Debian Package usage profiler for Debian based Systems

TL;DR

This paper presents a profiling tool for Debian-based systems on embedded devices to identify and remove unused system components, optimizing performance and reducing system size.

Contribution

It introduces a non-invasive usage data collection method to help developers create leaner, application-specific Debian-based distributions for embedded platforms.

Findings

Effective identification of redundant system content

Minimal performance impact during data collection

Facilitates creation of optimized embedded Linux systems

Abstract

The embedded devices of today due to their CPU, RAM capabilities can run various Linux distributions but in most cases they are different from general purpose distributions as they are usually lighter and specific to the needs of that particular system. In this project, we share the problems associated in adopting a fully heavy-weight Debian based system like Ubuntu in embedded/automotive platforms and provide solutions to optimize them to identify unused/redundant content in the system. This helps developer to reduce the hefty general purpose distribution to an application specific distribution. The solution involves collecting usage data in the system in a non-invasive manner (to avoid any drop in performance) to suggest users the redundant, unused parts of the system that can be safely removed without impacting the system functionality.