General Description

After raw profile data is collected, parsed, and exported into visualized profile data files, the file directory structure and main files are as follows:

Directory Structure and File Description

The following is an example of the structure of a profile data directory (only profile data is displayed):

├── msprof_*.db  // Configure --type to db when running the msprof command. In this case, only a .db file that summarizes all profile data is generated.
├── mindstudio_profiler_output
│    ├── msprof_*.json
│    ├── step_trace_*.json
│    ├── xx_*.csv
...
│    └── README.txt
├── device_{id}
│    └── data
├── host
      └── data

The asterisk (*) indicates the timestamp.

The mindstudio_profiler_output directory stores the profile data summary of the host and each device. (You are advised to view the files in this directory for profile data analysis.) The result files in the directory are named in the format of module name_{timestamp}.{json/csv}.
The device_{id} directory stores the raw profile data of Ascend AI applications running on each device and the raw system data of Ascend AI Processors.
The host directory stores the raw profile data of Ascend AI application running of upper-layer application APIs (msproftx) and host-side raw system data.

The data volume of each file in this directory is relatively large, and data file slicing may occur. If file slicing is not required, refer to Profile Data File Slicing to modify the upper limit of the slicing capacity.

Table 1 shows the profile data files collected by default.

**Table 1** Profile data files collected by msprof by default
File Name	Description
msprof_*.json	Timeline report.
step_trace_*.json	Iteration trace data, which records the time required for each iteration. This profile data file does not exist in single-operator scenarios (such as the PyTorch scenario).
op_summary_*.csv	AI Core and AI CPU operator data.
op_statistic _*.csv	AI Core and AI CPU operator calling times and time consumption.
step_trace_*.csv	Iteration trace data. This profile data file does not exist in single-operator scenarios (such as the PyTorch scenario).
task_time_*.csv	Task Scheduler data.
fusion_op_*.csv	Operator fusion summary in a model. This profile data file does not exist in single-operator scenarios (such as the PyTorch scenario).
api_statistic_*.csv	Time spent by API execution at the CANN layer.
Note: The .json files in the table are timeline information files, which collect the running durations of operators and tasks and display the collected data in color blocks. The .csv files are summary information files, which summarize the running durations in tables.

Viewing Overall Profile Data

The msprof_*.db file summarizes the overall profile data. The timeline and summary files in the mindstudio_profiler_output directory split the profile data into multiple files, the preceding two types of files can be imported using MindStudio Insight to display the overall data in a visualized manner. For details, see MindStudio Insight User Guide.

Viewing the Timeline File

Use the Perfetto UI to open a file: Enter https://ui.perfetto.dev/ in the address box of Google Chrome, drag the .json file to the blank space, and press the shortcut keys (w: zoom in; s: zoom out; a: move left; d: move right) on the keyboard to view the file.

Use tracing to open a file: Enter chrome://tracing in the address box of Google Chrome, drag the .json file to the blank space, and press the shortcut keys (w: zoom in; s: zoom out; a: move left; d: move right) on the keyboard to view the file.

You are advised to use the Perfetto UI to open oversized files.

Summary File Description

When you open a summary result file in Excel, if a cell or a cell range is displayed in scientific notation, for example, 1.00159E+12, right-click the cell or cell range and choose Format Cells… from the shortcut menu. In the displayed Format Cells dialog box, on the Number tab page, select Number and then click OK.
If a cell is N/A, the data is unavailable.

Parent topic: Profile Data File References