[PATCH] proc.5: Document /proc/[pid]/io file

[PATCH] proc.5: Document /proc/[pid]/io file

[Peter Schiffer]

Attempt to document fields in the /proc/[pid]/io file, based on the
Documentation/filesystems/proc.txt. The text will probably need some 
grammar corrections.

Signed-off-by: Peter Schiffer <pschiffe-H+wXaHxf7aLQT0dZR+AlfA@public.gmane.org>
---
  man5/proc.5 | 95 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++---
  1 file changed, 91 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/man5/proc.5 b/man5/proc.5
index 375a131..6fd4543 100644
--- a/man5/proc.5
+++ b/man5/proc.5
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@
  .\" to see what information could be imported from that file
  .\" into this file.
  .\"
-.TH PROC 5 2013-06-27 "Linux" "Linux Programmer's Manual"
+.TH PROC 5 2013-07-30 "Linux" "Linux Programmer's Manual"
  .SH NAME
  proc \- process information pseudo-file system
  .SH DESCRIPTION
@@ -350,9 +350,96 @@ file access mode and file status flags (see
  .BR open (2)).

  The files in this directory are readable only by the owner of the process.
-.\" FIXME document /proc/[pid]/io
-.\" .TP
-.\" .IR /proc/[pid]/io " (since kernel 2.6.20)"
+.TP
+.IR /proc/[pid]/io " (since kernel 2.6.20)"
+This file contains IO statistics for each running process, for example:
+.in +4n
+.nf
+
+.RB "#" " cat /proc/3828/io"
+rchar: 323934931
+wchar: 323929600
+syscr: 632687
+syscw: 632675
+read_bytes: 0
+write_bytes: 323932160
+cancelled_write_bytes: 0
+.fi
+.in
+
+The fields are as follows:
+.RS
+.IP * 2
+.IR rchar :
+chars read
+
+The number of bytes which this task has caused to be read from storage.
+This is simply the sum of bytes which this process passed to
+.BR read (2)
+and
+.BR pread (2).
+It includes things like tty IO and it is unaffected by whether or not 
actual
+physical disk IO was required (the read might have been satisfied from
+pagecache).
+.IP *
+.IR wchar :
+chars written
+
+The number of bytes which this task has caused, or shall cause to be 
written
+to disk.
+Similar caveats apply here as with
+.IR rchar .
+.IP *
+.IR syscr :
+read syscalls
+
+Attempt to count the number of read I/O operations, i.e. syscalls like
+.BR read (2)
+and
+.BR pread (2).
+.IP *
+.IR syscw :
+write syscalls
+
+Attempt to count the number of write I/O operations, i.e. syscalls like
+.BR write (2)
+and
+.BR pwrite (2).
+.IP *
+.IR read_bytes :
+bytes read
+
+Attempt to count the number of bytes which this process really did cause to
+be fetched from the storage layer.
+This is accurate for block-backed filesystems.
+.IP *
+.IR write_bytes :
+bytes written
+
+Attempt to count the number of bytes which this process caused to be 
sent to
+the storage layer.
+.IP *
+.IR cancelled_write_bytes :
+
+The big inaccuracy here is truncate.
+If a process writes 1MB to a file and then deletes the file,
+it will in fact perform no writeout.
+But it will have been accounted as having caused 1MB of write.
+In other words: this field represents number of bytes which this process
+caused to not happen, by truncating pagecache.
+A task can cause "negative" IO too.
+If this task truncates some dirty pagecache,
+some IO which another task has been accounted for
+(in its write_bytes) will not be happening.
+.IP
+.IR Note :
+
+At its current implementation state, this is a bit racy on 32-bit systems:
+if process A reads process B's
+.I /proc/[pid]/io
+while process B is updating one of those 64-bit counters,
+process A could see an intermediate result.
+.RE
  .TP
  .IR /proc/[pid]/limits " (since kernel 2.6.24)"
  This file displays the soft limit, hard limit, and units of measurement
-- 
1.8.3.1
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Re: [PATCH] proc.5: Document /proc/[pid]/io file

[Michael Kerrisk (man-pages)]

On 07/30/13 17:24, Peter Schiffer wrote:
> Attempt to document fields in the /proc/[pid]/io file, based on the
> Documentation/filesystems/proc.txt. The text will probably need some 
> grammar corrections.

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the patch. But, not that your mailer munged the 
patch, so  I had to fix by hand. I've applied it.

Thanks,

Michael


> Signed-off-by: Peter Schiffer <pschiffe-H+wXaHxf7aLQT0dZR+AlfA@public.gmane.org>
> ---
>   man5/proc.5 | 95 
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++---
>   1 file changed, 91 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/man5/proc.5 b/man5/proc.5
> index 375a131..6fd4543 100644
> --- a/man5/proc.5
> +++ b/man5/proc.5
> @@ -59,7 +59,7 @@
>   .\" to see what information could be imported from that file
>   .\" into this file.
>   .\"
> -.TH PROC 5 2013-06-27 "Linux" "Linux Programmer's Manual"
> +.TH PROC 5 2013-07-30 "Linux" "Linux Programmer's Manual"
>   .SH NAME
>   proc \- process information pseudo-file system
>   .SH DESCRIPTION
> @@ -350,9 +350,96 @@ file access mode and file status flags (see
>   .BR open (2)).
> 
>   The files in this directory are readable only by the owner of the process.
> -.\" FIXME document /proc/[pid]/io
> -.\" .TP
> -.\" .IR /proc/[pid]/io " (since kernel 2.6.20)"
> +.TP
> +.IR /proc/[pid]/io " (since kernel 2.6.20)"
> +This file contains IO statistics for each running process, for example:
> +.in +4n
> +.nf
> +
> +.RB "#" " cat /proc/3828/io"
> +rchar: 323934931
> +wchar: 323929600
> +syscr: 632687
> +syscw: 632675
> +read_bytes: 0
> +write_bytes: 323932160
> +cancelled_write_bytes: 0
> +.fi
> +.in
> +
> +The fields are as follows:
> +.RS
> +.IP * 2
> +.IR rchar :
> +chars read
> +
> +The number of bytes which this task has caused to be read from storage.
> +This is simply the sum of bytes which this process passed to
> +.BR read (2)
> +and
> +.BR pread (2).
> +It includes things like tty IO and it is unaffected by whether or not 
> actual
> +physical disk IO was required (the read might have been satisfied from
> +pagecache).
> +.IP *
> +.IR wchar :
> +chars written
> +
> +The number of bytes which this task has caused, or shall cause to be 
> written
> +to disk.
> +Similar caveats apply here as with
> +.IR rchar .
> +.IP *
> +.IR syscr :
> +read syscalls
> +
> +Attempt to count the number of read I/O operations, i.e. syscalls like
> +.BR read (2)
> +and
> +.BR pread (2).
> +.IP *
> +.IR syscw :
> +write syscalls
> +
> +Attempt to count the number of write I/O operations, i.e. syscalls like
> +.BR write (2)
> +and
> +.BR pwrite (2).
> +.IP *
> +.IR read_bytes :
> +bytes read
> +
> +Attempt to count the number of bytes which this process really did cause to
> +be fetched from the storage layer.
> +This is accurate for block-backed filesystems.
> +.IP *
> +.IR write_bytes :
> +bytes written
> +
> +Attempt to count the number of bytes which this process caused to be 
> sent to
> +the storage layer.
> +.IP *
> +.IR cancelled_write_bytes :
> +
> +The big inaccuracy here is truncate.
> +If a process writes 1MB to a file and then deletes the file,
> +it will in fact perform no writeout.
> +But it will have been accounted as having caused 1MB of write.
> +In other words: this field represents number of bytes which this process
> +caused to not happen, by truncating pagecache.
> +A task can cause "negative" IO too.
> +If this task truncates some dirty pagecache,
> +some IO which another task has been accounted for
> +(in its write_bytes) will not be happening.
> +.IP
> +.IR Note :
> +
> +At its current implementation state, this is a bit racy on 32-bit systems:
> +if process A reads process B's
> +.I /proc/[pid]/io
> +while process B is updating one of those 64-bit counters,
> +process A could see an intermediate result.
> +.RE
>   .TP
>   .IR /proc/[pid]/limits " (since kernel 2.6.24)"
>   This file displays the soft limit, hard limit, and units of measurement
> 

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