NSIGHT ECLIPSE EDITION
DG-06450-001 _v6.0 | February 2014
Getting Started Guide
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1. Introduction.........................................................................................1
1.1. About Nsight Eclipse Edition............................................................................1
Chapter 2. New and Noteworthy............................................................................. 2
2.1. New in Nsight Eclipse Edition 6.0..................................................................... 2
2.2. New in Nsight Eclipse Edition 5.5..................................................................... 4
Chapter 3. Using Nsight Eclipse Edition..................................................................... 6
3.1. Installing Nsight Eclipse Edition........................................................................ 6
3.1.1. Installing CUDA Toolkit............................................................................. 6
3.1.2. Mac OS X Additional Notes........................................................................ 6
3.2. Running Nsight Eclipse Edition......................................................................... 7
3.3. Creating a New Project..................................................................................7
3.4. Importing CUDA Sample................................................................................. 8
3.5. Debugging CUDA Applications...........................................................................9
3.6. Debugging Remote CUDA Applications............................................................... 10
3.7. Profiling CUDA applications............................................................................15
3.8. More Information........................................................................................ 16
Appendix A. Host Platform Requirements.................................................................17
A.1. Linux.......................................................................................................17
A.2. Mac OS X................................................................................................. 17
A.3. GPU Requirements...................................................................................... 17
Appendix B. Known Issues.................................................................................... 19
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 Nsight main window after creating a new project .............................................. 8
Figure 2 Debugging CUDA application .......................................................................10
Figure 3 Debugging remote CUDA application ............................................................. 15
Figure 4 Profiling CUDA Application ......................................................................... 16
Figure 5 JRE install prompt on Mac OS X platform ...................................................... 20
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Chapter 1.
INTRODUCTION
This guide introduces Nsight Eclipse Edition and provides instructions necessary to start
using this tool. For a detailed description of Nsight features consult the integrated help
available from inside Nsight.
1.1. About Nsight Eclipse Edition
Nsight Eclipse Edition is an integrated development environment (IDE) for developers
building CUDA application on Linux and Mac OS X platforms. It is designed to help
developers on all stages of the software development process. Some of the principal
features are:
‣ Source editor with extended support for CUDA C and C++ syntax
‣ Projects and files management with version control management system integration.
CVS and Git are supported out of the box with integrations for other systems
available separately as IDE plug-ins.
‣ Configurable makefile-based NVCC build integration
‣ Graphical user interface for debugging heterogeneous applications
‣ Visual profiler with source code correlation for optimizing GPU code performance
Nsight Eclipse Edition is based on the popular Eclipse Platform and supports a wide
range of the third-party extensions and plug-ins including:
‣ Version control management systems support
‣ Compiler integrations
‣ Language IDEs
‣ Application lifecycle management and collaboration solutions
For more information about Eclipse Platform, visit http://eclipse.org
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Chapter 2.
NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
2.1. New in Nsight Eclipse Edition 6.0
Running Or Profiling Applications Remotely
In addition to remote debugging support introduced in Nsight Eclipse Edition 5.5,
Nsight Eclipse Edition 6.0 is also able to run and profile applications on remote
systems.
To run or profile on a remote system, select Remote C/C++ Applicaton from the drop-
down on the main toolbar.
Building Projects On A Remote System
Nsight Eclipse Edition can now perform build on a remote system. Following actions
will be performed:
1. Nsight will connect to a remote system and will synchronize copies of the
project files between local and remote systems. User may be prompted to resolve
conflicts if there are any.
2. make will be executed on a remote system to build the project.
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New and Noteworthy
3. Build results will be copied back to the local system.
Building project remotely requires Git to be available on the remote system. Git is
not required to be installed on a local system
Target systems for remote build can be setup during project creation with the New
CUDA Project wizard or on the Build/Target Systems project property page
ARMv7 Cross Development Support
Nsight Eclipse Edition can now target Linux systems running on ARMv7 processors.
Please consult CUDA Toolkit Release Notes for information on enabling ARMv7
cross development support in CUDA Toolkit
CPU archicture for the project can be set during project creation with the New CUDA
Project wizard or using the Build/Target Systems project property page
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New and Noteworthy
Cached And Extrapolated Values In Visual Debugger
cuda-gdb now reports cached and extrapolated values for variables in device code that
were optimized out by the compiler.
2.2. New in Nsight Eclipse Edition 5.5
Remote Debugging Support
Nsight supports debugging CUDA applications running on remote systems. Nsight
can both upload for debugging executable built locally and debug executable built
remotely.
Kernel Launch Trace
Debug view now shows CDP launch trace.
CDP Project Support
CDP support can be enabled from a new project wizard during project creation or
from project properties for existing projects.
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New and Noteworthy
Software Preemption Support
Software preeption debugging can be enabled from Nsight preferences.
Software preemption debugging is BETA and is only available on SM 3.5 devices.
Consult cuda-gdb manual before enabling this setting.
Floating Point Memory Rendering
Floating-point rendering support was added to the memory view.
Remote System Explorer
Nsight Eclipse Edition now includes Remote System Explorer plug-in. This plugin
enables accessing remote systems for file transfer, shell access and listing running
processes.
Eclipse Platform Update
Nsight Eclipse Edition 5.5 is based on Eclipse Platform 3.8.2 and Eclipse CDT 8.1.2
introducing a number of new features and enhancements to existing features.
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Chapter 3.
USING NSIGHT ECLIPSE EDITION
3.1. Installing Nsight Eclipse Edition
Nsight Eclipse Edition is installed as a part of the CUDA Toolkit package.
3.1.1. Installing CUDA Toolkit
To install CUDA Toolkit:
1. Visit the NVIDIA CUDA Zone download page:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/cuda_get.html
2. Select appropriate operating system. Nsight Eclipse Edition is available in Mac OS X
and Linux toolkit packages.
3. Download and install the CUDA Driver.
4. Download and install the CUDA Toolkit.
5. Follow instructions to configure CUDA Driver and Toolkit on your system.
3.1.2. Mac OS X Additional Notes
Nsight Eclipse Edition requires Java Runtime Environment (JRE) to be available on the
local system. Compatible JRE is included in CUDA Toolkit package on Linux platform.
Mac OS X users will be offered to install JRE by downloading it from Software Update
servers unless JRE is already installed.
Nsight Eclipse Edition relies on command-line tools like make and ar to compile CUDA
applications. On Mac OS X 10.8 ( Mountain Lion ) these tools are no longer installed as a
part of the Xcode package.
Upgrading to Mac OS X 10.8 from earlier Mac OS X versions will remove these
command-line tools.
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Using Nsight Eclipse Edition
To install command-line tools on Mac OS X 10.8:
1. Install Apple Xcode from the Mac App Store
2. Run Xcode and go to the Xcode > Preferences... from the main menu.
3. Open the Components tab of the Downloads sheet
4. Install Command Line Tools package
3.2. Running Nsight Eclipse Edition
To run Nsight from the command line type
nsight
On Linux systems, Nsight is also available from Gnome, KDE and Unity desktop menus.
On the first run Nsight will ask to pick a workspace location. The workspace is a folder
where Nsight will store its settings, local files history and caches. An empty folder
should be selected to avoid overwriting existing files.
The main Nsight window will open after the workspace location is selected. The main
window is divided into the following areas:
‣ Editor - displays source files that are opened for editing.
‣ Project Explorer - displays project files
‣ Outline - displays structure of the source file in the current editor.
‣ Problems - displays errors and warnings detected by static code analysis in IDE or by
a compiler during the build.
‣ Console - displays make output during the build or output from the running
application.
3.3. Creating a New Project
1. From the main menu, open the new project wizard - File > New... > CUDA C/C++
Project
2. Specify the project name and project files location.
3. Select CUDA Runtime Project to create a simple CUDA runtime application.
4. Specify the project parameters on the next wizard page.
By default Nsight will automatically detect and target CUDA hardware available
locally. Nsight will default to SM 1.0 if no CUDA hardware is detected.
5. Complete the wizard.
The project will be shown in the Project Explorer view and source editor will be
opened.
6. Build the project by clicking on the hammer button on the main toolbar.
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Using Nsight Eclipse Edition
Figure 1 Nsight main window after creating a new project
3.4. Importing CUDA Sample
CUDA samples must be installed locally. Visit http://www.nvidia.com/object/
cuda_get.html to download latest CUDA samples package.
1. From the main menu, open the new project wizard - File > New... > CUDA C/C++
Project
2. Specify the project name and project files location.
3. Select Import CUDA Sample under Executable in the Project type tree.
4. On the next wizard page select project sample you want to import. Press Next...
5. Specify the project parameters on the next wizard page.
6. Complete the wizard.
The project will be shown in the Project Explorer view and source editor will be
opened.
7. Build the project by clicking on the hammer button on the main toolbar.
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Using Nsight Eclipse Edition
3.5. Debugging CUDA Applications
Nsight must be running and at least one project must exist.
GPUs used to run X11 (on Linux) or Aqua (on Mac) cannot be used to debug CUDA
applications in Nsight Eclipse Edition. Consult cuda-gdb documentation for details.
1. In the Project Explorer view, select project you want to debug. Make sure the project
executable is compiled and no error markers are shown on the project.
2. On the main window toolbar press Debug button (green bug).
3. You will be offered to switch perspective when you run debugger for the first time.
Click "Yes".
Perspective is a window layout preset specifically designed for a particular task.
4. Application will suspend in the main function. At this point there is no GPU code
running.
5. Add a breakpoint in the device code. Resume the application.
Debugger will break when application reaches the breakpoint. You can now explore
your CUDA device state, step through your GPU code or resume the application.
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Using Nsight Eclipse Edition
Figure 2 Debugging CUDA application
3.6. Debugging Remote CUDA Applications
Remote debugging is available starting with CUDA Toolkit 5.5. A dedicated GPU is
not required to use Nsight remote debugging UI. A dedicated GPU is still required on
the debug target. Only Linux targets are supported. Debug host and target may run
different operating systems or have different CPU architectures. The remote machine
must be accessible via SSH and CUDA Toolkit must be installed on both machines.
If there is a firewall between the host and the target, it must be set up to let RSP
messages through, or SSH port-forwarding must be used.
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Using Nsight Eclipse Edition
1. Select Run>Debug an application menu item.
2. Select Debug an application on a remote system option.
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Using Nsight Eclipse Edition
3. Type the full path to a local executable or select one using the Local file... button.
4. Select a remote connection from a drop-down list or press the New... button to create
a new one.
5. If you are creating a new remote connection, select the SSH Only connection
type, press Next, and type the host name(or IP address) as well as the
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Using Nsight Eclipse Edition
connection name and description (both are optional) and then press Finish.
6. Optional: Press Connect to verify the selected remote connection.
7. Press the Next button.
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Using Nsight Eclipse Edition
8. Type the full path to cuda-gdbserver on the remote
system or select one using the Browse... button.
9. Click on "Add new path" or on the Browse... button to specify the path to the shared
libraries the remote application depends on.
10.Click on the Finish button to finish the new debug configuration wizard and start
debugging the application.
11.You will be offered to switch perspective when you run the debugger for the first
time. Click Yes.
Perspective is a window layout preset specifically designed for a particular task.
The debugger will stop at the application main routine. You can now set breakpoints, or
resume the application.
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Using Nsight Eclipse Edition
Figure 3 Debugging remote CUDA application
3.7. Profiling CUDA applications
Nsight must be running and at least one project must exist. Profiler cannot be used when
debugging session is in progress.
Nsight Eclipse Edition profiling features are based on the NVIDIA Visual Profiler ( nvvp
) code. These two tools provide same features and have same user interface.
1. In the Project Explorer view, select project you want to profile. Make sure the project
executable is compiled and no error markers are shown on the project.
2. On the main window toolbar press the Profile button.
3. Press Yes when Nsight prompts to switch to the Profile perspective.
Nsight will switch to the Profile perspective and will display application execution
timeline.
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Using Nsight Eclipse Edition
Figure 4 Profiling CUDA Application
3.8. More Information
Some of the topics not covered in this guide are:
‣ Navigating debugged application state
‣ Enabling cuda-memcheck integration when debugging GPU applications
‣ Attaching to running applications
‣ Measuring GPU code efficiency
‣ Refactoring CUDA C/C++ source code
‣ Accessing CVS and Git repositories
‣ Installing Nsight Eclipse Edition plug-ins
More information about these and other topics is available in the Nsight built-in
documentation. To access Nsight documentation select Help->Help Contents from the
Nsight main menu.
More information about CUDA, CUDA Toolkit and other tools is available on CUDA
web page at http://developer.nvidia.com/cuda
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Appendix A.
HOST PLATFORM REQUIREMENTS
The general platform and GPU requirements for running Nsight Eclipse Edition are
described in this section.
A.1. Linux
Nsight Eclipse Edition is supported on the following Linux distributions:
‣ Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5+ (64-bit only)
‣ Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.x
‣ Ubuntu 12.04 and 12.10
‣ Fedora 18
‣ OpenSuse 12.2
‣ Suse Linux Enterprise Server 11.1 and 11 SP2
A.2. Mac OS X
Nsight Eclipse Edition is supported on the following Mac OS X versions:
‣ Mac OS X 10.7
‣ Mac OS X 10.8
A.3. GPU Requirements
A CUDA-capable GPU is not required for writing and compiling your CUDA
application using Nsight Eclipse Edition. A CUDA-capable GPU is required for
debugging and profiling CUDA applications.
Debugging is supported on all CUDA-capable GPUs with a compute capability of 1.1 or
later. Compute capability is a device attribute that a CUDA application can query about;
for more information, see the latest NVIDIA CUDA Programming Guide on the NVIDIA
CUDA Zone Web site: http://developer.nvidia.com/object/gpucomputing.html
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Host Platform Requirements
These GPUs have a compute capability of 1.0 and are not supported :
‣ GeForce 8800 GTS
‣ GeForce 8800 GTX
‣ GeForce 8800 Ultra
‣ Quadro Plex 1000 Model IV
‣ Quadro Plex 2100 Model S4
‣ Quadro FX 4600
‣ Quadro FX 5600
‣ Tesla C870
‣ Tesla D870
‣ Tesla S870
A GPU that is running X11 (on Linux) or Aqua (on Mac) cannot be used to debug a
CUDA application and will be hidden from the application ran in the debugger. Such
GPU can still be used for profiling GPU applications.
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Appendix B.
KNOWN ISSUES
Executable must exist in order to start debug session for the first time
Nsight will not automatically perform build when starting debug session for a given
project for the first time. Build must be invoked manually. Nsight will automatically
rebuild executable when starting subsequent debug sessions.
To manually build the project, select it (or any file within the project) in a Project
Explorer view and click hammer icon on the main window toolbar.
Source editors may show error markers on a valid code for the files in newly
created projects.
These markers will be cleared after Nsight indexes included header files.
Mac OS X users may be prompted to install Java Runtime Environment (JRE) when
running Nsight Eclipse Edition for the first time.
Nsight Eclipse Edition requires functioning Java Runtime Environment to be present on
the local system to run.
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Known Issues
Figure 5 JRE install prompt on Mac OS X platform
Security updates for Java Runtime Environment will be provided by Apple using
Software Update application.
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