[PATCH v12 06/13] sched/core: Try to use a preferred CPU in is_cpu_allowed
From: Shrikanth Hegde
Date: Thu Sep 03 2026 - 02:45:20 EST
When possible, try to choose a preferred CPU.
This is essential to maintain user affinities when preferred
CPUs change. A task pinned on a non-preferred CPU should continue
to run there, since this is a non-user triggered event.
If a CPU is non-preferred and the task can run on other CPUs which are
currently preferred, then choose a preferred CPU instead.
This is decided by checking if cpus_ptr, cpu_preferred_mask and
task possible CPUs intersect or not. If yes, then the task has
other preferred CPUs. This takes care of tasks with architecture-specific
CPU masks (e.g., 32-bit tasks on arm64).
The push task mechanism uses a stopper thread which calls
select_fallback_rq() and uses this mechanism to pick a preferred CPU.
This takes care of the wakeup path for FAIR tasks too.
is_cpu_allowed() is called to ensure wakeups happen on preferred CPUs.
With that, additional checks in available_idle_cpu() are not necessary.
Ignore the preferred CPU state if a task's affinity is changing and
its new mask no longer includes the CPU it is currently running on.
This ensures migration_cpu_stop() does not abort, preventing the task
from being stranded outside its allowed affinity.
For the majority of cases, this would still keep select_fallback_rq()
as O(N). cpumask_intersects_and(), which is O(N), is called only if
!cpu_preferred. The task running there is expected to move out.
Subsequently, it should run on a preferred CPU. This becomes O(N**2)
only for tasks pinned solely to non-preferred CPUs. That is a rare case.
Overhead is minimal when the CPU is preferred.
Signed-off-by: Shrikanth Hegde <sshegde@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
---
kernel/sched/core.c | 29 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++--
1 file changed, 27 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
diff --git a/kernel/sched/core.c b/kernel/sched/core.c
index a689a0cea4eb..b4ef2e92d786 100644
--- a/kernel/sched/core.c
+++ b/kernel/sched/core.c
@@ -2504,6 +2504,23 @@ static inline bool rq_has_pinned_tasks(struct rq *rq)
return rq->nr_pinned;
}
+static inline bool task_can_sched_on_preferred(int cpu, struct task_struct *p)
+{
+ if (cpu_preferred(cpu))
+ return false;
+
+ /* Only FAIR tasks honor preferred CPU state */
+ if (unlikely(p->sched_class != &fair_sched_class))
+ return false;
+
+ /* Ignore preferred state if task affinity is changing */
+ if (unlikely(!cpumask_test_cpu(task_cpu(p), p->cpus_ptr)))
+ return false;
+
+ return cpumask_intersects_and(p->cpus_ptr, cpu_preferred_mask,
+ task_cpu_possible_mask(p));
+}
+
/*
* Per-CPU kthreads are allowed to run on !active && online CPUs, see
* __set_cpus_allowed_ptr() and select_fallback_rq().
@@ -2519,8 +2536,12 @@ static inline bool is_cpu_allowed(struct task_struct *p, int cpu)
return cpu_online(cpu);
/* Non kernel threads are not allowed during either online or offline. */
- if (!(p->flags & PF_KTHREAD))
+ if (!(p->flags & PF_KTHREAD)) {
+ /* Try to use preferred CPU if task's affinity allows */
+ if (task_can_sched_on_preferred(cpu, p))
+ return false;
return cpu_active(cpu);
+ }
/* KTHREAD_IS_PER_CPU is always allowed. */
if (kthread_is_per_cpu(p))
@@ -2530,7 +2551,11 @@ static inline bool is_cpu_allowed(struct task_struct *p, int cpu)
if (cpu_dying(cpu))
return false;
- /* But are allowed during online. */
+ /* Try to keep unbound kthreads on a preferred CPU if possible. */
+ if (task_can_sched_on_preferred(cpu, p))
+ return false;
+
+ /* Otherwise, they are allowed to run on online CPU. */
return cpu_online(cpu);
}
--
2.52.0