Re: glibc recompile - optimized for G5 cpu target
Hi Peter,
On Jan 4, 2016, at 4:02 PM, Peter Saisanas <psaisanas@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
> This has been playing in my mind for a while and wondering if i could get some feedback from others.
>
> I assume glibc typically available in the Debian repo's has been compiled for a generic ppc32 target and the ricer in me wants to try and extract some more performance.
>
> If i were to recompile glibc and target it for a G5 cpu with optimizations (i.e. o3, altivec, etc, etc), do you think there could be much benefit in terms of improved general performance and responsiveness of a typical desktop install of Debian on PPC?
>
> Perhaps this is more a question of is the latest gcc available in Debian testing able to improve performance of glibc if compiled specifically for G5 target (-n32 i assume) instead of a generic ppc32 target (which i assume is typically what Debian packages are compiled for).
>
> I have found a guide which obviously was originally for intended for x86, but could be a starting point as an experiment for myself.
> Link below:
> http://notes.ponderworthy.com/rebuild-glibc-optimized-for-your-cpu-in-debian-testing-as-a-local-package-version
>
> I realize this is pretty risky and i stand a good chance of hosing my install but just wondering if others had some experience attempting this possibly before i waste my time.
>
> Just as equally as i stand a chance of hosing my install, i guess it can also perform worse than or be unstable. Who knows?
>
> I know, this is more a Gentoo thing and unsupported (just as unsupported as custom kernels on Debian).
> Looking for advice if you think this is worthwhile! At minimum, it would be a good learning experience for myself.
>
> Regards,
> Peter
Couple of questions:
*) Can you test (at least for benchmark purposes) a new glibc in a chroot without messing up your working system?
*) Do the new features of systemd aimed at keeping projects separated from one another help any?
*) If you do get an optimized glibc for powerpc64 and it turns out to improve performance dramatically, what options are there available for getting it into mainline Debian?
Given positive answers to those questions, I’d volunteer to help test it…
Enjoy!
Rick
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