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A master's thesis from Aalborg University
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Thor: A tool for detecting energy hotspots in software

Authors

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Term

4. term

Education

Publication year

2024

Submitted on

Pages

76

Abstract

Previous tools can find energy hotspots in software by estimating how much energy different parts of a system use. We designed and built Thor, a tool that instead measures energy use directly using Intel's Running Average Power Limit (RAPL), a mechanism that reports power and energy. Thor uses static instrumentation—adding measurement points to the code before it runs—and currently supports C# and JavaScript, with the option to extend to more programming languages. We evaluated Thor in two tests on a system running Ubuntu Server. In the first, we compared it with an existing hotspot detection method; Thor found the same hotspots and reported similar energy usage. In the second, more complex test, Thor also detected the hotspots.

Tidligere værktøjer har kunnet finde hotspots i software ved at estimere energiforbruget i forskellige dele af et system. Vi har designet og udviklet et værktøj, Thor, som i stedet måler energiforbrug direkte ved hjælp af Intels Running Average Power Limit (RAPL), en mekanisme der rapporterer strøm-/energiforbrug. Thor bruger statisk instrumentering – vi tilføjer målepunkter i koden, før programmet kører – og understøtter C# og JavaScript med mulighed for at udvide til flere programmeringssprog. Vi testede Thor med to tests på et system, der kørte Ubuntu Server. I den første sammenlignede vi med en eksisterende metode til at finde hotspots; Thor fandt de samme hotspots og rapporterede lignende energiforbrug. I den anden, mere komplekse test, fandt Thor også hotspots.

[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]