6 Using the HP Caliper Advisor

This chapter introduces you to the HP Caliper Advisor and provides some example programs to show you how to get started using the Advisor from the command line. For information on how to use the Advisor in the HP Caliper graphical user interface (GUI), see Chapter 7 (page 86).

For details about how to write rules for the Advisor, see the HP Caliper Advisor Rule Writer Guide.

What Is the HP Caliper Advisor?

The HP Caliper Advisor is a rules-based expert system designed to provide guidance about improving the performance of an application. It does not make any performance measurements itself. Instead, it analyzes the data collected by previous HP Caliper runs. It can answer questions such as:

•Where do I begin to understand my program's performance?

•What does a particular metric mean?

•What is the “normal” range for a particular performance metric?

•Which measurement(s) should I make next?

•I know that a particular performance problem is happening, and what can I do to change it?

•I made a change, but did it really improve the performance of my application?

The Advisor analyzes individual executable programs. Future releases of HP Caliper are expected to provide advice on system and shared library performance issues.

Limitations to Keep in Mind

The HP Caliper Advisor can only analyze the performance data it is given. It is possible that an existing performance problem might be “hidden” from analysis and, therefore, not reported on.

Some of the advice given might not be applicable in your situation. The performance issue(s) found are valid, but might be simply a characteristic of your application and not a problem.

Example of an HP Caliper Advisor Report

Example 1 shows an example of an HP Caliper Advisor report.

What Is the HP Caliper Advisor? 77