Perforator – cluster-wide profiling tool for large data centers
Hey HN! We are happy to share Perforator – our internal cluster-wide profiler with great support for native languages and a built-in AutoFDO pipeline to simplify sPGO builds. Perforator allows you to profile most binaries without having to recompile or adjust the build process. We use it at Yandex to profile each pod inside a large cluster at modest speed (99Hz), collecting petabytes of profiles every day. There's a blog post about it at https://medium.com/yandex/yandexs-high-performance-profiler-.... Inspired by Google-Wide Profiling, we started continuous profiling…
In plain words
Perforator is a cluster-wide profiling tool developed by Yandex for large data centers that profiles native language binaries without requiring recompilation or build changes. It operates at modest overhead (99Hz sampling) across production clusters, collecting performance data at scale using eBPF technology. The tool includes an AutoFDO pipeline for simplified profile-guided optimization builds and generates flamegraphs for detailed visibility into production binary behavior. It is designed for organizations running large containerized systems that need continuous performance profiling.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hey HN! We are happy to share Perforator – our internal cluster-wide profiler with great support for native languages and a built-in AutoFDO pipeline to simplify sPGO builds. Perforator allows you to profile most binaries without having to recompile or adjust the build process. We use it at Yandex to profile each pod inside a large cluster at modest speed (99Hz), collecting petabytes of profiles every day. There's a blog post about it at https://medium.com/yandex/yandexs-high-performance-profiler-.... Inspired by Google-Wide Profiling, we started continuous profiling years ago with simple tools like poormansprofiler.org. With the rise of eBPF, we came up with a simple and elegant solution providing detailed profiles without noticeable overhead. Pretty wild when you can see the guts of your production binaries in a flamegraph without them even noticing. Some technical details: - Our main contribution is infrastructure for continuous PGO using AutoFDO. Google and Meta have done tremendous work on building PGO infrastructure, and we made the last missing piece of the puzzle to make this work well and scalable. - Native binaries are profiled through eh_frame analysis, interpreted/JIT-compiled languages are profiled through perf-pid.map or hardcoded structure offsets. - We render profiles in multiple ways, the most common one is a fast implementation of FlameGraphs, rendering 1M frames in 100ms. - We provide Helm charts to easily deploy Perforator on your k8s cluster. - You can use Perforator in standalone mode as a replacement for perf record. I'd love to answer your questions about the tool!
More life & fun this month
the category →- TL
Life & fun · 10d ago · louisabraham.github.io
Photosynthesis fires two of your iPhone
Life & fun · 28d ago · photosynthesis.camera
SoloUno▲310Take control of hair pulling, nail biting & skin picking
Life & fun · 28d ago · solouno.io
Scroll through all 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 reachable Rubik's Cube permutations.
Life & fun · 26d ago · everycube.alen.is
Hi HN, I built Eigendrum, a web tool that solves the 2D wave equation for arbitrary shapes so you can hear what they sound like as drums. How it works: * Solves -∇²u = λu using finite element analysis (Kφ = λMφ) on a triangle mesh. * Validated to <0.1% error against closed-form solutions for circles (Bessel zeros) and rectangles. * Sound model factors in strike location, Rayleigh damping, and mallet width. * Includes Kac drums I & II to demonstrate identical sound spectra from different geometries. * No frameworks, build steps, or dependencies. Repo and tests:…
Life & fun · 26d ago · baselashraf81.github.io
Launched alongside, February 2025
the whole month →
Screen Studio 3.0▲1,833Beautiful screen recordings with instant shareable links
Growth · 2025 · screen.studio
- IG
I was at FB/Meta from late 2013 to early 2023, mostly working in the compiler/runtime spaces. I got hit in the spring 2023 layoff wave. I immediately started making games in my newfound free time (a lifelong interest, and I even worked in AA(A?) back ca. ~2000), and in October 2023 I stumbled upon the idea of a roguelike pachinko/plinko game inspired by Luck Be A Landlord. Things snowballed quickly, I started talking to publishers, then worked like crazy through all of 2024, almost the hardest I've ever worked in my career, and launched the game in December 2024. It's sold…
Work · 2025
- IB
i wanted to change the habit of reaching for my phone in the morning and doomscrolling away an hour so i built an app to help me. now i have to literally touch grass before accessing my most distracting apps the app is built in swiftui, uses the screen time apis provided by apple and google vision to recognise grass or not i'd love to get your thoughts on the concept.
Life & fun · 2025 · touchgrass.now