[RFC vfs/for-next 1/1] eventpoll: Set epoll timeout if it's in the future

From: Joe Damato
Date: Tue Apr 15 2025 - 14:44:09 EST


Avoid an edge case where epoll_wait arms a timer and calls schedule()
even if the timer will expire immediately.

For example: if the user has specified an epoll busy poll usecs which is
equal or larger than the epoll_wait/epoll_pwait2 timeout, it is
unnecessary to call schedule_hrtimeout_range; the busy poll usecs have
consumed the entire timeout duration so it is unnecessary to induce
scheduling latency by calling schedule() (via schedule_hrtimeout_range).

This can be measured using a simple bpftrace script:

tracepoint:sched:sched_switch
/ args->prev_pid == $1 /
{
print(kstack());
print(ustack());
}

Before this patch is applied:

Testing an epoll_wait app with busy poll usecs set to 1000, and
epoll_wait timeout set to 1ms using the script above shows:

__traceiter_sched_switch+69
__schedule+1495
schedule+32
schedule_hrtimeout_range+159
do_epoll_wait+1424
__x64_sys_epoll_wait+97
do_syscall_64+95
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+118

epoll_wait+82

Which is unexpected; the busy poll usecs should have consumed the
entire timeout and there should be no reason to arm a timer.

After this patch is applied: the same test scenario does not generate a
call to schedule() in the above edge case. If the busy poll usecs are
reduced (for example usecs: 100, epoll_wait timeout 1ms) the timer is
armed as expected.

Signed-off-by: Joe Damato <jdamato@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
fs/eventpoll.c | 10 +++++++++-
1 file changed, 9 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/fs/eventpoll.c b/fs/eventpoll.c
index f9898e60dd8b..ca0c7e843da7 100644
--- a/fs/eventpoll.c
+++ b/fs/eventpoll.c
@@ -1980,6 +1980,14 @@ static int ep_autoremove_wake_function(struct wait_queue_entry *wq_entry,
return ret;
}

+static int ep_schedule_timeout(ktime_t *to)
+{
+ if (to)
+ return ktime_after(*to, ktime_get());
+ else
+ return 1;
+}
+
/**
* ep_poll - Retrieves ready events, and delivers them to the caller-supplied
* event buffer.
@@ -2095,7 +2103,7 @@ static int ep_poll(struct eventpoll *ep, struct epoll_event __user *events,

write_unlock_irq(&ep->lock);

- if (!eavail)
+ if (!eavail && ep_schedule_timeout(to))
timed_out = !schedule_hrtimeout_range(to, slack,
HRTIMER_MODE_ABS);
__set_current_state(TASK_RUNNING);
--
2.43.0