Add maxperf build profile (#3608)

## Proposed Changes

Add a new Cargo compilation profile called `maxperf` which enables more aggressive compiler optimisations at the expense of compilation time.

Some rough initial benchmarks show that this can provide up to a 25% reduction to run time for CPU bound tasks like block processing: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15jHuZe7lLHhZq9Nw8kc6EL0Qh_N_YAYqkW2NQ_Afmtk/edit

The numbers in that spreadsheet compare the `consensus-context` branch from #3604 to the same branch compiled with the `maxperf` profile using:

```
PROFILE=maxperf make install-lcli
```

## Additional Info

The downsides of the maxperf profile are:

- It increases compile times substantially, which will particularly impact low-spec hardware. Compiling `lcli` is about 3x slower. Compiling Lighthouse is about 5x slower on my 5950X: 17m 38s rather than 3m 28s.

As a result I think we should not enable this everywhere by default.

- **Option 1**: enable by default for our released binaries. This gives the majority of users the fastest version of `lighthouse` possible, at the expense of slowing down our release CI. Source builds will continue to use the default `release` profile unless users opt-in to `maxperf`.
- **Option 2**: enable by default for source builds. This gives users building from source an edge, but makes them pay for it with compilation time. 

I think I would prefer Option 1. I'll try doing some benchmarking to see how long a maxperf build of Lighthouse would take on GitHub actions.

Credit to Nicholas Nethercote for documenting these options in the Rust Performance Book: https://nnethercote.github.io/perf-book/build-configuration.html.

.github/workflows/docker.yml

@@ -51,6 +51,9 @@ jobs:
                          aarch64-portable,
                          x86_64,
                          x86_64-portable]
+                include:
+                    - profile: maxperf
+
         needs: [extract-version]
         env:
             # We need to enable experimental docker features in order to use `docker buildx`
@@ -67,17 +70,17 @@ jobs:
             - name: Cross build Lighthouse binary
               run: |
                   cargo install cross
-                  make build-${{ matrix.binary }}
+                  env CROSS_PROFILE=${{ matrix.profile }} make build-${{ matrix.binary }}
             - name: Move cross-built binary into Docker scope (if ARM)
               if: startsWith(matrix.binary, 'aarch64')
               run: |
                   mkdir ./bin;
-                  mv ./target/aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu/release/lighthouse ./bin;
+                  mv ./target/aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu/${{ matrix.profile }}/lighthouse ./bin;
             - name: Move cross-built binary into Docker scope (if x86_64)
               if: startsWith(matrix.binary, 'x86_64')
               run: |
                   mkdir ./bin;
-                  mv ./target/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/release/lighthouse ./bin;
+                  mv ./target/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/${{ matrix.profile }}/lighthouse ./bin;
             - name: Map aarch64 to arm64 short arch
               if: startsWith(matrix.binary, 'aarch64')
               run: echo "SHORT_ARCH=arm64" >> $GITHUB_ENV

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -35,20 +35,28 @@ jobs:
                 include:
                     -   arch: aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu
                         platform: ubuntu-latest
+                        profile: maxperf
                     -   arch: aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu-portable
                         platform: ubuntu-latest
+                        profile: maxperf
                     -   arch: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
                         platform: ubuntu-latest
+                        profile: maxperf
                     -   arch: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu-portable
                         platform: ubuntu-latest
+                        profile: maxperf
                     -   arch: x86_64-apple-darwin
                         platform: macos-latest
+                        profile: maxperf
                     -   arch: x86_64-apple-darwin-portable
                         platform: macos-latest
+                        profile: maxperf
                     -   arch: x86_64-windows
                         platform: windows-2019
+                        profile: maxperf
                     -   arch: x86_64-windows-portable
                         platform: windows-2019
+                        profile: maxperf
 
         runs-on:    ${{ matrix.platform }}
         needs: extract-version
@@ -83,49 +91,49 @@ jobs:
               if:   matrix.arch == 'aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu-portable'
               run:  |
                 cargo install cross
-                make build-aarch64-portable
+                env CROSS_PROFILE=${{ matrix.profile }} make build-aarch64-portable
 
             - name: Build Lighthouse for aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu
               if:   matrix.arch == 'aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu'
               run:  |
                 cargo install cross
-                make build-aarch64
+                env CROSS_PROFILE=${{ matrix.profile }} make build-aarch64
 
             - name: Build Lighthouse for x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu-portable
               if:   matrix.arch == 'x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu-portable'
               run:  |
                 cargo install cross
-                make build-x86_64-portable
+                env CROSS_PROFILE=${{ matrix.profile }} make build-x86_64-portable
 
             - name: Build Lighthouse for x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
               if:   matrix.arch == 'x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu'
               run:  |
                 cargo install cross
-                make build-x86_64
+                env CROSS_PROFILE=${{ matrix.profile }} make build-x86_64
 
             - name: Move cross-compiled binary
               if:  startsWith(matrix.arch, 'aarch64')
-              run: mv target/aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu/release/lighthouse ~/.cargo/bin/lighthouse
+              run: mv target/aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu/${{ matrix.profile }}/lighthouse ~/.cargo/bin/lighthouse
 
             - name: Move cross-compiled binary
               if:  startsWith(matrix.arch, 'x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu')
-              run: mv target/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/release/lighthouse ~/.cargo/bin/lighthouse
+              run: mv target/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/${{ matrix.profile }}/lighthouse ~/.cargo/bin/lighthouse
 
             - name: Build Lighthouse for x86_64-apple-darwin portable
               if:   matrix.arch == 'x86_64-apple-darwin-portable'
-              run:  cargo install --path lighthouse --force --locked --features portable,gnosis
+              run:  cargo install --path lighthouse --force --locked --features portable,gnosis --profile ${{ matrix.profile }}
 
             - name: Build Lighthouse for x86_64-apple-darwin modern
               if:   matrix.arch == 'x86_64-apple-darwin'
-              run:  cargo install --path lighthouse --force --locked --features modern,gnosis
+              run:  cargo install --path lighthouse --force --locked --features modern,gnosis --profile ${{ matrix.profile }}
 
             - name: Build Lighthouse for Windows portable
               if:   matrix.arch == 'x86_64-windows-portable'
-              run:  cargo install --path lighthouse --force --locked --features portable,gnosis
+              run:  cargo install --path lighthouse --force --locked --features portable,gnosis --profile ${{ matrix.profile }}
 
             - name: Build Lighthouse for Windows modern
               if:   matrix.arch == 'x86_64-windows'
-              run:  cargo install --path lighthouse --force --locked --features modern,gnosis
+              run:  cargo install --path lighthouse --force --locked --features modern,gnosis --profile ${{ matrix.profile }}
 
             - name: Configure GPG and create artifacts
               if: startsWith(matrix.arch, 'x86_64-windows') != true
@@ -212,7 +220,7 @@ jobs:
                   <Rick and Morty character>
 
                   ## Testing Checklist (DELETE ME)
-                  
+
                   - [ ] Run on synced Prater Sigma Prime nodes.
                   - [ ] Run on synced Canary (mainnet) Sigma Prime nodes.
                   - [ ] Resync a Prater node.

Cargo.toml

@@ -100,3 +100,9 @@ eth2_hashing = { path = "crypto/eth2_hashing" }
 tree_hash = { path = "consensus/tree_hash" }
 tree_hash_derive = { path = "consensus/tree_hash_derive" }
 eth2_serde_utils = { path = "consensus/serde_utils" }
+
+[profile.maxperf]
+inherits = "release"
+lto = "fat"
+codegen-units = 1
+incremental = false

Makefile

@@ -17,6 +17,12 @@ CLIPPY_PINNED_NIGHTLY=nightly-2022-05-19
 # List of features to use when cross-compiling. Can be overridden via the environment.
 CROSS_FEATURES ?= gnosis,slasher-lmdb,slasher-mdbx
 
+# Cargo profile for Cross builds. Default is for local builds, CI uses an override.
+CROSS_PROFILE ?= release
+
+# Cargo profile for regular builds.
+PROFILE ?= release
+
 # List of all hard forks. This list is used to set env variables for several tests so that
 # they run for different forks.
 FORKS=phase0 altair merge
@@ -25,11 +31,11 @@ FORKS=phase0 altair merge
 #
 # Binaries will most likely be found in `./target/release`
 install:
-	cargo install --path lighthouse --force --locked --features "$(FEATURES)"
+	cargo install --path lighthouse --force --locked --features "$(FEATURES)" --profile "$(PROFILE)"
 
 # Builds the lcli binary in release (optimized).
 install-lcli:
-	cargo install --path lcli --force --locked --features "$(FEATURES)"
+	cargo install --path lcli --force --locked --features "$(FEATURES)" --profile "$(PROFILE)"
 
 # The following commands use `cross` to build a cross-compile.
 #
@@ -45,13 +51,13 @@ install-lcli:
 # optimized CPU functions that may not be available on some systems. This
 # results in a more portable binary with ~20% slower BLS verification.
 build-x86_64:
-	cross build --release --bin lighthouse --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu --features "modern,$(CROSS_FEATURES)"
+	cross build --bin lighthouse --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu --features "modern,$(CROSS_FEATURES)" --profile "$(CROSS_PROFILE)"
 build-x86_64-portable:
-	cross build --release --bin lighthouse --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu --features "portable,$(CROSS_FEATURES)"
+	cross build --bin lighthouse --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu --features "portable,$(CROSS_FEATURES)" --profile "$(CROSS_PROFILE)"
 build-aarch64:
-	cross build --release --bin lighthouse --target aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu --features "$(CROSS_FEATURES)"
+	cross build --bin lighthouse --target aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu --features "$(CROSS_FEATURES)" --profile "$(CROSS_PROFILE)"
 build-aarch64-portable:
-	cross build --release --bin lighthouse --target aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu --features "portable,$(CROSS_FEATURES)"
+	cross build --bin lighthouse --target aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu --features "portable,$(CROSS_FEATURES)" --profile "$(CROSS_PROFILE)"
 
 # Create a `.tar.gz` containing a binary for a specific target.
 define tarball_release_binary

book/src/cross-compiling.md

@@ -44,3 +44,9 @@ in `lighthouse/target/aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu/release`.
 When using the makefile the set of features used for building can be controlled with
 the environment variable `CROSS_FEATURES`. See [Feature
  Flags](./installation-source.md#feature-flags) for available features.
+
+## Compilation Profiles
+
+When using the makefile the build profile can be controlled with the environment variable
+`CROSS_PROFILE`. See [Compilation Profiles](./installation-source.md#compilation-profiles) for
+available profiles.

book/src/installation-source.md

@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ You can customise the features that Lighthouse is built with using the `FEATURES
 variable. E.g.
 
 ```
-env FEATURES="gnosis,slasher-lmdb" make
+FEATURES=gnosis,slasher-lmdb make
 ```
 
 Commonly used features include:
@@ -131,6 +131,25 @@ Commonly used features include:
 * `slasher-mdbx`: support for the MDBX slasher backend (enabled by default).
 * `slasher-lmdb`: support for the LMDB slasher backend.
 
+## Compilation Profiles
+
+You can customise the compiler settings used to compile Lighthouse via
+[Cargo profiles](https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/profiles.html).
+
+Lighthouse includes several profiles which can be selected via the `PROFILE` environment variable.
+
+* `release`: default for source builds, enables most optimisations while not taking too long to
+  compile.
+* `maxperf`: default for binary releases, enables aggressive optimisations including full LTO.
+  Although compiling with this profile improves some benchmarks by around 20% compared to `release`,
+  it imposes a _significant_ cost at compile time and is only recommended if you have a fast CPU.
+
+To compile with `maxperf`:
+
+```
+PROFILE=maxperf make
+```
+
 ## Troubleshooting
 
 ### Command is not found