The kernel has a special check for irq_vectors trace event. TRACE_EVENT_PERF_PERM(irq_work_exit, is_sampling_event(p_event) ? -EPERM : 0);
The perf-record is failed for irq_vectors event if using a wildcard. root@skl:/tmp# perf record -a -e irq_vectors:* sleep 2 Error: You may not have permission to collect system-wide stats. Consider tweaking /proc/sys/kernel/perf_event_paranoid, which controls use of the performance events system by unprivileged users (without CAP_SYS_ADMIN). The current value is 2: -1: Allow use of (almost) all events by all users >= 0: Disallow raw tracepoint access by users without CAP_IOC_LOCK >= 1: Disallow CPU event access by users without CAP_SYS_ADMIN >= 2: Disallow kernel profiling by users without CAP_SYS_ADMIN To make this setting permanent, edit /etc/sysctl.conf too, e.g.: kernel.perf_event_paranoid = -1 This patch prints out the exact sub event that failed with EPERM for wildcards to help user understanding easily. For example, root@skl:/tmp# perf record -a -e irq_vectors:* sleep 2 Error: No permission to enable irq_vectors:irq_work_exit event. You may not have permission to collect system-wide stats. ...... Signed-off-by: Jin Yao <yao....@linux.intel.com> --- tools/perf/util/evsel.c | 8 +++++++- 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/tools/perf/util/evsel.c b/tools/perf/util/evsel.c index 9dc7e2d..8f5d86b 100644 --- a/tools/perf/util/evsel.c +++ b/tools/perf/util/evsel.c @@ -2457,11 +2457,17 @@ int perf_evsel__open_strerror(struct perf_evsel *evsel, struct target *target, int err, char *msg, size_t size) { char sbuf[STRERR_BUFSIZE]; + int printed = 0; switch (err) { case EPERM: case EACCES: - return scnprintf(msg, size, + if (err == EPERM) + printed = scnprintf(msg, size, + "No permission to enable %s event.\n\n", + perf_evsel__name(evsel)); + + return scnprintf(msg + printed, size - printed, "You may not have permission to collect %sstats.\n\n" "Consider tweaking /proc/sys/kernel/perf_event_paranoid,\n" "which controls use of the performance events system by\n" -- 2.7.4