Lock Stall Analysis - 2022.1 English

The Performance Metrics analysis tab can help identify if the lock stall needs to be analyzed. The following steps illustrate how a lock stall can be analyzed starting in the Vitis Analyzer.

1. Select the Trace view.
2. Select the Stalls view and select Lock Stalls from the drop-down list.
   Tip: The Stalls view is available with the Trace view, Graph view, and Array view.
   Figure 1. Lock Stall in Trace View
   Each stall has the following information associated with it.

   Stall ID

   The lock stall is named LS_<NUM>. The number is unique across all types of stalls. The earlier the stall happens, the smaller the number.

   Stalled Tile

   The AI Engine tile where the stalled kernel is located.

   Stalled Kernel

   The kernel that is stalled. It is named <Kernel_function_name>.<Schedule_ID>.<Graph_instance_name>. Sometimes it is shown as _main and then cross-probe is required to find the real kernel function.

   Start (ns)

   The start time of the stall.

   Duration (ns)

   The duration of the stall.

   PC

   Program counter when the stall happens.

   Type

   The stalled kernel tries to read or write the buffer.

   Buffer

   The buffer that the stalled kernel tries to read or write.

   Port

   The port of the stalled kernel that tries to read or write the buffer.

   Lock Holder

   The source that is holding the lock of the buffer.

   Related Stall

   Other stalls that can cause a stall.

   Tip: The items in blue can be cross-probed with other views.

3. Select one row of the stall. It will go to the start of the stall in Trace view. It is optional to filter all the signals that are related to the stall by right-clicking the stall and choosing Filter Trace. In Trace view, the signals related to the stall are shown. Non-related signals are hidden. Exploring the trace is easier when the design is large.
   Tip: Filter Trace may not show signals related to the related stalls.
4. Trace view can be used to view the lock stall in timeline. For a specific lock stall, it can be seen when the write lock and read lock are allocated. From the position of the stall and events before and after the stall, the reason for the stall can be analyzed. For example, if write lock has already been allocated and the lock type is Read, then it indicates that the buffer has not been released by the producer. The consumer is waiting for it to be readable. The producer can be found in the Lock Holder.
5. To clear the previously filtered trace, right-click and choose Clear All Filters.
6. It is usually helpful to have an overview of the stall path in Graph view. Select Graph view and then select Tile View from the drop-down list in the view. Tile view of Graph view shows graph in AI Engine tiles.
   Figure 2. Lock Stall in Graph View
7. If the Stalls view is not shown, select Lock Stalls from the drop-down list and choose the stall to be analyzed. It will highlight the related paths in the Tile view of the Graph view.
8. The red path shows where the stall occurs. The blue path shows the source to where the stall occurs.
9. Click the PC value. This opens the source code and goes to the line where the stall happens.