Performance tuning the Fedora Desktop

[Will Cohen]

I work on performance tools at Red Hat. I have been told there is
interest in tuning the desktop to improve performance. I have a number
of questions to help identify the work needed in this area. I would be 
interested in any answers that people have for the following questions.


What is the set of software in the "Desktop" (executable names and/or
RPM packages)?

What specific performance problems have people observed so far in the
desktop?  For example heavy CPU or memory usage by particular
applications. Another example long latency between event and resulting
action.

What metrics were used to gauged the effect of software changes on
performance?

What performance tools have people used so far to identify performance
problems with desktop applications?

How well or poorly did the performance tools work in identifying the
performance problem?

Were benchmarks used to test performance of desktop applications? If
so, what type of benchmarks were used (e.g. micro benchmarks or
measuring the amount of time required to do something in an
application program)?

Were the benchmarks runnable in batch mode without human assistance?


-Will