Accurate offline synchronization of distributed traces using kernel-level events

Abstract

Tracing has proven to be a valuable tool for identifying functional and performance problems. In order to use it on distributed nodes, the timestamps in the traces need to be precisely synchronized. The objective of this work is to improve synchronization of traces recorded on distributed nodes. We aim for high precision and low intrusiveness. In this paper, we present an offline trace synchronization algorithm that is directly applicable to pairs of nodes and that can report approximate bounds on accuracy over short tracing durations. We also present an efficient implementation of this algorithm and an experimental study of parameters that affect synchronization accuracy.