All blogs / Performance / optimization
Polar Signals
Read the latest articles, news, and reviews on our blog
Performance / optimizationDevOps / SRE / infrastructureLinux / Unix
- Posts
- 125 from 9 Feb 2021 to 17 Aug 2026
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- weekly (27 in the last year)
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- company blog
2026 20
- Profiling NVIDIA CUDA in KubernetesThe easiest way to get started Profiling CUDA in KubernetesCUDANVIDIA+3DEC 18, 2025Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Optimizing SLO Performance at Scale: How We Solved Pyrra’s Query Performance on ThanosLearn how we optimized Pyrra’s SLO monitoring to handle high-cardinality metrics at scale, reducing cross-zone traffic and query times while maintaining 99% accuracy.PerformanceObservability+3DEC 30, 2025Author:Mat
- Introducing the Sandwich ViewA new way to visualize a function’s callers and callees side by side.Data VisualizationFrontend+3JAN 8, 2026Author:Yomi Eluwande
- How to check your debuginfo status in Polar Signals CloudA faster and easier way to troubleshoot debuginfo processing in Polar Signals Cloud.DebuginfoSymbolization+1JAN 22, 2026Author:Manoj Vivek
- ICYMI: Polar Signals at FOSDEMRecap of the talks we gave at FOSDEM developer conferenceFOSDEMFEB 10, 2026Author:Thor Hansen
- Introducing Oauth for AI AgentsUse your favorite AI agent securely with Polar Signals ProfilingAIClaude Code+5FEB 12, 2026Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Call Stacks and Unwinding 101How Profilers Work: Part 1Profiling.eh_frame+2FEB 19, 2026Author:Brennan Vincent
- Introducing IAMRepresent your organization in Polar SignalsSecurityProfiling+2FEB 24, 2026Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Introducing the Polar Signals VS Code ExtensionSee CPU time, memory allocations, and other profiling metrics as inline annotations directly in your source code.ProfilingVS Code+2MAR 10, 2026Author:Yomi Eluwande
- OCT 22, 2025Continuous NVIDIA CUDA Profiling In ProductionLow-Overhead Profiling of GPUs with USDT Probes and eBPFGPUProfiling
- Profiling Internals: Hardware Timers and eBPFHow Profilers Work: Part 2eBPFParca AgentMAR 25, 2026Author:Brennan Vincent
- MAR 26, 2026OpenTelemetry Profiling goes AlphaHow to use it with Polar Signals & ParcaOpenTelemetryProfiling+2
- JavaScript Source Maps Support in Polar Signals CloudPolar Signals Cloud now resolves minified JavaScript and TypeScript profiles back to original source code using source maps.JavaScriptSource Maps+3APR 15, 2026Author:Manoj Vivek
- Python Zebra StacksUnwinding Deep PyTorch Training Stacks with eBPFGPUPyTorch+2MAY 20, 2026Author:Tommy Reilly
- Open-Source Low-Overhead NVIDIA CUDA PC SamplingAnd how we made it happenGPUProfiling+2JUN 10, 2026Author:Tommy Reilly
- Profiling Internals: JavaScript on V8How Profilers Work: Part 3JavaScriptNode.Js+1JUN 18, 2026Author:Brennan Vincent
- My Journey Optimizing a CUDA Kernel with Polar SignalsA storage engineer's descent into warp stalls, memory throttles, and aligned storesGPUDatabases+1JUN 24, 2026Author:Alfonso Subiotto Marqués
- Iteratively explore your flame graphs with the MCP sandwich toolDon't bloat your LLM's context. Let it iteratively explore the parts of your flame graphs that actually matter.Performance AnalysisPerformance+3JUN 30, 2026Author:Matthias Loibl
- Loading LakesOptimizing loading Great Lake tables with DataFusionDelta LakeDatabases+1JUL 7, 2026Author:Thor Hansen
- Our new and faster profiler dashboardLearn more about our new and improved profiler dashboard and how we made the switch from SVG to CanvasProfilingData Visualization+1JUL 14, 2026Authors:Yomi E, Manoj V.
2025 33
- Introducing Flame Charts for All CPU ProfilesThe temporal dimension flame graphs might be missing.Flame ChartsFlame Graphs+5JUL 28, 2026Author:Matthias Loibl
- Polar Signals is Joining Dash0The next chapter for continuous profiling, our database, and the teamCompanyAUG 17, 2026Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Enhancing Our Writing Workflow: Adding Markdown Support to Sanity CMSHow we added a Markdown editor to our Sanity setup and other improvementsSanityMarkdownMAY 15, 2025Author:Yomi Eluwande
- Sampling PGOExploring how well the various forms of PGO workRustPGO+1MAY 20, 2025Author:Tommy Reilly
- Flame Charts: The Time-Aware Sibling of Flame GraphsA deep dive into the time-aware visualization that complements traditional flame graphs in performance profiling.Flame ChartsData Visualization+3MAY 28, 2025Author:Manoj Vivek
- Latest in Continuous Profiling for GPUsAttending ai.engineer 2025 in San FranciscoProfilingCorrelation+1JUN 4, 2025Authors:Matthias L, Brennan V.
- Best Laid PlansWhat we learned from building a databaseColumn DatabaseFrostDB+2JUN 10, 2025Author:Thor Hansen
- MAY 6, 2026Autonomous Optimization with Claude CodeOptimize your infrastructure autonomously every day with Claude Code and Polar SignalsAIClaude Code+1
- New year new databaseBringing what we've learned to our next generation database.Column DatabaseDatabasesJUN 18, 2025Author:Thor Hansen
- How Continuous Profiling reduces Engineering Debt and increases Application PerformanceApplication Performance engineering debt could live a long time without noticed and cause a significant overhead in developing new features, performance and the cost of operation.Continuous-ProfilingCloud Cost+2JU
- Deterministic Simulation Testing in Rust: A Theater Of State MachinesHow we designed our database for complete control over concurrency, time, randomness, and failure injection.TestingDeterministic Simulation Testing+3JUL 8, 2025Author:Alfonso Subiotto Marqués
- The MCP for performance engineeringIntroducing Remote MCP Support in Polar Signals CloudPerformance AnalysisPerformance+2JUL 17, 2025Author:Matthias Loibl
- Reproducible Builds with Next.js: A Practical GuideA step-by-step guide to achieving reproducible builds with Next.js.NextjsEngineering Practices+2JUL 23, 2025Author:Manoj Vivek
- Introducing Off-CPU ProfilingHow Off-CPU profiling works and how to get the most out of itProfilingSystem-Wide+1JUL 30, 2025Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Offline Mode for the Parca AgentCollect and upload profiles -- even without a network connectionProfilingParca AgentAUG 7, 2025Author:Brennan Vincent
- OOMProf - Profiling on the BrinkUsing eBPF to record your programs dying breathsBPFMemory Profiling+1AUG 13, 2025Author:Tommy Reilly
- Das Problem mit German StringsAnd why I don't want my database to choose the best encoding for me (yet)DatabasesColumn Database+3AUG 26, 2025Author:Alfonso Subiotto Marqués
- Parallel Flame Graph RenderingHow we improved our Flame Graph rendering by moving computation to the backend.Flame GraphsProfiling+1SEPT 3, 2025Author:Yomi Eluwande
- The Inner Workings of JavaScript Source MapsA deep dive into how JavaScript source maps work under the hood, with examples showing how all the pieces fit together.JavaScriptSource Maps+3NOV 4, 2025Author:Manoj Vivek
- Custom Labels for Node.jsCorrelate Application-Specific Data With ProfilesCorrelationJavascript+1NOV 19, 2025Author:Brennan Vincent
- Questioning an Interface: From Parquet to VortexBreaking free from the shackles of interface-imposed performance limitationsDatabasesDatafusion+2NOV 25, 2025Author:Alfonso Subiotto Marqués
- Great Lakes: A Delta Lake ForkOur updates to Delta Lake Table FormatColumn DatabaseDelta Lake+1DEC 4, 2025Author:Thor Hansen
- USDT Probes: A Deep DiveHow we added USDT Probe support to Parca AgenteBPFTracing+1DEC 10, 2025Author:Tommy Reilly
- Introducing Metrics AggregationAllows you to aggregate your profiling metrics across processes by grouping them by specific labels.MetricsData VisualizationAUG 1, 2024Author:Manoj Vivek
- Comparing Profiles is even more helpful now!We have shipped Relative ComparisonsPprofProfiling+2AUG 6, 2024Author:Matthias Loibl
- Parca + OpenTelemetry = Bright FutureThe Parca project is embracing OpenTelemetryBPFSystem-Wide+5AUG 13, 2024Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Debug Artifacts Status PageProvides an overview of the processing status of your project's debug artifacts, such as debuginfo, executables, or sources.DebuginfoSymbolization+1AUG 20, 2024Author:Manoj Vivek
- Introducing Simple Querying ModeA new and easier way to filter profiles on Polar Signals CloudProfilingUser Experience+1AUG 27, 2024Author:Yomi Eluwande
- Improved Views on Polar Signals CloudA new way to streamline profiling with predefined label namesViewProfiling+2SEPT 5, 2024Author:Yomi Eluwande
- Polar Signals Organizing and Attending PromCon 2024Polar Signals Is Organizing PromCon EU 2024 in Berlin!PrometheusMetrics+1SEPT 11, 2024Authors:Jah O, Matthias L.
- A Milestone Achieved: Polar Signals is SOC2 Type 1 Compliant!Polar Signals has achieved SOC2 Type 1 compliance, reinforcing our commitment to data security and customer trust.SecurityCompliance+1SEPT 25, 2024Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Custom Profiling Labels for Rust, Go, and C++Filter and aggregate profiles by whatever dimensions make sense for your applicationCorrelationGolang+2OCT 16, 2024Author:Brennan Vincent
- A Walk with LuaJITHow we scrape callstack information from the LuaJIT engine for profilingeBPFInterpreter+4NOV 13, 2024Author:Tommy Reilly
2024 17
- kubezonnet: Monitor Cross-Zone Network Traffic in KubernetesHow we got our cloud bill under controleBPFCloud Cost+5JAN 9, 2025Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Polar Signals Achieves SOC 2 Type 2 ComplianceReinforcing our unwavering commitment to robust securitySecuritySOC2JAN 14, 2025Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Doubling Throughput with Continuous Profiling and Optimization“68.37% of CPU [...] with a one-line code change [...] went down to 31.82%” Case StudyContinuous-Profiling+3FEB 11, 2025Author:Kanika Sharma
- Unlocking Efficient Memory Profiling and Faster Debugging"High tail latency for one of our customers, was diagnosed immediately by seeing a large On-CPU time span" Case StudyContinuous-Profiling+3FEB 18, 2025Author:Kanika Sharma
- turbopuffer: Consistently High Performance at ScaleCase Study: How turbopuffer leverages Polar Signals for Continuous ProfilingCase StudyContinuous-Profiling+2MAR 26, 2025Author:Kanika Sharma
- Maximize GPU Efficiency: Visualize, Analyze, and Optimize with PrecisionIntroducing Continuous GPU Profiling: Get Performance Insights Over TimeSystem-WidePython+2APR 1, 2025Author:Matthias Loibl
- Updated Pricing for Polar Signals CloudMaking Polar Signals Pricing more predictable and transparentPricingBillingAPR 9, 2025Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Correlate Profiling and Distributed Tracing in Async RustCorrelate profiles with arbitrary application-specific metadata in async Rust applicationsCorrelationTracing+1APR 17, 2025Author:Brennan Vincent
- Introducing Profiling GitHub ActionsRecord and view profiling data from GitHub Actions runs easier than ever before!GitHub ActionCI/CD+3APR 23, 2025Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Is Observability Data Sensitive?Why profiling data is low-risk, high-value observabilityProfilingSecurity+1MAY 5, 2025Author:Kanika Sharma
- Polar Signals at KubeCon EU 2023Attending KubeCon EU 2023 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.KubeConCommunityAPR 16, 2023Author:Kemal Akkoyun
- Correctly Profiling Node.js with Zero-InstrumentationOr: A tale of handling unexpected behaviour by the v8 runtime.Parca AgentInterpreter+8JUL 12, 2023Authors:Frederic B, Javier H. Coto
- View Profiling Data within CodeA look at an exciting new feature in Polar Signals Cloud: Source View.ProfilingContinuous-Profiling+1AUG 31, 2023Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Profiling Mojo 🔥A look at profiling Modular's Mojo language.ProfilingeBPF+5SEPT 7, 2023Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Profiling Python and Ruby using eBPFDive into the internals of profiling interpreted Python and Ruby code using eBPFeBPFInterpreter+7OCT 4, 2023Authors:Kemal A, Javier H. Coto
- Polar Signals Cloud is Generally AvailableWe're ready to share our product with the world!GAGenerally Available+4OCT 10, 2023Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Profiling Arm64 with eBPF in Parca AgentARMing your favourite DWARF UnwindereBPFParca Agent+3OCT 17, 2023Author:Sumera Priyadarsini
2023 21
- Announcing New Features on pprof.me: Previews and User HistoryPreview shared profiling data and keep a history of your shared profiles!PprofProfilingNOV 2, 2023Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Announcing the new "Views" feature on Polar Signals Cloud Scope requests with pre-defined filters and gain precise control over your profiling data!ProfilingView+1NOV 21, 2023Author:Yomi Eluwande
- The Cost of Go's Interfaces and How to Fix ItWhy dynamic dispatch is necessary and how to fix it with devirtualizing and PGO.GoGolang+5NOV 24, 2023Author:Frederic Branczyk
- New pprof.me Features: Profiling Data Comparison and Folded Stacks format supportVisualize differential Icicle graphs from two shared profiles.PprofProfiling+1DEC 6, 2023Authors:Frederic B, Manoj V.
- Embracing performance profiling: Canonical enables frame pointers in Ubuntu 24.04 LTSA Collaborative Leap Forward with CanonicalFrame PointersDWARF+2DEC 13, 2023Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Announcing Continuous Memory Profiling for RustDebugging memory leaks and usage systematically in Rustrustpprof+9DEC 20, 2023Authors:Frederic B, Brennan V.
- Introducing Billing Usage MetricsInsights into how much profiling data your projects are sending for an even more predictable billing.BillingEnterpriseJAN 23, 2024Author:Manoj Vivek
- Correlating Tracing with Profiling using eBPFHow we connected the worlds of tracing and profiling using Parca Agent, the eBPF-based profiler.ProfilingContinuous-Profiling+3MAR 5, 2024Author:Frederic Branczyk
- AI-driven Performance Optimizations, Exciting New Customers, Board Expansion, and $10.8m in Total Capital RaisedAIOptimizations+4MAR 12, 2024Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Polar Signals at KubeCon EU 2024Attending KubeCon EU 2024 in Paris, France.KubeConCommunityMAR 18, 2024Author:Matthias Loibl
- (Mostly) Deterministic Simulation Testing in GoHow we used WASM and some Go runtime modifications to run deterministic simulation tests against FrostDBTestingGo+5MAY 28, 2024Author:Alfonso Subiotto Marqués
- New and Improved Binary Filtering in Icicle GraphsWe've revamped our filtering by binary feature to be more intuitive and functional!Icicle GraphsContinuous-Profiling+3JUN 11, 2024Author:Yomi Eluwande
- Caller / Callee View in Table panelA new intuitive way to explore the control flow through specific functions in your application.Data VisualizationPerformance Analysis+1JUN 18, 2024Author:Manoj Vivek
- For a change, let's talk web performance: HTTP 103 (Early Hints)We'll talk about what is HTTP 103 (Early Hints), how it can help speed up the web.webperfweb-performance+1JUL 26, 2022Author:Manoj Vivek
- Sponsoring the Open-Source CommunityPolar Signals is sponsoring open-source developers.CultureCompany Culture+1AUG 18, 2022Author:Matthias Loibl
- System-wide profiling in Parca AgentHow we re-architected Parca Agent to profile every process on the host and made it more scalable in the process.ProfilingBPF+2AUG 24, 2022Author:Javier Honduvilla Coto
- Optimizing Your Programs with Continuous ProfilingAn example of using continuous profiling to inform code improvements.FrostDBContinuous-Profiling+1AUG 30, 2022Author:Thor Hansen
- Exploring Go's Profile-Guided OptimizationsMaking code faster without modifying it using Profile-Guided Optimizations.GoContinuous-Profiling+3SEPT 27, 2022Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Improved pprof.me! 🎉Good news! pprof.me, our free profile sharing service, has got a shiny new look and feel. It's now easier than ever to share and visualize your profiles with the world.PprofPprof.Me+1OCT 12, 2022Author:Manoj Vivek
- Parca Plugin for Grafana!You asked for it, we delivered.PprofParca+1OCT 20, 2022Authors:Manoj V, Matthias L.
- Polar Signals at KubeCon NA 2022Attending KubeCon NA 2022 in Detroit, USA.KubeConCommunityOCT 24, 2022Author:Matthias Loibl
2022 24
- Parca now also in Grafana CoreParca in Grafana without having to install a plugin!GrafanaParca+2NOV 2, 2022Authors:Matthias L, Frederic B.
- Announcing Profiling Support Without Frame PointersOpen-Source Parca Agent is adding support for native applications compiled without frame pointers.ProfilingeBPF+6NOV 23, 2022Author:Javier Honduvilla Coto
- DWARF-based Stack Walking Using eBPFDeep dive into the new DWARF-based stack unwinder using eBPF.ProfilingBPF+7NOV 29, 2022Author:Javier Honduvilla Coto
- Design Decisions of a Continuous ProfilerThe tradeoffs and considerations building continuous, fleet-wide profilers.Continuous-ProfilingBPF+7DEC 14, 2022Authors:Frederic B, Javier H Coto, Kemal A, Monica W, Thor H.
- What's new in Parca?Looking at some exciting features that recently landed in Parca.Continuous-ProfilingBPF+8JAN 3, 2023Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Introduction to Parca - Part 2Parca Agent is our open source, always-on eBPF-based continuous profiler. In this article, we will learn some of the concepts behind Parca Agent and use it to profile our system.Continuous-ProfilingBPF+6JAN 19, 2023Author:Sumera Priyadarsini
- Polar Signals at FOSDEM 2023Attending FOSDEM 2023 in Brussels.FOSDEMCommunityFEB 3, 2023Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Symbolizing Postgres Profiling DataA journey through undocumented behavior.PostgresSql+5FEB 8, 2023Author:Frederic Branczyk
- What’s new in Parca 0.16 and Parca Agent 0.13?We have exciting updates in this release, including improved JIT symbolization, reliability and quality improvements, step querying, and more!Continuous-ProfilingProfiling+8FEB 28, 2023Authors:Javier H Coto, Yomi E.
- Designing Your Indexes for Better Database PerformanceHow we improved our database query performance by 80% and the intuition behind the changes that led to this improvementParcaDatabases+3MAR 20, 2023Author:Alfonso Subiotto Marqués
- Ice and Fire: How to read icicle and flame graphsFlame graphs and icicle graphs are a great way to visualize performance profiles. In this post, we will learn how to read and interpret them.Continuous profilingProfiling+7MAR 28, 2023Author:Kemal Akkoyun
- Embeddable Profiles in pprof.meSay goodbye to taking screenshots of flame graphs/profile data. Now you can embed the interactive profiles directly in any website.Profile-Sharingpprof.meAPR 5, 2023Author:Manoj Vivek
- Continuous Profiler Cumulative MetricsOur first major feature since our product launch: cumulative profiling metrics!PprofPrivate beta+2MAR 23, 2021Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Perfessor - Continuous Profiling Without InstrumentationContinuously profiling your applications without having to make modifications!PprofPrivate beta+3MAR 31, 2021Author:Thor Hansen
- Demystifying Pprof Labels with GoLearn how to demystify Pprof Labels using GoPprofGo+1APR 13, 2021Author:Frederic Branczyk
- DIY pprof profiles using GoBuilding pprof profiles from scratch using GoPprofGo+1AUG 3, 2021Author:Matthias Loibl
- Introducing Parca - Prometheus but for profilesP.S. We got funded!PprofGo+5OCT 8, 2021Author:Frederic Branczyk
- On Building Company CultureThoughts on how early company culture shapes the future of it.CompanyCulture+2OCT 26, 2021Author:Frederic Branczyk
- How we build our gRPC APIs at Polar Signals using bufTools and strategies that we use to build APIs that we love at Polar Signals.APIgRPC+4NOV 11, 2021Author:Thor Hansen
- Why Compiler Function Inlining MattersAll about function inlining, how it helps us create performant software, how we can learn to work with it, and how it influences profiling.PprofPerf+2DEC 15, 2021Author:Matthias Loibl
- Fantastic Symbols and Where to Find Them - Part 1How profilers and debuggers translate machine addresses to human-readable symbolic namesSymbolizationBinary+6JAN 13, 2022Author:Kemal Akkoyun
- Fantastic Symbols and Where to Find Them - Part 2How profilers and debuggers translate machine addresses to human-readable symbolic namesSymbolizationDebugging+10JAN 27, 2022Author:Kemal Akkoyun
- Managing monorepos with Lerna and Yarn workspacesLerna and Yarn Workspaces gives us the ability to build and publish libraries and apps in a single repository (a.k.a. Monorepo). In this article we'll see how to publish UI components from a monorepo.MonorepoLerna+3FEB 1, 2022Author:Yomi Eluwande
- How we build our APIs: From ScratchIn a previous post we detailed how we build our APIs here at Polar Signals. But we're going back to basics, in this tutorial we'll teach you how to build a small App from API to implementation.GoFrontend+6FEB 22, 2022Author:Thor Hansen
2021 10
- Profiling Next.js apps with ParcaWe will learn how to profile your Next.js/Node.js apps with Parca and how it helps you to go back in time and identify the root cause for the irregular bottlenecks in your application's performance.JavascriptNextjs+2MAR 2, 2022Author:Manoj Vivek
- Introducing arcticDB: A database for ObservabilityContinuous profiling needed a columnar database, so we built it.golangapache arrow+3MAY 4, 2022Author:Frederic Branczyk
- Polar Signals at KubeCon EU 2022Attending KubeCon EU 2022 in Valencia, Spain.KubeConCommunityMAY 13, 2022Author:Matthias Loibl
- What BJJ taught me about Software DevelopmentHow training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has helped me become a better programmerSoftware DevelopmentCompany Culture+1JUN 9, 2022Author:Monica Wojciechowski
- Naming is hard: ArcticDB is now FrostDB (+updates!)We made a mistake in naming our open-source in-memory columnar database.GolangApache Arrow+3JUN 16, 2022Author:Frederic Branczyk
- How we use gRPC to build our frontend at Polar SignalsgRPC is a new protocol for building a backend for our frontend. In this article, we'll learn how we use gRPC and gRPC-web to build our frontend at Polar Signals.gRPCgRPC-Web+3JUN 23, 2022Author:Yomi Eluwande
- Introduction to Parca - Part 1Parca is our open source, always-on eBPF-based continuous profiler. In this article, we'll learn some of the concepts behind Parca and use it to profile our system.ParcaeBPF+3JUL 12, 2022Author:Sumera Priyadarsini
- Winter is coming - FrostDB in PrometheusFrostDB is an embedded columnar database built for observability data. This article will explore FrostDB's potential by using it in Prometheus.FrostDBPrometheus+1JUL 22, 2022Author:Thor Hansen
- Introducing Polar Signals' Pprof Profile Sharing ServiceOur first publicly available service, to upload and share pprof profiles.PprofSaaSFEB 9, 2021Author:Thor Hansen
- Announcing Polar Signals Continuous ProfilerSince founding Polar Signals, we have been heads down working on our first product, and today we are beyond excited to share it with you!PprofPrivate beta+1FEB 9, 2021Author:Frederic Branczyk