Performance Optimizations

Performance Optimizations

This page documents the specific kernel and hardware tweaks applied to Terra (Ryzen 5950X / Ubuntu 24.04) to optimize for container performance, storage throughput, and power efficiency.

⚡ CPU & Power Management

AMD P-State (Active Mode)

• Driver: amd_pstate=active (EPP - Energy Performance Preference)
• Benefit: Allows the kernel to communicate directly with the Zen 3 power management controller. Enables a wider frequency range (550MHz - 5000MHz) and more granular boost control.
• Configuration: Added to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT in /etc/default/grub.

IRQ Balancing

• Service: irqbalance (Installed/Enabled)
• Benefit: Distributes hardware interrupts (HBA, NVMe, NIC) across all 32 threads. Prevents Core 0 from becoming a bottleneck during high I/O tasks.

🧠 Memory Tuning

Static Hugepages

• Setting: hugepages=2048 (Reserving 4GB total as 2MB pages)
• Benefit: Reduces TLB (Translation Lookaside Buffer) misses for memory-heavy apps like Minecraft (Java) and Postgres/AI services.
• Configuration: Added to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT in /etc/default/grub.

Kernel Memory Guard

• Setting: init_on_alloc=0
• Benefit: Disables the sanitization (zeroing) of memory pages at allocation time, reducing CPU overhead for high-frequency memory operations.

🎮 GPU Optimization (Quadro P2200)

Persistence Mode

• Command: sudo nvidia-smi -pm 1
• Benefit: Keeps the Nvidia driver loaded in memory regardless of active load. Eliminates the 1-2 second initialization delay when a container (Immich, OpenWebUI) calls the GPU for transcoding or inference.

🛡️ Future Considerations

• ZFS Dirty Ratio: Potential tuning for smoother HDD write buffering.
• PBO (Precision Boost Overdrive): To be verified in UEFI/BIOS for improved multi-core boosting.