linux/kernel
Andrea Righi 25a32e400a sched/fair: Prefer fully-idle SMT cores in asym-capacity idle selection
On systems with asymmetric CPU capacity (e.g., ACPI/CPPC reporting
different per-core frequencies), the wakeup path uses
select_idle_capacity() and prioritizes idle CPUs with higher capacity
for better task placement. However, when those CPUs belong to SMT cores,
their effective capacity can be much lower than the nominal capacity
when the sibling thread is busy: SMT siblings compete for shared
resources, so a "high capacity" CPU that is idle but whose sibling is
busy does not deliver its full capacity. This effective capacity
reduction cannot be modeled by the static capacity value alone.

Introduce SMT awareness in the asym-capacity idle selection policy: when
SMT is active, always prefer fully-idle SMT cores over partially-idle
ones.

Prioritizing fully-idle SMT cores yields better task placement because
the effective capacity of partially-idle SMT cores is reduced; always
preferring them when available leads to more accurate capacity usage on
task wakeup.

On an SMT system with asymmetric CPU capacities (NVIDIA Vera Rubin),
SMT-aware idle selection has been shown to improve throughput by around
15-18% over NO_ASYM mainline and by around 60% over ASYM mainline, for
CPU-bound workloads (NVBLAS) running an amount of tasks equal to the
amount of SMT cores.

Reported-by: Felix Abecassis <fabecassis@nvidia.com>
Signed-off-by: Andrea Righi <arighi@nvidia.com>
Signed-off-by: Peter Zijlstra (Intel) <peterz@infradead.org>
Reviewed-by: Vincent Guittot <vincent.guittot@linaro.org>
Reviewed-by: K Prateek Nayak <kprateek.nayak@amd.com>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260511142502.3873984-1-arighi@nvidia.com
2026-05-19 12:17:38 +02:00
..
bpf bpf-fixes 2026-04-17 15:58:22 -07:00
cgroup cgroup: Fixes for v7.1-rc1 2026-04-27 16:51:27 -07:00
configs Remove WARN_ALL_UNSEEDED_RANDOM kernel config option 2026-02-23 11:18:48 -08:00
debug kgdb: update outdated references to kgdb_wait() 2026-04-21 16:41:54 +01:00
dma memblock: updates for 7.0-rc1 2026-04-18 11:29:14 -07:00
entry arm64 updates for 7.1: 2026-04-14 16:48:56 -07:00
events mm.git review status for linus..mm-stable 2026-04-15 12:59:16 -07:00
futex futex: Prevent lockup in requeue-PI during signal/ timeout wakeup 2026-04-29 08:56:40 +02:00
gcov Convert more 'alloc_obj' cases to default GFP_KERNEL arguments 2026-02-21 20:03:00 -08:00
irq genirq/chip: Invoke add_interrupt_randomness() in handle_percpu_devid_irq() 2026-04-02 23:03:29 +02:00
kcsan kcsan: test: Adjust "expect" allocation type for kmalloc_obj 2026-02-26 09:54:08 -08:00
livepatch Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
liveupdate kho: fix error handling in kho_add_subtree() 2026-04-27 05:54:23 -07:00
locking locking/mutex: Fix ww_mutex wait_list operations 2026-04-23 10:05:49 +02:00
module module: Simplify warning on positive returns from module_init() 2026-04-04 00:04:48 +00:00
power Merge branches 'pm-cpuidle', 'pm-opp' and 'pm-sleep' 2026-04-10 12:37:27 +02:00
printk Merge branch 'rework/prb-fixes' into for-linus 2026-04-20 13:42:01 +02:00
rcu RCU changes for v7.1 2026-04-13 09:36:45 -07:00
sched sched/fair: Prefer fully-idle SMT cores in asym-capacity idle selection 2026-05-19 12:17:38 +02:00
time clockevents: Add missing resets of the next_event_forced flag 2026-04-16 21:22:04 +02:00
trace sched/clock: Provide !HAVE_UNSTABLE_SCHED_CLOCK stub for sched_clock_stable() 2026-05-19 12:17:35 +02:00
unwind Convert more 'alloc_obj' cases to default GFP_KERNEL arguments 2026-02-21 20:03:00 -08:00
.gitignore kheaders: rebuild kheaders_data.tar.xz when a file is modified within a minute 2025-06-24 20:30:37 +09:00
acct.c vfs-7.1-rc1.misc 2026-04-13 14:20:11 -07:00
async.c Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
audit_fsnotify.c audit: widen ino fields to u64 2026-03-06 14:31:26 +01:00
audit_tree.c Convert 'alloc_flex' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
audit_watch.c audit: widen ino fields to u64 2026-03-06 14:31:26 +01:00
audit.c audit: handle unknown status requests in audit_receive_msg() 2026-03-10 15:22:43 -04:00
audit.h audit: widen ino fields to u64 2026-03-06 14:31:26 +01:00
auditfilter.c audit: fix coding style issues 2026-03-05 22:16:08 -05:00
auditsc.c audit: widen ino fields to u64 2026-03-06 14:31:26 +01:00
backtracetest.c
bounds.c x86/asm: Remove ANNOTATE_DATA_SPECIAL usage 2025-12-03 16:53:19 +01:00
capability.c
cfi.c cfi: Move BPF CFI types and helpers to generic code 2025-07-31 18:23:53 -07:00
compat.c
configs.c
context_tracking.c context_tracking: Remove rcu_task_trace_heavyweight_{enter,exit}() 2026-01-01 16:39:46 +08:00
cpu_pm.c syscore: Pass context data to callbacks 2025-11-14 10:01:52 +01:00
cpu.c SPDX updates for 7.0-rc1 2026-02-17 09:46:03 -08:00
crash_core_test.c crash: add KUnit tests for crash_exclude_mem_range 2025-09-13 17:32:55 -07:00
crash_core.c kernel/crash: remove inclusion of crypto/sha1.h 2026-03-27 21:19:46 -07:00
crash_dump_dm_crypt.c crash_dump/dm-crypt: don't print in arch-specific code 2026-04-02 23:36:24 -07:00
crash_reserve.c kernel/crash: remove inclusion of crypto/sha1.h 2026-03-27 21:19:46 -07:00
cred.c cred: remove unused set_security_override_from_ctx() 2026-01-06 20:52:57 -05:00
delayacct.c delayacct: fix uapi timespec64 definition 2026-02-08 00:13:32 -08:00
dma.c
elfcorehdr.c
exec_domain.c
exit.c mm.git review status for linus..mm-nonmm-stable 2026-04-16 20:11:56 -07:00
exit.h
extable.c
fail_function.c Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
fork.c futex: Drop CLONE_THREAD requirement for private default hash alloc 2026-05-01 13:12:34 -07:00
freezer.c freezer: Clarify that only cgroup1 freezer uses PM freezer 2025-10-30 20:10:27 +01:00
gen_kheaders.sh kheaders: make it possible to override TAR 2025-08-06 10:23:36 +09:00
groups.c treewide: Replace kmalloc with kmalloc_obj for non-scalar types 2026-02-21 01:02:28 -08:00
hung_task.c hung_task: explicitly report I/O wait state in log output 2026-03-27 21:19:40 -07:00
iomem.c
irq_work.c kernel: Use trace_call__##name() at guarded tracepoint call sites 2026-03-26 08:28:49 -04:00
jump_label.c jump_label: use ATOMIC_INIT() for initialization of .enabled 2026-03-16 13:16:48 +01:00
kallsyms_internal.h kallsyms: Get rid of kallsyms relative base 2026-01-22 15:58:22 -07:00
kallsyms_selftest.c Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
kallsyms_selftest.h
kallsyms.c mm.git review status for linus..mm-nonmm-stable 2026-02-12 12:13:01 -08:00
kcmp.c
Kconfig.freezer
Kconfig.hz
Kconfig.kexec liveupdate: kho: move to kernel/liveupdate 2025-11-27 14:24:33 -08:00
Kconfig.locks
Kconfig.preempt sched: Further restrict the preemption modes 2026-01-08 12:43:57 +01:00
kcov.c Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
kexec_core.c kernel/kexec: remove inclusion of crypto/hash.h 2026-03-27 21:19:46 -07:00
kexec_elf.c
kexec_file.c kexec: derive purgatory entry from symbol 2026-01-31 16:16:07 -08:00
kexec_internal.h kexec: enable CMA based contiguous allocation 2025-08-02 12:01:38 -07:00
kexec.c Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
kheaders.c
kprobes.c kprobes: Remove unneeded warnings from __arm_kprobe_ftrace() 2026-03-13 23:15:26 +09:00
kstack_erase.c sysctl: remove __user qualifier from stack_erasing_sysctl buffer argument 2025-11-27 15:44:53 +01:00
ksyms_common.c
ksysfs.c kernel: ksysfs: initialize kernel_kobj earlier 2026-04-03 19:39:52 +02:00
kthread.c kthread: consolidate kthread exit paths to prevent use-after-free 2026-02-26 10:45:49 +01:00
latencytop.c
Makefile kcov: Enable context analysis 2026-01-05 16:43:34 +01:00
module_signature.c module: Give 'enum pkey_id_type' a more specific name 2026-03-24 21:42:37 +00:00
notifier.c
nscommon.c nsfs: tighten permission checks for ns iteration ioctls 2026-02-27 22:00:08 +01:00
nsproxy.c vfs-7.1-rc1.mount.v2 2026-04-14 19:59:25 -07:00
nstree.c nstree: tighten permission checks for listing 2026-02-27 22:00:11 +01:00
padata.c padata: Put CPU offline callback in ONLINE section to allow failure 2026-03-22 11:17:59 +09:00
panic.c kernel/panic: mark init_taint_buf as __initdata and panic instead of warning in alloc_taint_buf() 2026-03-27 21:19:33 -07:00
params.c module: Clean up parse_args() arguments 2026-03-18 21:43:18 +00:00
pid_namespace.c pid_namespace: allow opening pid_for_children before init was created 2026-03-20 14:44:26 +01:00
pid_sysctl.h
pid.c mm.git review status for linus..mm-nonmm-stable 2026-04-16 20:11:56 -07:00
profile.c
ptrace.c clone: add CLONE_AUTOREAP 2026-03-11 23:14:02 +01:00
range.c
reboot.c treewide: Replace kmalloc with kmalloc_obj for non-scalar types 2026-02-21 01:02:28 -08:00
regset.c
relay.c Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
resource_kunit.c Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
resource.c PCI: Align head space better 2026-03-27 10:19:08 -05:00
rseq.c rseq: slice ext: Ensure rseq feature size differs from original rseq size 2026-02-23 11:19:19 +01:00
scftorture.c Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
scs.c scs: fix a wrong parameter in __scs_magic 2025-11-12 10:00:13 -08:00
seccomp.c Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
signal.c mm.git review status for linus..mm-nonmm-stable 2026-04-16 20:11:56 -07:00
smp.c tracing updates for v7.1: 2026-04-17 09:43:12 -07:00
smpboot.c sched/smp: Use the SMP version of idle_thread_set_boot_cpu() 2025-06-13 08:47:20 +02:00
smpboot.h
softirq.c softirq: Prepare for deferred hrtimer rearming 2026-02-27 16:40:13 +01:00
stacktrace.c
static_call_inline.c Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
static_call.c
stop_machine.c sched: Simplify ifdeffery around cpu_smt_mask 2026-05-19 12:17:37 +02:00
sys_ni.c rseq: Implement sys_rseq_slice_yield() 2026-01-22 11:11:17 +01:00
sys.c prctl: cfi: change the branch landing pad prctl()s to be more descriptive 2026-04-04 18:40:58 -06:00
sysctl-test.c
sysctl.c sysctl: fix uninitialized variable in proc_do_large_bitmap 2026-03-26 09:32:19 +01:00
task_work.c task_work: Fix NMI race condition 2025-10-29 10:29:54 +01:00
taskstats.c taskstats: set version in TGID exit notifications 2026-04-15 02:15:02 -07:00
torture.c torture: Avoid modulo-zero error in torture_hrtimeout_ns() 2026-03-30 15:48:14 -04:00
tracepoint.c tracepoint: balance regfunc() on func_add() failure in tracepoint_add_func() 2026-04-14 05:17:02 -04:00
tsacct.c tsacct: skip all kernel threads 2026-01-26 19:07:13 -08:00
ucount.c Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
uid16.c
uid16.h
umh.c treewide: Replace kmalloc with kmalloc_obj for non-scalar types 2026-02-21 01:02:28 -08:00
up.c
user_namespace.c Convert remaining multi-line kmalloc_obj/flex GFP_KERNEL uses 2026-02-22 08:26:33 -08:00
user-return-notifier.c
user.c ns: drop custom reference count initialization for initial namespaces 2025-11-11 10:01:32 +01:00
utsname_sysctl.c
utsname.c namespace-6.18-rc1 2025-09-29 11:20:29 -07:00
vhost_task.c Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
vmcore_info.c mm.git review status for linus..mm-nonmm-stable 2026-04-16 20:11:56 -07:00
watch_queue.c Convert 'alloc_flex' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
watchdog_buddy.c watchdog/hardlockup: improve buddy system detection timeliness 2026-03-27 21:19:47 -07:00
watchdog_perf.c watchdog/hardlockup: simplify perf event probe and remove per-cpu dependency 2026-02-08 00:13:35 -08:00
watchdog.c watchdog/hardlockup: improve buddy system detection timeliness 2026-03-27 21:19:47 -07:00
workqueue_internal.h workqueue: Show in-flight work item duration in stall diagnostics 2026-03-05 07:27:48 -10:00
workqueue.c sched: Simplify ifdeffery around cpu_smt_mask 2026-05-19 12:17:37 +02:00