Arm Linux Migration Tools

A comprehensive package of migration tools specifically designed to help developers migrate applications and workloads to Arm servers. This package provides a unified installation of 13 essential tools for analyzing, optimizing, and migrating software to Arm architecture.

Overview

The Arm Linux Migration Tools package simplifies the process of migrating applications to Arm-based systems by providing pre-configured, ready-to-use tools in a single installation. All tools are optimized for Arm Linux systems and include proper dependency management through automated scripts.

System Requirements

• Architecture: Arm (aarch64)

• Operating System: Linux (Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 recommended), Amazon Linux 2023, macOS users can test inside Colima/Docker (limitations).

  • Note (macOS/Colima): perf relies on Linux kernel PMU support and is not supported on macOS/Colima (XNU kernel). The test script will mark it as SKIPPED in these environments.

• Dependencies:

  • Docker/Podman (required for migrate-ease-docker)

Installation

You can install the tools using a single command or download the tar file and run in the install script. Pick either alternative.

Single line installation

Install directly from the latest GitHub release:

curl -sSL https://github.com/arm/arm-linux-migration-tools/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sudo bash

Download and install

Download a release release tar file and install on your computer:

# Download the latest release (replace ARCH with arm64 or x86_64)
wget https://github.com/arm/arm-linux-migration-tools/releases/latest/download/arm-migration-tools-v3-arm64.tar.gz

# Extract and install
tar xzf arm-migration-tools-v3-arm64.tar.gz
sudo ./scripts/install.sh

Uninstall

You can uninstall by running:

/opt/arm-migration-tools/scripts/uninstall.sh

Note The uninstall script:

• Removes /opt/arm-migration-tools
• Removes wrappers in /usr/local/bin
• Removes system packages (perf, llvm-mca, skopeo) where installed

Build from Source

To build all tools from source:

git clone https://github.com/arm/arm-linux-migration-tools.git
cd arm-linux-migration-tools
./scripts/build.sh 

The build.sh script will:

• Build all tools from source where required
• Download and configure package-manager tools
• Create Python virtual environments for Python-based tools
• Package everything into a distributable tarball (arm-migration-tools-v[version]-[arch].tar.gz)
• The default version is 1 but you can pass an integer to ./build.sh to set a new version number.
• Architecture (arm64 or x86_64) is automatically detected from the build system.

When the build is complete install the tools using:

./scripts/install.sh

Note: Both install and uninstall scripts can be run multiple times.

• Running install.sh again will detect already-installed tools and skip re-installation.
• Running uninstall.sh again will simply confirm that everything is already removed.

Tool Notes

• Skopeo:

  • On Ubuntu, installed natively via apt.
  • On Amazon Linux 2023, Skopeo is not available in default repos.
    • You can run it via the provided container wrapper (skopeo-container)
    • Or build it manually from source / use GitHub release binaries.

• Migrate-Ease:

  • Five language wrappers (cpp,python,go,js,java) always install.

  • The Docker wrapper installs only if Docker/Podman is detected.

  • On systems without a container runtime, migrate-ease-docker is skipped.

  • CLI vs upstream (Migrate-Ease):

  The upstream migrate-ease README shows usage as:

  python3 -m {scanner_name} --march {arch} {scan_path}

  In this package we provide unified wrappers (migrate-ease-cpp, migrate-ease-python, etc.) in /usr/local/bin. This ensures consistent CLI names across all supported languages and avoids requiring users to cd into the package or call python3 -m directly.

  The upstream docs use:

  python3 -m {scanner_name} --march {arch} {scan_path}
    # e.g. python3 -m cpp --march armv8-a ./myproject

  This package installs unified wrappers to /usr/local/bin:

  migrate-ease-cpp --march armv8-a ./myproject
  migrate-ease-python --march armv8-a ./myproject
  migrate-ease-go --march armv8-a ./myproject
  migrate-ease-js --march armv8-a ./myproject
  migrate-ease-java --march armv8-a ./myproject

  Why: consistent command names across languages, no python3 -m …, and wrappers auto-use the venv.

• Perf

  • On cloud VMs (AWS,GCP,Azure) with Ubuntu/Amazon Linux, perf installs normally with kernel-matching packages.
  • On macOS Colima or other Docker-on-mac setups, perf will show as SKIPPED in the test script because the underlying XNU kernel doesn't support Linux perf.
  • The test script will report Perf: SKIP (binary present but counters unsupported on this kernel) when running inside mac/Colima or similarly restricted kernels

• Porting Advisor:

  • Installs successfully on both Ubuntu and Amazon Linux.
  • Requires Python ≥3.10 to run.
  • Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 meet this requirement.
  • Amazon Linux 2023 defaults to Python 3.9 → binary installs but won’t run unless Python is upgraded.

This package includes 13 essential migration and analysis tools:

1. Sysreport - System Analysis and Reporting

• Purpose: System analysis and reporting tool for performance and configuration checks
• Test Command: sysreport --help
• Learning Path: Get ready for performance analysis with Sysreport

2. Skopeo - Container Image Inspection

• Purpose: Container image inspection and manipulation tool
• Test Command: skopeo --help
• Install Guide: Skopeo install guide

3. MCA (llvm-mca) - Machine Code Analyzer

• Purpose: Machine Code Analyzer for performance analysis of compiled code
• Test Command: llvm-mca --help
• Learning Path: Learn about LLVM Machine Code Analyzer

4. Topdown Tool - Performance Analysis

• Purpose: Performance analysis methodology tool for Linux systems
• Test Command: topdown-tool --help
• Install Guide: Telemetry Solution

5. KubeArchInspect - Kubernetes Architecture Inspection

• Purpose: Kubernetes architecture inspection and reporting tool
• Test Command: kubearchinspect --help
• Learning Path: Migrate containers to Arm using KubeArchInspect

6. Migrate Ease - Migration Assistance

• Purpose: Migration assistance tool for analyzing and porting workloads
• Test Command: migrate-ease-cpp --help
• Learning Path: Migrate applications to Arm servers using migrate-ease

7. Aperf - Performance Monitoring

• Purpose: Performance monitoring tool for Linux systems
• Test Command: aperf --help
• Install Guide: Aperf install guide

8. BOLT - Binary Optimization

• Purpose: Binary optimization and layout tool (part of LLVM)
• Test Commands:
  • llvm-bolt --help
  • perf2bolt --help
• Install Guide: BOLT install guide

9. PAPI - Performance API

• Purpose: Performance API for accessing hardware performance counters
• Test Command: papi_avail -h
• Install Guide: PAPI install guide

10. Perf - Linux Performance Analysis

• Purpose: Linux performance analysis tool for profiling and tracing
• Test Command: perf --help
• Install Guide: Perf install guide

11. Process Watch - Process Monitoring

• Purpose: Process monitoring tool for Linux systems
• Test Command: processwatch -h
• Learning Path: Run Process watch on your Arm machine

12. Check Image - Container Arm Support Checker

• Purpose: Checks a container image for Arm architecture support
• Test Command: check-image -h
• Learning Path: Check Image on learn.arm.com

13. Porting Advisor - Software Portability Assessment

• Purpose: Tool to assess portability of software to Arm architecture
• Test Command: porting-advisor --help
• Install Guide: Porting Advisor install guide

Testing Installation

After installation, verify all tools are working correctly:

arm-migration-tools-test.sh

This script writes:

• arm-migration-tools-test.log - full human readable output
• arm-migration-tools-test.summary.tsv – a 3-column summary: tool / status / note

Statuses: • PASS – tool is present and the smoke test succeeded • SKIP – intentionally not tested on this system (e.g., perf on mac/Colima; migrate-ease-docker without Docker/Podman) • FAIL – tool found but the smoke test failed (check the log for details)

Individual Tool Testing

You can also test individual tools using their respective help commands:

# System analysis
sysreport --help

# Container tools
skopeo --help
check-image -h

# Performance analysis
llvm-mca --help
topdown-tool --help
aperf --help
perf --help
papi_avail -h
processwatch -h

# Migration tools
kubearchinspect --help
migrate-ease-cpp --help
porting-advisor --help

# Binary optimization
llvm-bolt --help
perf2bolt --help

Architecture

Installation Structure

All tools are installed to /opt/arm-migration-tools/ with the following structure:

/opt/arm-migration-tools/
├── venv/                    # Python virtual environment
├── scripts/                 # Installation and management scripts
├── sysreport/              # Sysreport tool
├── kubearchinspect/        # KubeArchInspect tool
├── aperf/                  # Aperf binaries
├── processwatch/           # Process Watch binary
├── src/                    # Source files (check-image.py)
├── requirements.txt        # Python dependencies
└── tool-versions.txt       # Installed tool versions

Python Virtual Environment

Python-based tools use a shared virtual environment at /opt/arm-migration-tools/venv/. You can activate it manually:

source /opt/arm-migration-tools/venv/bin/activate

However, wrapper scripts in /usr/local/bin/ are provided for convenient access to all Python tools.

Package Management Integration

Tools available through package managers (like perf, llvm-mca, skopeo) are installed system-wide using the appropriate package manager for your distribution.

Development

Project Structure

arm-linux-migration-tools/
├── scripts/                 # Build, install, and uninstall scripts
│   ├── build.sh            # Main build script
│   ├── install.sh          # Main installation script
│   ├── uninstall.sh        # Main uninstallation script
│   ├── build_*.sh          # Individual tool build scripts
│   ├── install_*.sh        # Individual tool install scripts
│   └── uninstall_*.sh      # Individual tool uninstall scripts
├── src/                    # Source files
│   └── check-image.py      # Container image checker
├── docs/                   # Documentation
└── .github/                # GitHub configuration

Building Individual Tools

Each tool has its own build script in the scripts/ directory:

# Build specific tools
./scripts/build_sysreport.sh
./scripts/build_aperf.sh
./scripts/build_processwatch.sh
# ... etc

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test on Arm Linux systems
5. Submit a pull request

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Architecture Check Failed

• Ensure you're running on an Arm system
• Check with: uname -m (should show aarch64)

Python Virtual Environment Issues

• Ensure Python 3 is installed: python3 --version
• Check virtual environment: ls -la /opt/arm-migration-tools/venv/

Tool Not Found After Installation

• Check if tool is in PATH: which <tool-name>
• Try using the full path: /usr/local/bin/<tool-name>
• Verify installation: arm-migration-tools-test.sh

Migrate-Ease Python ImportError: failed to find libmagic
If you see this error, it means your base OS image is missing the libmagic library.
Normally install.sh installs it automatically, but if running inside a minimal container, you may need to install manually:

• Ubuntu/Debian: apt-get update && apt-get install -y file libmagic1
• Amazon Linux / RHEL / Fedora: dnf install -y file-libs || yum install -y file-libs

Permission Errors

• Installation requires sudo privileges
• Ensure you can run: sudo ls /opt/

Getting Help

• Documentation: Visit learn.arm.com for detailed guides
• Issues: Report bugs on the GitHub Issues page
• Community: Join the Arm Developer Community forums

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See individual tool repositories for their specific licenses.

Links

• GitHub Repository: github.com/arm/arm-linux-migration-tools
• Arm Learning Paths: learn.arm.com
• Arm Developer Community: community.arm.com