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Boot Process Visualization

Posted by timothy on from the what-in-what-order dept.

zigam writes "The time needed to boot desktop Linux systems is becoming an issue. That's why I recently took the challenge posted by Red Hat's Owen Taylor on the Fedora developers list and came up with a tool for visualization of the boot process. It collects performance data during the boot up and then renders an SVG or PNG performance chart. It immediately helped Red Hat developers solve some issues and I have since received boot charts from other GNU/Linux developers as well. Solaris kernel developers reported success in improving their boot process too." Update: 12/15 20:04 GMT by T : Sorry, someone decided your time was worth wasting; no more mirrored bootchart.

26 of 536 comments (clear)

  1. IIS? by swordboy · · Score: 4, Funny

    No comments and your IIS web server is down. Nice.

    --

    Life is the leading cause of death in America.
    1. Re:IIS? by eviloverlordx · · Score: 2, Funny

      What the heck is he using IIS for? I would've thought it would be Apache...

      --
      'Loose' is when your pants are three sizes too big. 'Lose' is when you misuse 'loose'.
    2. Re:IIS? by Ingolfke · · Score: 5, Funny

      He was, but his Linux box just took so long to boot it wasn't worth the effort.

    3. Re:IIS? by Spetiam · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah, where's the tool for visualizing a server meltdown?

    4. Re:IIS? by 1010011010 · · Score: 3, Funny
      For shame! Double shame!



      HTTP 403.9 - Access Forbidden: Too many users [isn't one too many?] are connected
      Internet Information Services

      --
      Napster-to-go says "Fill and refill your compatible MP3 player", which is a lie. It's not MP3. It's WMA with DRM.
    5. Re:IIS? by Aeiri · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah, 8 seconds can feel too long for me sometimes.

  2. Mirror? by kmmatthews · · Score: 3, Funny
    Anyone have a mirror? That was the fastest slashdotting ever, .. 0 comments and his IIS server died.

    OTOH, it *is* IIS, it could die if you blink at it the wrong way. :)

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    feh. stuff.
    1. Re:Mirror? by kmmatthews · · Score: 3, Funny
      Huh? Anonymous coward will die if I blink the wrong way?

      *blinks furiously*

      --
      feh. stuff.
    2. Re:Mirror? by GT_Onizuka · · Score: 3, Funny

      You're still blinking the right way. They'll never die if you're doing it like that.

      --
      If you take out Country Kitchen buffet, old people won't know what to do.
  3. Reboot visualization by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 4, Funny

    I want similar charts of telemetry of a server as it goes down, like the forensics of a Slashdotting. Today's front-page feature should give zigam plenty of data to experiment with ;).

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    --
    make install -not war

    1. Re:Reboot visualization by which+way+is+up · · Score: 5, Funny

      I love it so much better when they go down sloooowwww. Oh yeah baby take your time...

      Oh, wait, are we talking about the same thing here?

    2. Re:Reboot visualization by justkarl · · Score: 2, Funny

      I want similar charts of telemetry of a server as it goes down, like the forensics of a Slashdotting.

      Easy peezy. Simply graph f(x)=x^2 and you'll have a graph of hits as a function of time where x=0 is where the link is posted on slashdot.

  4. What we really need by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is all fine and good, but what we really need is kernel boot music, a theme song if you will. Imagine a harmoniously syncronized beowulf cluster.....

    1. Re:What we really need by JPelorat · · Score: 2, Funny

      The Looooove Boooot, da da da da daaaaaa...

      --
      Hokey statistics and ancient misconceptions are no match for a good thought in your head, kid!
    2. Re:What we really need by techno-vampire · · Score: 3, Funny

      One neat way to do this would be to take a Bach fugue and give each box one voice. Not only would you get some fine background music during boot, you'd know if a machine hung during boot and which one.

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      Good, inexpensive web hosting
  5. Boot visualization? by cmpkilla · · Score: 3, Funny

    Bah! Here's an ascii visualization of your webserver:

    (X_X) <--- Dead in the water

    --
    "Mind over matter: If you don't mind, then it doesn't matter"
  6. heh by minus_273 · · Score: 5, Funny

    in case it is slashdotted here is a mirror of the chart.

    Linux ===============
    BSD ========

    --
    The war with islam is a war on the beast
    The war on terror is a war for peace
    1. Re:heh by Ingolfke · · Score: 3, Funny

      The graphic you were looking at did not download completely before the server went AWOL. The complete graphic looked like this.

      Linux ===============
      BSD ========(died)

  7. Coffee Anyone? by rogabean · · Score: 2, Funny

    "The time needed to boot desktop Linux systems is becoming an issue."

    You mean I'm not supposed to have time to make coffee?

    bad joke, but yeah the boot time is getting pretty bad these days on out of the box distros.

    --
    "why don't you just slip into something more comfortable...like a coma!"
    1. Re:Coffee Anyone? by Zorilla · · Score: 3, Funny

      Reminds me of an old Gateway 2000 commercial where a kid is waiting for a computer to start up. It goes through a montage of the kid screwing around in the garage waiting for it.

      "No, Mom! It's still starting!"

      One of my friends had a theory that held true (up until Windows XP) that Windows (and MacOS at the time, this was 1995) was harmonically tuned to boot up just as long as it would take you to get up and take a piss and come back.

      Though some of the Windows 2000 machines here at work make me think I have enough time to take a dump and come back. They're fast, just something is very wrong with them.

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      It would be cool if it didn't suck.
  8. I reboot every 497 days. by Hognoxious · · Score: 2, Funny

    Wow, me too. I think the shower draws too much current & pops the circuit breaker.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  9. Uhhhh, because its funny? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Particularly the IIs part, drool.

  10. Re:MOD UP PLEASE by bob670 · · Score: 3, Funny
    Where are you posting? This is /., the following always apply...

    1. MS = Evil

    2. IIS always sucks

    3. /.ers are smart enough to know better

    Any admin worth his wages knows better than to use IIS, steaming pile that it is. I know the button monkeys like it because it's easier than all that damn reading and knowledge that Apache requires, but it still sucks. And we could exclude Linux from this anyway (if we chose to), Apache runs on Wintel just fine, amongst many other platforms. That said, if you are here hawking your Linux tools there is something lame about hosting them on IIS.

  11. Re:Frustrated by OmegaBlac · · Score: 2, Funny
    I had some really witty comments all made up and ready to go, but since the site is down people might suspect I didn't read the article....
    I thought you knew by now nobody at /. RTFA. Everyone posting here is presumed to have not RTFA.
  12. Re:an issue is it??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Yes, how stupid of me to shut my laptop down when I'm not using it anymore. Stupidity is the only conceivable explanation.

  13. Hahahah by Lisandro · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Update: 12/15 19:32 GMT by T: An anonymous coward adds this mirrored version of one of the bootcharts."

    Have you actually bothered to check that link? It made me spit my Coke in laughter.