Note
Click here to download the full example code
(beta) Building a Simple CPU Performance Profiler with FX¶
Author: James Reed
In this tutorial, we are going to use FX to do the following:
- Capture PyTorch Python code in a way that we can inspect and gather statistics about the structure and execution of the code
- Build out a small class that will serve as a simple performance “profiler”, collecting runtime statistics about each part of the model from actual runs.
For this tutorial, we are going to use the torchvision ResNet18 model for demonstration purposes.
import torch
import torch.fx
import torchvision.models as models
rn18 = models.resnet18()
rn18.eval()
Now that we have our model, we want to inspect deeper into its performance. That is, for the following invocation, which parts of the model are taking the longest?
input = torch.randn(5, 3, 224, 224)
output = rn18(input)
A common way of answering that question is to go through the program source, add code that collects timestamps at various points in the program, and compare the difference between those timestamps to see how long the regions between the timestamps take.
That technique is certainly applicable to PyTorch code, however it would be nicer if we didn’t have to copy over model code and edit it, especially code we haven’t written (like this torchvision model). Instead, we are going to use FX to automate this “instrumentation” process without needing to modify any source.
First, let’s get some imports out of the way (we will be using all of these later in the code).
import statistics, tabulate, time
from typing import Any, Dict, List
from torch.fx import Interpreter
Note
tabulate is an external library that is not a dependency of PyTorch.
We will be using it to more easily visualize performance data. Please
make sure you’ve installed it from your favorite Python package source.
Capturing the Model with Symbolic Tracing¶
Next, we are going to use FX’s symbolic tracing mechanism to capture the definition of our model in a data structure we can manipulate and examine.
traced_rn18 = torch.fx.symbolic_trace(rn18)
print(traced_rn18.graph)
Out:
graph(xx: torch.Tensor) -> torch.Tensor:
%conv1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=conv1](args = (%x,), kwargs = {})
%bn1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=bn1](args = (%conv1,), kwargs = {})
%relu_1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=relu](args = (%bn1,), kwargs = {})
%maxpool : [#users=2] = call_module[target=maxpool](args = (%relu_1,), kwargs = {})
%layer1_0_conv1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer1.0.conv1](args = (%maxpool,), kwargs = {})
%layer1_0_bn1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer1.0.bn1](args = (%layer1_0_conv1,), kwargs = {})
%layer1_0_relu : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer1.0.relu](args = (%layer1_0_bn1,), kwargs = {})
%layer1_0_conv2 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer1.0.conv2](args = (%layer1_0_relu,), kwargs = {})
%layer1_0_bn2 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer1.0.bn2](args = (%layer1_0_conv2,), kwargs = {})
%add_1 : [#users=1] = call_function[target=operator.add](args = (%layer1_0_bn2, %maxpool), kwargs = {})
%layer1_0_relu_1 : [#users=2] = call_module[target=layer1.0.relu](args = (%add_1,), kwargs = {})
%layer1_1_conv1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer1.1.conv1](args = (%layer1_0_relu_1,), kwargs = {})
%layer1_1_bn1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer1.1.bn1](args = (%layer1_1_conv1,), kwargs = {})
%layer1_1_relu : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer1.1.relu](args = (%layer1_1_bn1,), kwargs = {})
%layer1_1_conv2 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer1.1.conv2](args = (%layer1_1_relu,), kwargs = {})
%layer1_1_bn2 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer1.1.bn2](args = (%layer1_1_conv2,), kwargs = {})
%add_2 : [#users=1] = call_function[target=operator.add](args = (%layer1_1_bn2, %layer1_0_relu_1), kwargs = {})
%layer1_1_relu_1 : [#users=2] = call_module[target=layer1.1.relu](args = (%add_2,), kwargs = {})
%layer2_0_conv1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer2.0.conv1](args = (%layer1_1_relu_1,), kwargs = {})
%layer2_0_bn1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer2.0.bn1](args = (%layer2_0_conv1,), kwargs = {})
%layer2_0_relu : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer2.0.relu](args = (%layer2_0_bn1,), kwargs = {})
%layer2_0_conv2 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer2.0.conv2](args = (%layer2_0_relu,), kwargs = {})
%layer2_0_bn2 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer2.0.bn2](args = (%layer2_0_conv2,), kwargs = {})
%layer2_0_downsample_0 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer2.0.downsample.0](args = (%layer1_1_relu_1,), kwargs = {})
%layer2_0_downsample_1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer2.0.downsample.1](args = (%layer2_0_downsample_0,), kwargs = {})
%add_3 : [#users=1] = call_function[target=operator.add](args = (%layer2_0_bn2, %layer2_0_downsample_1), kwargs = {})
%layer2_0_relu_1 : [#users=2] = call_module[target=layer2.0.relu](args = (%add_3,), kwargs = {})
%layer2_1_conv1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer2.1.conv1](args = (%layer2_0_relu_1,), kwargs = {})
%layer2_1_bn1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer2.1.bn1](args = (%layer2_1_conv1,), kwargs = {})
%layer2_1_relu : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer2.1.relu](args = (%layer2_1_bn1,), kwargs = {})
%layer2_1_conv2 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer2.1.conv2](args = (%layer2_1_relu,), kwargs = {})
%layer2_1_bn2 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer2.1.bn2](args = (%layer2_1_conv2,), kwargs = {})
%add_4 : [#users=1] = call_function[target=operator.add](args = (%layer2_1_bn2, %layer2_0_relu_1), kwargs = {})
%layer2_1_relu_1 : [#users=2] = call_module[target=layer2.1.relu](args = (%add_4,), kwargs = {})
%layer3_0_conv1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer3.0.conv1](args = (%layer2_1_relu_1,), kwargs = {})
%layer3_0_bn1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer3.0.bn1](args = (%layer3_0_conv1,), kwargs = {})
%layer3_0_relu : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer3.0.relu](args = (%layer3_0_bn1,), kwargs = {})
%layer3_0_conv2 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer3.0.conv2](args = (%layer3_0_relu,), kwargs = {})
%layer3_0_bn2 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer3.0.bn2](args = (%layer3_0_conv2,), kwargs = {})
%layer3_0_downsample_0 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer3.0.downsample.0](args = (%layer2_1_relu_1,), kwargs = {})
%layer3_0_downsample_1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer3.0.downsample.1](args = (%layer3_0_downsample_0,), kwargs = {})
%add_5 : [#users=1] = call_function[target=operator.add](args = (%layer3_0_bn2, %layer3_0_downsample_1), kwargs = {})
%layer3_0_relu_1 : [#users=2] = call_module[target=layer3.0.relu](args = (%add_5,), kwargs = {})
%layer3_1_conv1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer3.1.conv1](args = (%layer3_0_relu_1,), kwargs = {})
%layer3_1_bn1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer3.1.bn1](args = (%layer3_1_conv1,), kwargs = {})
%layer3_1_relu : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer3.1.relu](args = (%layer3_1_bn1,), kwargs = {})
%layer3_1_conv2 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer3.1.conv2](args = (%layer3_1_relu,), kwargs = {})
%layer3_1_bn2 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer3.1.bn2](args = (%layer3_1_conv2,), kwargs = {})
%add_6 : [#users=1] = call_function[target=operator.add](args = (%layer3_1_bn2, %layer3_0_relu_1), kwargs = {})
%layer3_1_relu_1 : [#users=2] = call_module[target=layer3.1.relu](args = (%add_6,), kwargs = {})
%layer4_0_conv1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer4.0.conv1](args = (%layer3_1_relu_1,), kwargs = {})
%layer4_0_bn1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer4.0.bn1](args = (%layer4_0_conv1,), kwargs = {})
%layer4_0_relu : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer4.0.relu](args = (%layer4_0_bn1,), kwargs = {})
%layer4_0_conv2 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer4.0.conv2](args = (%layer4_0_relu,), kwargs = {})
%layer4_0_bn2 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer4.0.bn2](args = (%layer4_0_conv2,), kwargs = {})
%layer4_0_downsample_0 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer4.0.downsample.0](args = (%layer3_1_relu_1,), kwargs = {})
%layer4_0_downsample_1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer4.0.downsample.1](args = (%layer4_0_downsample_0,), kwargs = {})
%add_7 : [#users=1] = call_function[target=operator.add](args = (%layer4_0_bn2, %layer4_0_downsample_1), kwargs = {})
%layer4_0_relu_1 : [#users=2] = call_module[target=layer4.0.relu](args = (%add_7,), kwargs = {})
%layer4_1_conv1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer4.1.conv1](args = (%layer4_0_relu_1,), kwargs = {})
%layer4_1_bn1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer4.1.bn1](args = (%layer4_1_conv1,), kwargs = {})
%layer4_1_relu : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer4.1.relu](args = (%layer4_1_bn1,), kwargs = {})
%layer4_1_conv2 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer4.1.conv2](args = (%layer4_1_relu,), kwargs = {})
%layer4_1_bn2 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer4.1.bn2](args = (%layer4_1_conv2,), kwargs = {})
%add_8 : [#users=1] = call_function[target=operator.add](args = (%layer4_1_bn2, %layer4_0_relu_1), kwargs = {})
%layer4_1_relu_1 : [#users=1] = call_module[target=layer4.1.relu](args = (%add_8,), kwargs = {})
%avgpool : [#users=1] = call_module[target=avgpool](args = (%layer4_1_relu_1,), kwargs = {})
%flatten_1 : [#users=1] = call_function[target=torch.flatten](args = (%avgpool, 1), kwargs = {})
%fc : [#users=1] = call_module[target=fc](args = (%flatten_1,), kwargs = {})
return fc
This gives us a Graph representation of the ResNet18 model. A Graph
consists of a series of Nodes connected to each other. Each Node
represents a call-site in the Python code (whether to a function,
a module, or a method) and the edges (represented as args and kwargs
on each node) represent the values passed between these call-sites. More
information about the Graph representation and the rest of FX’s APIs ca
be found at the FX documentation https://pytorch.org/docs/master/fx.html.
Creating a Profiling Interpreter¶
Next, we are going to create a class that inherits from torch.fx.Interpreter.
Though the GraphModule that symbolic_trace produces compiles Python code
that is run when you call a GraphModule, an alternative way to run a
GraphModule is by executing each Node in the Graph one by one. That is
the functionality that Interpreter provides: It interprets the graph node-
by-node.
By inheriting from Interpreter, we can override various functionality and
install the profiling behavior we want. The goal is to have an object to which
we can pass a model, invoke the model 1 or more times, then get statistics about
how long the model and each part of the model took during those runs.
Let’s define our ProfilingInterpreter class:
class ProfilingInterpreter(Interpreter):
def __init__(self, mod : torch.nn.Module):
# Rather than have the user symbolically trace their model,
# we're going to do it in the constructor. As a result, the
# user can pass in any ``Module`` without having to worry about
# symbolic tracing APIs
gm = torch.fx.symbolic_trace(mod)
super().__init__(gm)
# We are going to store away two things here:
#
# 1. A list of total runtimes for ``mod``. In other words, we are
# storing away the time ``mod(...)`` took each time this
# interpreter is called.
self.total_runtime_sec : List[float] = []
# 2. A map from ``Node`` to a list of times (in seconds) that
# node took to run. This can be seen as similar to (1) but
# for specific sub-parts of the model.
self.runtimes_sec : Dict[torch.fx.Node, List[float]] = {}
######################################################################
# Next, let's override our first method: ``run()``. ``Interpreter``'s ``run``
# method is the top-level entrypoint for execution of the model. We will
# want to intercept this so that we can record the total runtime of the
# model.
def run(self, *args) -> Any:
# Record the time we started running the model
t_start = time.time()
# Run the model by delegating back into Interpreter.run()
return_val = super().run(*args)
# Record the time we finished running the model
t_end = time.time()
# Store the total elapsed time this model execution took in the
# ProfilingInterpreter
self.total_runtime_sec.append(t_end - t_start)
return return_val
######################################################################
# Now, let's override ``run_node``. ``Interpreter`` calls ``run_node`` each
# time it executes a single node. We will intercept this so that we
# can measure and record the time taken for each individual call in
# the model.
def run_node(self, n : torch.fx.Node) -> Any:
# Record the time we started running the op
t_start = time.time()
# Run the op by delegating back into Interpreter.run_node()
return_val = super().run_node(n)
# Record the time we finished running the op
t_end = time.time()
# If we don't have an entry for this node in our runtimes_sec
# data structure, add one with an empty list value.
self.runtimes_sec.setdefault(n, [])
# Record the total elapsed time for this single invocation
# in the runtimes_sec data structure
self.runtimes_sec[n].append(t_end - t_start)
return return_val
######################################################################
# Finally, we are going to define a method (one which doesn't override
# any ``Interpreter`` method) that provides us a nice, organized view of
# the data we have collected.
def summary(self, should_sort : bool = False) -> str:
# Build up a list of summary information for each node
node_summaries : List[List[Any]] = []
# Calculate the mean runtime for the whole network. Because the
# network may have been called multiple times during profiling,
# we need to summarize the runtimes. We choose to use the
# arithmetic mean for this.
mean_total_runtime = statistics.mean(self.total_runtime_sec)
# For each node, record summary statistics
for node, runtimes in self.runtimes_sec.items():
# Similarly, compute the mean runtime for ``node``
mean_runtime = statistics.mean(runtimes)
# For easier understanding, we also compute the percentage
# time each node took with respect to the whole network.
pct_total = mean_runtime / mean_total_runtime * 100
# Record the node's type, name of the node, mean runtime, and
# percent runtim
node_summaries.append(
[node.op, str(node), mean_runtime, pct_total])
# One of the most important questions to answer when doing performance
# profiling is "Which op(s) took the longest?". We can make this easy
# to see by providing sorting functionality in our summary view
if should_sort:
node_summaries.sort(key=lambda s: s[2], reverse=True)
# Use the ``tabulate`` library to create a well-formatted table
# presenting our summary information
headers : List[str] = [
'Op type', 'Op', 'Average runtime (s)', 'Pct total runtime'
]
return tabulate.tabulate(node_summaries, headers=headers)
Note
We use Python’s time.time function to pull wall clock
timestamps and compare them. This is not the most accurate
way to measure performance, and will only give us a first-
order approximation. We use this simple technique only for the
purpose of demonstration in this tutorial.
Investigating the Performance of ResNet18¶
We can now use ProfilingInterpreter to inspect the performance
characteristics of our ResNet18 model;
interp = ProfilingInterpreter(rn18)
interp.run(input)
print(interp.summary(True))
Out:
Op type Op Average runtime (s) Pct total runtime
------------- --------------------- --------------------- -------------------
call_module layer4_1_conv1 0.025063 5.48407
call_module layer1_0_conv2 0.0228331 4.99614
call_module layer4_0_conv2 0.0228169 4.99259
call_module layer2_1_conv2 0.0218253 4.77562
call_module layer4_1_conv2 0.0217774 4.76514
call_module conv1 0.0212061 4.64014
call_module layer4_0_conv1 0.0204513 4.47497
call_module layer3_1_conv1 0.0198908 4.35233
call_module layer1_0_conv1 0.0196462 4.2988
call_module layer2_1_conv1 0.0192184 4.20521
call_module layer3_1_conv2 0.0187931 4.11214
call_module layer1_1_conv1 0.018528 4.05413
call_module maxpool 0.0178387 3.90331
call_module layer3_0_conv2 0.0176084 3.85292
call_module layer3_0_conv1 0.0166326 3.63939
call_module layer2_0_conv2 0.0143478 3.13946
call_module layer2_0_downsample_0 0.0135314 2.96083
call_module layer3_0_downsample_0 0.012686 2.77584
call_module layer4_0_downsample_0 0.0119603 2.61704
call_module bn1 0.00701952 1.53595
call_module layer1_1_conv2 0.00641608 1.40391
call_module layer2_0_conv1 0.00434041 0.94973
call_module layer2_0_relu_1 0.00426793 0.933871
call_module layer4_1_relu 0.00351334 0.768757
call_module layer2_1_relu_1 0.00337052 0.737508
call_module layer4_0_relu 0.00333285 0.729266
call_module fc 0.00333214 0.729109
call_module layer3_0_relu_1 0.00329781 0.721597
call_module avgpool 0.00328732 0.719301
call_module layer4_1_relu_1 0.00326228 0.713824
call_module layer4_0_relu_1 0.00325036 0.711215
call_function add_3 0.0032289 0.70652
call_module layer3_1_relu_1 0.00321794 0.70412
call_function add_7 0.00309634 0.677514
call_function add_5 0.0030818 0.674332
call_function add_6 0.00304365 0.665985
call_module layer3_1_relu 0.00300574 0.65769
call_function add_8 0.00299668 0.655708
call_module relu_1 0.00294209 0.643761
call_function add_1 0.00275874 0.603643
call_function add_4 0.00274825 0.601348
call_module layer1_0_relu_1 0.00251198 0.549649
call_module layer2_1_relu 0.00231838 0.507288
call_module layer1_0_relu 0.00216961 0.474735
call_module layer3_0_relu 0.00209022 0.457363
call_module layer1_0_bn2 0.00188971 0.413489
call_function add_2 0.00170231 0.372484
call_module layer2_1_bn1 0.000993013 0.217282
call_module layer2_1_bn2 0.000980616 0.21457
call_module layer2_0_bn2 0.000978947 0.214204
call_module layer1_1_bn1 0.000631571 0.138195
call_module layer1_0_bn1 0.000516176 0.112945
call_module layer1_1_bn2 0.000510454 0.111693
call_module layer2_0_bn1 0.000396967 0.0868608
call_module layer1_1_relu_1 0.000355721 0.0778356
call_module layer2_0_downsample_1 0.000351906 0.0770009
call_module layer3_0_downsample_1 0.000239611 0.0524295
call_module layer4_0_bn1 0.00022912 0.0501341
call_module layer4_1_bn2 0.000225306 0.0492994
call_module layer3_1_bn2 0.000221014 0.0483603
call_module layer4_1_bn1 0.000218391 0.0477865
call_module layer3_1_bn1 0.000217915 0.0476821
call_module layer3_0_bn1 0.000217676 0.04763
call_module layer4_0_bn2 0.000215769 0.0472126
call_module layer1_1_relu 0.000212431 0.0464823
call_module layer3_0_bn2 0.000210762 0.0461171
call_module layer4_0_downsample_1 0.000204563 0.0447607
call_module layer2_0_relu 0.000134468 0.0294231
call_function flatten_1 3.29018e-05 0.00719927
output output 1.81198e-05 0.00396482
placeholder x 1.52588e-05 0.00333879
There are two things we should call out here:
- MaxPool2d takes up the most time. This is a known issue: https://github.com/pytorch/pytorch/issues/51393
- BatchNorm2d also takes up significant time. We can continue this line of thinking and optimize this in the Conv-BN Fusion with FX tutorial TODO: link
Conclusion¶
As we can see, using FX we can easily capture PyTorch programs (even ones we don’t have the source code for!) in a machine-interpretable format and use that for analysis, such as the performance analysis we’ve done here. FX opens up an exiciting world of possibilities for working with PyTorch programs.
Finally, since FX is still in beta, we would be happy to hear any feedback you have about using it. Please feel free to use the PyTorch Forums (https://discuss.pytorch.org/) and the issue tracker (https://github.com/pytorch/pytorch/issues) to provide any feedback you might have.
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