[perf] refactor: part 2 - Profiler ci test and fixes

.github/workflows/e2e_ppo_trainer_megatron_sglang.yml

@@ -140,10 +140,16 @@ jobs:
           exp_name="deepseek-coder-1.3b-instruct-megatron-gsm8k-minimal"
           python -m verl.model_merger test --backend megatron --local_dir checkpoints/verl-test/${exp_name}/global_step_1/actor --test_hf_dir checkpoints/verl-test/${exp_name}/global_step_1/actor/huggingface
           python -m verl.model_merger test --backend megatron --is-value-model --local_dir checkpoints/verl-test/${exp_name}/global_step_1/critic --test_hf_dir checkpoints/verl-test/${exp_name}/global_step_1/critic/huggingface
-      - name: Running GRPO GSM8K E2E training tests with 3D parallelism on 8 L20 GPUs with Megatron (Deepseek)
+      - name: Profiling GRPO GSM8K E2E training tests with 3D parallelism on 8 L20 GPUs with Megatron (Deepseek)
         run: |
           ray stop --force
-          ENGINE=sglang ADV_ESTIMATOR=grpo USE_DYNAMIC_BSZ=False MODEL_ID=deepseek-ai/deepseek-coder-1.3b-instruct bash tests/special_e2e/run_ppo_trainer_megatron.sh
+          PROFILE_ENABLE=True ENGINE=sglang ADV_ESTIMATOR=grpo USE_DYNAMIC_BSZ=False MODEL_ID=deepseek-ai/deepseek-coder-1.3b-instruct bash tests/special_e2e/run_ppo_trainer_megatron.sh
+          if [ -z "$( ls -A '/tmp/ray/session_latest/logs/nsight/' )" ]; then
+            echo "[ERROR] not found any profiling files"
+            exit 1
+          else
+            echo "[SUCCESS] profile success"
+          fi
       - name: clean up
         run: |
           rm -rf checkpoints

docs/ascend_tutorial/ascend_profiling.rst

@@ -18,13 +18,13 @@ Last updated: 07/24/2025.
 
 通过 ppo_trainer.yaml 中的参数控制采集步数和模式：
 
--  profiler: 控制采集的rank和模式
+-  global_profiler: 控制采集的rank和模式
 
    -  tool: 使用的采集工具，选项有 nsys、npu、torch、torch_memory。
    -  steps: 此参数可以设置为包含采集步数的列表，例如 [2, 4]，表示将采集第2步和第4步。如果设置为 null，则不进行采集。
    -  save_path: 保存采集数据的路径。默认值为 "outputs/profile"。
 
-通过 ``profiler.tool_config.npu`` 中的参数控制具体采集行为：
+通过 ``global_profiler.global_tool_config.npu`` 中的参数控制具体采集行为：
 
 -  level: 采集级别—选项有 level_none、level0、level1 和 level2
 
@@ -63,15 +63,15 @@ Last updated: 07/24/2025.
 
 .. code:: yaml
 
-      profiler:
+      global_profiler:
          steps: null # disable profile
 
 端到端采集
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 .. code:: yaml
 
-      profiler:
+      global_profiler:
          steps: [1, 2, 5]
          discrete: False
       actor_rollout_ref:
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ Last updated: 07/24/2025.
 
 .. code:: yaml
 
-      profiler:
+      global_profiler:
          discrete: True
 
 

docs/ascend_tutorial/ascend_profiling_en.rst

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ Global collection control
 Use parameters in ppo_trainer.yaml to control the collection mode
 and steps.
 
--  profiler: Control the ranks and mode of profiling
+-  global_profiler: Control the ranks and mode of profiling
 
    -  tool: The profiling tool to use, options are nsys, npu, torch,
       torch_memory.
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ and steps.
    -  save_path: The path to save the collected data. Default is
       "outputs/profile".
 
-Use parameters in ``profiler.tool_config.npu`` to control npu profiler behavior:
+Use parameters in ``global_profiler.global_tool_config.npu`` to control npu profiler behavior:
 
 -  level: Collection level—options are level_none, level0, level1, and
    level2
@@ -77,15 +77,15 @@ Disabling collection
 
 .. code:: yaml
 
-      profiler:
+      global_profiler:
          steps: null # disable profile
 
 End-to-End collection
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 .. code:: yaml
 
-      profiler:
+      global_profiler:
          steps: [1, 2, 5]
          discrete: False
       actor_rollout_ref:
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ Discrete Mode Collection
 
 .. code:: yaml
 
-      profiler:
+      global_profiler:
          discrete: True
 
 

docs/perf/nsight_profiling.md

@@ -16,24 +16,23 @@ Nsight Systems version is important, please reference `docker/Dockerfile.vllm.sg
 
 verl has one single controller process and multiple worker processes. Both controller and worker processes can be profiled. Since the controller process can be executed in any nodes in the cluster, there is a message printed in the logging to indicate the controller process node hostname and process id.
 
-In `profiler`, three new config entries control the profiler behaviors:
+In `global_profiler`, three new config entries control the profiler behaviors:
 
-* **`profiler.steps`**. List of step numbers at which profiling should be performed. For example: [1, 2, 5] will profile steps 1, 2, and 5. And ``null`` means no profiling.
+* **`global_profiler.steps`**. List of step numbers at which profiling should be performed. For example: [1, 2, 5] will profile steps 1, 2, and 5. And ``null`` means no profiling.
 
-* **`profiler.profile_continuous_steps`**. If true, and the following `profiler.discrete==False`, then the continuous steps in `profiler.steps` will be combined into one database. For example the above step 1 and 2 are in one database, and 5 in another. If false, every step occupies at least one database. The reason for this config is to observe the program behaviors between steps.
+* **`global_profiler.profile_continuous_steps`**. If true, and the following `global_profiler.discrete==False`, then the continuous steps in `global_profiler.steps` will be combined into one database. For example the above step 1 and 2 are in one database, and 5 in another. If false, every step occupies at least one database. The reason for this config is to observe the program behaviors between steps.
 
-Nsys options in controller nodes and worker nodes are configured in `trainer`:
+Nsys options in controller nodes and worker nodes are configured in `global_profiler.global_tool_config.nsys`:
 
-* **`trainer.controller_nsight_options`**. This config group is for the single controller. All fields in this config group will be just sent to Nsight Systems when Ray starts the controller process. `ppo_trainer.yaml` provides a workable example. Users can reference [Nsight Systems manual](https://docs.nvidia.com/nsight-systems/UserGuide/index.html) and [Ray user guide](https://docs.ray.io/en/latest/ray-observability/user-guides/profiling.html) for more details.
-* **`trainer.worker_nsight_options`**. This config group is for the worker processes. Similarly all fields in this config group will be just sent to Nsight Systems when Ray starts the controller process. Capture range is used to control the profiler when to start and stop. So `capture-range: "cudaProfilerApi"` is fixed and does not change it. Users can change `capture-range-end` with some accurate calculation or just leave it `null`.
+* **`global_profiler.global_tool_config.nsys.controller_nsight_options`**. This config group is for the single controller. All fields in this config group will be just sent to Nsight Systems when Ray starts the controller process. `ppo_trainer.yaml` provides a workable example. Users can reference [Nsight Systems manual](https://docs.nvidia.com/nsight-systems/UserGuide/index.html) and [Ray user guide](https://docs.ray.io/en/latest/ray-observability/user-guides/profiling.html) for more details.
+* **`global_profiler.global_tool_config.nsys.worker_nsight_options`**. This config group is for the worker processes. Similarly all fields in this config group will be just sent to Nsight Systems when Ray starts the controller process. Capture range is used to control the profiler when to start and stop. So `capture-range: "cudaProfilerApi"` is fixed and does not change it. Users can change `capture-range-end` with some accurate calculation or just leave it `null`.
 
 ### Worker process profiling
 
 Verl manages mulitiple RL roles, _Actor_, _Ref_, _Rollout_, _Critic_, _Reward_, which are implemented in different Worker classes. And these workers can be combined into one Ray Actor, running in a process group. Each RL role has its own profiling config group, `profiler`, which consists of three fields:
 
 * **`all_ranks` and `ranks`**. When `all_ranks` is set `True` then all ranks will be profiled; when set `False`, `ranks` will be profiled. By default, verl profiles the whole training process in a series ` worker_process_<PID>.<RID>.nsys-rep` files for each process rank. PID is the process ID; RID is the capture range ID.
 * **`discrete`**. When set `False`, all the roles actions in one training step will be dumped in one database. When set `True`, the actions annotated by `DistProfiler.annotate` will be dumped into a discrete database. In this case, each role's action occupies one `<RID>`.
-* **`actor_rollout_ref`**. This Worker can be configured to contain at most 3 roles and executes together. So `actor_rollout_ref` has a `profiler` config and all the inside roles inherit it.
 * **Verl collocate mode**. Verl can combine two Worker sub classes to one Worker Actor. In this case, the user should take care that the combined Workers have consistent `discrete`. The Nsight Systems profiler uses a `torch.cuda.profiler.start()` and `stop()` pair to dump a `<step>` database anyway.
 
 ### where to find the profiling data
@@ -56,7 +55,7 @@ To enable profiling for specific components and steps, modify your ppo_trainer.y
 ### Enable profiler and one database for one training step
 
 ```yaml
-    profiler:
+    global_profiler:
         steps: [1, 2, 5]
         discrete: False
     actor_rollout_ref:

examples/grpo_trainer/run_qwen2_5_7b_grpo_discrete_prof_npu.sh

@@ -55,11 +55,11 @@ python3 -m verl.trainer.main_ppo \
     trainer.test_freq=5 \
     trainer.total_epochs=5 \
     trainer.device=npu \
-    profiler.tool=npu \
-    profiler.steps=$PROFILE_STEPS \
-    profiler.save_path=$SAVE_PATH \
-    profiler.tool_config.npu.discrete=$DISCRETE \
-    profiler.tool_config.npu.contents=$CONTENTS \
-    profiler.tool_config.npu.level=$LEVEL \
-    profiler.tool_config.npu.analysis=$ANALYSIS
+    global_profiler.tool=npu \
+    global_profiler.steps=$PROFILE_STEPS \
+    global_profiler.save_path=$SAVE_PATH \
+    global_profiler.global_tool_config.npu.discrete=$DISCRETE \
+    global_profiler.global_tool_config.npu.contents=$CONTENTS \
+    global_profiler.global_tool_config.npu.level=$LEVEL \
+    global_profiler.global_tool_config.npu.analysis=$ANALYSIS
     $@

examples/grpo_trainer/run_qwen2_5_7b_grpo_e2e_prof_npu.sh

@@ -54,11 +54,11 @@ python3 -m verl.trainer.main_ppo \
     trainer.test_freq=5 \
     trainer.total_epochs=5 \
     trainer.device=npu \
-    profiler.tool=npu \
-    profiler.steps=$PROFILE_STEPS \
-    profiler.save_path=$SAVE_PATH \
-    profiler.tool_config.npu.discrete=$DISCRETE \
-    profiler.tool_config.npu.contents=$CONTENTS \
-    profiler.tool_config.npu.level=$LEVEL \
-    profiler.tool_config.npu.analysis=$ANALYSIS \
+    global_profiler.tool=npu \
+    global_profiler.steps=$PROFILE_STEPS \
+    global_profiler.save_path=$SAVE_PATH \
+    global_profiler.global_tool_config.npu.discrete=$DISCRETE \
+    global_profiler.global_tool_config.npu.contents=$CONTENTS \
+    global_profiler.global_tool_config.npu.level=$LEVEL \
+    global_profiler.global_tool_config.npu.analysis=$ANALYSIS
     $@

examples/ppo_trainer/run_deepseek_math_gsm8k_megatron_nsys.sh

@@ -60,6 +60,6 @@ python3 -m verl.trainer.main_ppo --config-path=./config --config-name='ppo_megat
     trainer.test_freq=-1 \
     trainer.total_epochs=100 \
     trainer.total_training_steps=1 \
-    profiler.tool=nsys \
-    profiler.steps=$PROFILE_STEPS \
-    profiler.tool_config.nsys.discrete=$DISCRETE $@
+    global_profiler.tool=nsys \
+    global_profiler.steps=$PROFILE_STEPS \
+    global_profiler.global_tool_config.nsys.discrete=$DISCRETE $@

examples/ppo_trainer/run_qwen2-7b_rm_seq_balance_nsys.sh

@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ python3 -m verl.trainer.main_ppo \
     trainer.test_freq=-1 \
     trainer.total_epochs=15 \
     trainer.total_training_steps=6 \
-    profiler.profile_continuous_steps=True \
-    profiler.tool=nsys \
-    profiler.steps=$PROFILE_STEPS \
-    profiler.tool_config.nsys.discrete=$DISCRETE $@
+    global_profiler.profile_continuous_steps=True \
+    global_profiler.tool=nsys \
+    global_profiler.steps=$PROFILE_STEPS \
+    global_profiler.global_tool_config.nsys.discrete=$DISCRETE $@

recipe/one_step_off_policy/ray_trainer.py

@@ -234,11 +234,12 @@ def init_workers(self):
             wg_kwargs["ray_wait_register_center_timeout"] = self.config.trainer.ray_wait_register_center_timeout
         if OmegaConf.select(self.config.global_profiler, "steps") is not None:
             wg_kwargs["profile_steps"] = OmegaConf.select(self.config.trainer, "steps")
-            assert OmegaConf.select(self.config.global_profiler, "worker_nsight_options") is not None, (
-                "worker_nsight_options must be set when profile_steps is set"
-            )
+            assert (
+                OmegaConf.select(self.config.global_profiler.global_tool_config.nsys, "worker_nsight_options")
+                is not None
+            ), "worker_nsight_options must be set when profile_steps is set"
             wg_kwargs["worker_nsight_options"] = OmegaConf.to_container(
-                OmegaConf.select(self.config.global_profiler, "worker_nsight_options")
+                OmegaConf.select(self.config.global_profiler.global_tool_config.nsys, "worker_nsight_options")
             )
 
         for resource_pool, class_dict in self.resource_pool_to_cls.items():

tests/special_e2e/run_ppo_trainer_megatron.sh

@@ -140,6 +140,12 @@ fi
 
 OPTIM_MEMORY_EFFICIENT=${OPTIM_MEMORY_EFFICIENT:-False}
 
+PROFILE_ENABLE=${PROFILE_ENABLE:-False}
+PROFILE_STEPS=${PROFILE_STEPS:-[1]}
+PROFILE_RANKS_ALL=${PROFILE_RANKS_ALL:-True}
+PROFILE_RANKS=${PROFILE_RANKS:-[0,1,2,3]}
+DISCRETE=${DISCRETE:-True}  # or True
+
 python3 -m verl.trainer.main_ppo --config-path=config \
     --config-name='ppo_megatron_trainer.yaml'\
     algorithm.adv_estimator="${ADV_ESTIMATOR}" \
@@ -176,6 +182,9 @@ python3 -m verl.trainer.main_ppo --config-path=config \
     actor_rollout_ref.actor.kl_loss_coef=0.001 \
     actor_rollout_ref.actor.kl_loss_type=low_var_kl \
     actor_rollout_ref.actor.checkpoint.save_contents=$CHECKPOINT_CONTENTS \
+    actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.enable=$PROFILE_ENABLE \
+    actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.ranks=$PROFILE_RANKS \
+    actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.all_ranks=$PROFILE_RANKS_ALL \
     actor_rollout_ref.rollout.name="${ENGINE}" ${ROLLOUT_MODE_ARG}\
     actor_rollout_ref.rollout.tensor_model_parallel_size=$ROLLOUT_TP \
     actor_rollout_ref.rollout.gpu_memory_utilization=0.6 \
@@ -214,6 +223,9 @@ python3 -m verl.trainer.main_ppo --config-path=config \
     critic.megatron.use_dist_checkpointing=${USE_DIST_CKPT} \
     critic.megatron.dist_checkpointing_path=${DIST_CKPT_PATH} \
     critic.checkpoint.save_contents=$CHECKPOINT_CONTENTS \
+    critic.profiler.enable=$PROFILE_ENABLE \
+    critic.profiler.ranks=$PROFILE_RANKS \
+    critic.profiler.all_ranks=$PROFILE_RANKS_ALL \
     reward_model.enable=True \
     reward_model.model.path="${MODEL_PATH}" \
     reward_model.micro_batch_size_per_gpu=${train_traj_micro_bsz_per_gpu} \
@@ -227,6 +239,9 @@ python3 -m verl.trainer.main_ppo --config-path=config \
     reward_model.megatron.param_offload=${RM_PARAM_OFFLOAD} \
     reward_model.megatron.use_dist_checkpointing=${USE_DIST_CKPT} \
     reward_model.megatron.dist_checkpointing_path=${DIST_CKPT_PATH} \
+    reward_model.profiler.enable=$PROFILE_ENABLE \
+    reward_model.profiler.ranks=$PROFILE_RANKS \
+    reward_model.profiler.all_ranks=$PROFILE_RANKS_ALL \
     algorithm.use_kl_in_reward=False \
     algorithm.kl_penalty=kl \
     algorithm.kl_ctrl.kl_coef=0.001 \
@@ -241,4 +256,8 @@ python3 -m verl.trainer.main_ppo --config-path=config \
     trainer.save_freq="${SAVE_FREQ}" \
     trainer.resume_mode="${RESUME_MODE}" \
     trainer.total_epochs=2 \
-    trainer.total_training_steps="${TOTAL_TRAIN_STEPS}" $@
+    trainer.total_training_steps="${TOTAL_TRAIN_STEPS}" \
+    global_profiler.profile_continuous_steps=True \
+    global_profiler.tool=nsys \
+    global_profiler.steps=$PROFILE_STEPS \
+    global_profiler.global_tool_config.nsys.discrete=$DISCRETE $@

verl/trainer/config/_generated_ppo_megatron_trainer.yaml

@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ actor_rollout_ref:
       save_path: ${oc.select:global_profiler.save_path,null}
       tool_config:
         nsys:
+          _target_: verl.utils.profiler.config.NsightToolConfig
           discrete: ${oc.select:global_profiler.global_tool_config.nsys.discrete}
         npu:
           _target_: verl.utils.profiler.config.NPUToolConfig
@@ -118,7 +119,7 @@ actor_rollout_ref:
       all_ranks: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.all_ranks,false}
       ranks: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.ranks,[]}
       save_path: ${oc.select:global_profiler.save_path,null}
-      tool_config: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.tool_config,null}
+      tool_config: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.tool_config,null}
     megatron:
       _target_: verl.workers.config.MegatronEngineConfig
       param_offload: false
@@ -206,7 +207,7 @@ actor_rollout_ref:
       all_ranks: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.all_ranks,false}
       ranks: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.ranks,[]}
       save_path: ${oc.select:global_profiler.save_path,null}
-      tool_config: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.tool_config,null}
+      tool_config: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.tool_config,null}
     enable_chunked_prefill: false
     load_format: dummy_megatron
     layer_name_map:
@@ -315,7 +316,7 @@ critic:
     all_ranks: false
     ranks: []
     save_path: ${oc.select:global_profiler.save_path,null}
-    tool_config: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.tool_config,null}
+    tool_config: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.tool_config,null}
   nccl_timeout: 600
   megatron:
     _target_: verl.workers.config.McoreEngineConfig
@@ -364,7 +365,7 @@ reward_model:
     all_ranks: false
     ranks: []
     save_path: ${oc.select:global_profiler.save_path,null}
-    tool_config: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.tool_config,null}
+    tool_config: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.tool_config,null}
   nccl_timeout: 600
   megatron:
     _target_: verl.workers.config.MegatronEngineConfig

verl/trainer/config/_generated_ppo_trainer.yaml

@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ actor_rollout_ref:
       save_path: ${oc.select:global_profiler.save_path,null}
       tool_config:
         nsys:
+          _target_: verl.utils.profiler.config.NsightToolConfig
           discrete: ${oc.select:global_profiler.global_tool_config.nsys.discrete}
         npu:
           _target_: verl.utils.profiler.config.NPUToolConfig
@@ -99,7 +100,7 @@ actor_rollout_ref:
       all_ranks: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.all_ranks,false}
       ranks: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.ranks,[]}
       save_path: ${oc.select:global_profiler.save_path,null}
-      tool_config: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.tool_config,null}
+      tool_config: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.tool_config,null}
     model: null
     fsdp_config:
       _target_: verl.workers.config.FSDPEngineConfig
@@ -181,7 +182,7 @@ actor_rollout_ref:
       all_ranks: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.all_ranks,false}
       ranks: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.ranks,[]}
       save_path: ${oc.select:global_profiler.save_path,null}
-      tool_config: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.tool_config,null}
+      tool_config: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.tool_config,null}
     enable_chunked_prefill: true
     load_format: dummy_dtensor
     layered_summon: false
@@ -301,7 +302,7 @@ critic:
     all_ranks: false
     ranks: []
     save_path: ${oc.select:global_profiler.save_path,null}
-    tool_config: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.tool_config,null}
+    tool_config: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.tool_config,null}
   forward_micro_batch_size: ${oc.select:.ppo_micro_batch_size,null}
   forward_micro_batch_size_per_gpu: ${oc.select:.ppo_micro_batch_size_per_gpu,null}
   ulysses_sequence_parallel_size: 1
@@ -343,7 +344,7 @@ reward_model:
     all_ranks: false
     ranks: []
     save_path: ${oc.select:global_profiler.save_path,null}
-    tool_config: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.tool_config,null}
+    tool_config: ${oc.select:actor_rollout_ref.actor.profiler.tool_config,null}
   ulysses_sequence_parallel_size: 1
 custom_reward_function:
   path: null