DTrace Providers

By Ifeyinwa Okoye and John Stearns, August 2006

DTrace Providers

Provider	Description

`dtrace`	Provides several probes related to DTrace itself. Use these probes to initialize state before tracing begins, process state after tracing has completed, and handle unexpected execution errors in other probes.
`lockstat`	Provides probes that can be used to discern lock contention statistics, or to understand virtually any aspect of locking behavior.
`profile`	Provides probes associated with a time-based interrupt firing every fixed, specified time interval.
`fbt`	Provides probes associated with the entry to and return from most functions in the Solaris kernel.
`syscall`	Provides a probe at the entry to and return from every system call in the system.
`sdt`	Provides probes at sites that a programmer has formally designated. This provider allows programmers to choose locations of interest to DTrace users and convey some knowledge about each location through the probe name.
`sysinfo`	Provides probes that correspond to kernel statistics classified by the name `sys`.
`vminfo`	Provides probes that correspond to the `vm` kernel statistics.
`proc`	Provides probes pertaining to the following activities: process creation and termination, LWP creation and termination, execution of new program images, and sending and handling signals.
`sched`	Provides probes related to CPU scheduling. Because a CPU is the one resource that all threads must consume, the `sched` provider is very useful for understanding systemic behavior.
`io`	Provides probes related to disk input and output.
`mib`	Provides probes that correspond to counters in the Solaris management information bases (MIBs).
`fpuinfo`	Provides probes that correspond to the simulation of floating-point instructions on SPARC microprocessors.
`pid`	Allows for tracing of the entry and return of any function in a user process as well as any instruction as specified by an absolute address or function offset.
`plockstat`	Provides probes that can be used to observe the behavior of user-level synchronization primitives, including lock contention and hold times.
`fasttrap`	Allows for tracing at specific, preprogrammed user process locations.