diff --git a/tools/perf/Documentation/perf-top.txt b/tools/perf/Documentation/perf-top.txt
index cfea87c6f38e..5596129a71cf 100644
--- a/tools/perf/Documentation/perf-top.txt
+++ b/tools/perf/Documentation/perf-top.txt
@@ -266,6 +266,44 @@ Default is to monitor all CPUS.
 	Record events of type PERF_RECORD_NAMESPACES and display it with the
 	'cgroup_id' sort key.
 
+--switch-on EVENT_NAME::
+	Only consider events after this event is found.
+
+	E.g.:
+
+           Find out where broadcast packets are handled
+
+		perf probe -L icmp_rcv
+
+	   Insert a probe there:
+
+		perf probe icmp_rcv:59
+
+	   Start perf top and ask it to only consider the cycles events when a
+           broadcast packet arrives This will show a menu with two entries and
+           will start counting when a broadcast packet arrives:
+
+		perf top -e cycles,probe:icmp_rcv --switch-on=probe:icmp_rcv
+
+	   Alternatively one can ask for --group and then two overhead columns
+           will appear, the first for cycles and the second for the switch-on event.
+
+		perf top --group -e cycles,probe:icmp_rcv --switch-on=probe:icmp_rcv
+
+	This may be interesting to measure a workload only after some initialization
+	phase is over, i.e. insert a perf probe at that point and use the above
+	examples replacing probe:icmp_rcv with the just-after-init probe.
+
+--switch-off EVENT_NAME::
+	Stop considering events after this event is found.
+
+--show-on-off-events::
+	Show the --switch-on/off events too. This has no effect in 'perf top' now
+	but probably we'll make the default not to show the switch-on/off events
+        on the --group mode and if there is only one event besides the off/on ones,
+	go straight to the histogram browser, just like 'perf top' with no events
+	explicitely specified does.
+
 
 INTERACTIVE PROMPTING KEYS
 --------------------------
diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-top.c b/tools/perf/builtin-top.c
index 78e7efc597a6..5970723cd55a 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-top.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-top.c
@@ -1148,8 +1148,11 @@ static int deliver_event(struct ordered_events *qe,
 	evsel = perf_evlist__id2evsel(session->evlist, sample.id);
 	assert(evsel != NULL);
 
-	if (event->header.type == PERF_RECORD_SAMPLE)
+	if (event->header.type == PERF_RECORD_SAMPLE) {
+		if (evswitch__discard(&top->evswitch, evsel))
+			return 0;
 		++top->samples;
+	}
 
 	switch (sample.cpumode) {
 	case PERF_RECORD_MISC_USER:
@@ -1534,6 +1537,7 @@ int cmd_top(int argc, const char **argv)
 			"number of thread to run event synthesize"),
 	OPT_BOOLEAN(0, "namespaces", &opts->record_namespaces,
 		    "Record namespaces events"),
+	OPTS_EVSWITCH(&top.evswitch),
 	OPT_END()
 	};
 	struct evlist *sb_evlist = NULL;
@@ -1567,6 +1571,10 @@ int cmd_top(int argc, const char **argv)
 		goto out_delete_evlist;
 	}
 
+	status = evswitch__init(&top.evswitch, top.evlist, stderr);
+	if (status)
+		goto out_delete_evlist;
+
 	if (symbol_conf.report_hierarchy) {
 		/* disable incompatible options */
 		symbol_conf.event_group = false;
diff --git a/tools/perf/util/top.h b/tools/perf/util/top.h
index 2023e0bf6165..dc4bb6e52a83 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/top.h
+++ b/tools/perf/util/top.h
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 #define __PERF_TOP_H 1
 
 #include "tool.h"
+#include "evswitch.h"
 #include "annotate.h"
 #include <linux/types.h>
 #include <stddef.h>
@@ -18,6 +19,7 @@ struct perf_top {
 	struct evlist *evlist;
 	struct record_opts record_opts;
 	struct annotation_options annotation_opts;
+	struct evswitch	   evswitch;
 	/*
 	 * Symbols will be added here in perf_event__process_sample and will
 	 * get out after decayed.