Re: [PATCH v3 0/5] s390/idle: CPU idle driver

From: Alexander Gordeev

Date: Fri Jun 19 2026 - 05:29:47 EST


On Thu, Jun 18, 2026 at 02:00:14PM +0200, Mete Durlu wrote:
...
> This patch series introduces a CPU idle driver for s390 architecture
> that leverages the existing cpu idle infrastructure and idle governor
> to optimize idle state selection based on timer events and interrupt
> patterns.
>
> - Implementation Overview
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The driver implements two idle states;
>
> **Polling Idle (shallow state)**
> - Busy-loop implementation that prevents SIE-exit during short idle periods
> - Zero exit latency, optimized for latency-sensitive workloads
> - Maintains CPU with the guest, improving response times
>
> **Enabled Wait (deep state)**
> - Traditional EW state that signals hypervisor availability
> - Higher exit latency but more efficient for longer idle periods
>
> The idle governor dynamically selects between these states by monitoring
> next timer interrupts and system interrupt frequency, choosing the most
> appropriate idle state for each situation.
>
> - Performance Benefits
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Benchmark results across LPAR, KVM, and z/VM guests demonstrate significant
> improvements for latency-sensitive and scheduler-intensive workloads:
>
> ```
> Benchmark | LPAR | z/VM | KVM |
> -----------------------------------------
> cyclictest | +45% | +50% | +30% |
> hackbench | +5% | +12% | - |
> pgbench | +2% | +15% | +2% |
> uperf | +50%* | +-5% | +-5% |
> ```
>
> *Single-threaded uperf scenarios show 50-70% improvements on LPAR.
> Multi-threaded results show slight improvements overall.
>
> Additionally, fio and ioping tests show latency distribution shifts toward
> lower values with reduced minimum and average latencies.
>
> - Configuration
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Target residency and exit latency values are benchmark estimates. Due to
> s390's virtualized architecture, these values are non-deterministic.
> Idle state parameters are tuned per hypervisor type after benchmarks:
>
> **LPAR:**
> - EW: 5us target residency, 5us exit latency
>
> **KVM/z/VM:**
> - EW: 1us target residency, 1us exit latency
>
> ---
> Mete Durlu (5):
> s390/tick: Remove CIF_NOHZ_DELAY flag
> tick: Remove arch_needs_cpu
> s390: Enable TIF_POLLING_NRFLAG
> s390/idle: Introduce cpuidle for s390
> s390/configs: Enable cpuidle driver on s390
>
> MAINTAINERS | 8 +++
> arch/s390/Kconfig | 5 ++
> arch/s390/configs/debug_defconfig | 2 +
> arch/s390/configs/defconfig | 2 +
> arch/s390/include/asm/processor.h | 4 --
> arch/s390/include/asm/thread_info.h | 1 +
> arch/s390/kernel/idle.c | 1 -
> arch/s390/kernel/irq.c | 4 --
> arch/s390/kernel/smp.c | 1 -
> drivers/cpuidle/Kconfig | 5 ++
> drivers/cpuidle/Kconfig.s390 | 11 ++++
> drivers/cpuidle/Makefile | 4 ++
> drivers/cpuidle/cpuidle-s390.c | 115 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> include/linux/tick.h | 3 -
> kernel/time/tick-sched.c | 7 +--
> 15 files changed, 156 insertions(+), 17 deletions(-)
> ---
> base-commit: 2d3090a8aeb596a26935db0955d46c9a5db5c6ce
> change-id: 20260609-idledriver-217e2b2712a3
>
> Best regards,
> --
> Mete Durlu <meted@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Applied, thanks!