HWP_Enable:Hardware-Controlled Performance States (short)
parm:           HWP_EPP:Energy Performance Preference (short)
parm:           Clear_Events:Clear Thermal and Power Events (uint)
parm:           ThermalScope:[0:None; 1:SMT; 2:Core; 3:Package] (int)
parm:           VoltageScope:[0:None; 1:SMT; 2:Core; 3:Package] (int)
parm:           PowerScope:[0:None; 1:SMT; 2:Core; 3:Package] (int)
parm:           Register_CPU_Idle:Register the Kernel cpuidle driver (short)
parm:           Register_Governor:Register the Kernel governor (short)
parm:           Register_CPU_Freq:Register the Kernel cpufreq driver (short)
parm:           Mech_IBRS:Mitigation Mechanism IBRS (short)
parm:           Mech_STIBP:Mitigation Mechanism STIBP (short)
parm:           Mech_SSBD:Mitigation Mechanism SSBD (short)
parm:           Mech_IBPB:Mitigation Mechanism IBPB (short)
parm:           Mech_L1D_FLUSH:Mitigation Mechanism Cache L1D Flush (short)

Algorithm

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