<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <Title>Phoronix Test Suite - Tips & Tricks</Title> <link href="includes/pts-documentation.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> </head> <body> <div id="pts_doc_header"><div class="pts_doc_fixed"><a href="http://www.phoronix-test-suite.com/"><div id="pts_doc_logo"></div></a></div></div> <div class="pts_doc_fixed"> <div class="pts_doc_notice"><div style="float: left"><a href="index.html"><< Documentation Home</a></div><div style="float: right;">Tips & Tricks</div></div> <div class="pts_doc_main"> <!-- PTS AREA --> <h1>Tips & Tricks</h1> <p>This page shares some tips and tricks about the Phoronix Test Suite as well as some random information that some users may find useful.</p> <h2>General</h2> <p>- The desktop's screensaver will automatically be shutdown when a test is running and will be restored to its previous state upon the test's completion. This should work for GNOME, KDE, and other XDG-supportive desktop environments.</p> <p>- How do I find tests that are in a suite? Run <em>phoronix-test-suite info NAME-OF-SUITE</em> and (along with other information) a tree will be displayed that recursively shows the tests (along with any sub-suites) inside. To find suites that utilize a particular test, run <em>phoronix-test-suite info NAME-OF-TEST</em> and it will show that information too.</p> <h2>Running</h2> <p>- When running a test in batch mode (through the use of the <em>batch-run</em> or <em>batch-benchmark</em> options) that normally has end-user options (such as the sub-test to run or resolution), the Phoronix Test Suite will run the test with each unique combination of options possible.</p> <p>- When being prompted for the test identifier or the file name for saving the results, several user variables are supported. These include <em>$VIDEO_RESOLUTION</em>, <em>$VIDEO_CARD</em>, <em>$OPERATING_SYSTEM</em>, <em>$PROCESSOR</em>, <em>$MOTHERBOARD</em>, <em>$CHIPSET</em>, and <em>$KERNEL_VERSION</em>. If any of these variables are entered, the Phoronix Test Suite will replace them with their respective values before saving the results.</p> <p>- If <em>RemoveDownloadFiles</em> is set to <em>TRUE</em> within the <em>user-config.xml</em> file, once a test has been installed the originally downloaded files for that test will be automatically removed. This conserves disk space but will cause these files to be re-downloaded the next time the test needs to be re-installed. This will also not back up the downloaded files to the Phoronix Test Suite download cache. Enabling this option is just recommended for users with very limited disk space.</p> <p>- If the amount of video memory for your graphics card is incorrectly reported by the Phoronix Test Suite (you can check by running <em>phoronix-test-suite diagnostics</em>), you can use the <em>VIDEO_MEMORY=</em> environmental variable for overriding the video memory capacity (in Megabytes) used by the Phoronix Test Suite.</p> <p>- If the <em>DISPLAY</em> environmental variable is not set or <em>NO_GRAPHICS_TESTS</em> environmental variable is set, tests of type <em>Graphics</em> will not be run. Likewise, if <em>NO_SYSTEM_TESTS</em> environmental variable is set, tests of type <em>System</em> will not run. This applies to all test types where <em>NO_<TEST TYPE>_TESTS</em> is set.</p> <p>- If while running multiple tests you want to quit the testing prematurely, in a new terminal window type <em>touch ~/.phoronix-test-suite/halt-testing</em>. All results for tests that had already run will be saved (permitting you opted to save the results), except for the test currently being run.</p> <p>- If you want the specified test(s) to run in a loop for a set period of time, use the <em>TOTAL_LOOP_TIME</em> environmental variable. For instance, running <em>TOTAL_LOOP_TIME=120 phoronix-test-suite benchmark ffmpeg</em> would keep running the ffmpeg test profile for 120 minutes.</p> <p>- If you want the specified test(s) to run in a loop for a set number of times, use the <em>TOTAL_LOOP_COUNT</em> environmental variable. For instance, running <em>TOTAL_LOOP_COUNT=3 phoronix-test-suite benchmark ffmpeg</em> would keep running the ffmpeg test profile three times.</p> <h2>Support</h2> <p>- The Phoronix Test Suite really appreciates and welcomes independent code contributions, patches, new tests/suites, etc... :)</p> <p>- If you are just an individual user that enjoys the Phoronix Test Suite, and not an ISV/IHV interested in submitting products for review at <a href="http://www.phoronix.com/">Phoronix.com</a> or a company interested in professional/enterprise support of the Phoronix Test Suite by Phoronix Media, another way to support this project is by becoming a Phoronix Premium subscriber @ <a href="http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=phoronix_premium">http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=phoronix_premium</a>. You may also contact us (phoronix [at] phoronix.com) for additional information or ideas.</p> <h2>Configuration</h2> <p>- The user configuration options for the Phoronix Test Suite are stored in <em>~/.phoronix-test-suite/user-config.xml</em>. The batch mode options are also stored within this file and those can be adjusted by running <em>phoronix-test-suite batch-setup</em>.</p> <p>- The colors, size, and other attributes for the graphs found within the PTS Results Viewer can be modified via the file <em>~/.phoronix-test-suite/graph-config.xml</em>. A description of the XML tags can be found by looking at the comments within <em>pts-core/library/pts-interfaces.php</em> and <em>pts-core/objects/pts_CustomGraph.php</em>. No matter the graph type, the same generic <em>graph-config.xml</em> configuration is used.</p> <h2>Test / Suite Writing</h2> <p>- The Phoronix Test Suite recursively determines tests/suites and allows a suite to call another suite.</p> <p>- One of the quickest and easiest ways to understand how to write a profile is by just looking at the some of the existing profiles within the <em>pts/</em> folder.</p> <p>- The XML syntax for all file specifications are defined within <em>pts-core/library/pts-interfaces.php</em> and trailing each definition is a comment describing its purpose / value.</p> <h2>Module Writing</h2> <p>- By writing a PTS module, you can easily extend the functionality of the Phoronix Test Suite. Some examples are being able to email the results upon completion, controlling the system's screensaver, updating a text LCD panel with the current test status, etc.</p> <p>- One of the quickest and easiest ways to understand how to write a profile is by just looking at the some of the existing modules within the <em>pts-core/modules</em> folder. The Phoronix Test Suite has support for both shell and PHP modules.</p> <h2>Debugging</h2> <p>- Setting <em>DEBUG=1</em> as an environmental variable prior to running the Phoronix Test Suite will put it in a diagnostics mode. In this mode, additional information may be printed to the standard output to help developers or test maintainers debug problems. In the case of using the <em>list-tests</em> or <em>list-suites</em> in the diagnostics mode, different information will be outputted that's more relevant to Phoronix Test Suite developers.</p> <p>- To save the debugging output, set <em>DEBUG_FILE=name-of-file</em> as an environmental variable and the results will be saved to <em>~/.phoronix-test-suite/debug-messages/name-of-file</em>.</p> <!-- END OF PTS AREA --> </div></div><div class="pts_doc_fixed"><div class="pts_doc_bottom"><div style="float: left;"><a href="http://www.phoronix-test-suite.com/">Phoronix-Test-Suite.com</a></div><div style="float: right;">Copyright © 2008 by <a href="http://www.phoronix-media.com/">Phoronix Media</a>.</div></div></div> </body> </html>