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Jonas Köppeler 815980fe6d net_sched: codel: fix stale state for empty flows in fq_codel
When codel_dequeue() finds an empty queue, it resets vars->dropping
but does not reset vars->first_above_time.  The reference CoDel
algorithm (Nichols & Jacobson, ACM Queue 2012) resets both:

  dodeque_result codel_queue_t::dodeque(time_t now) {
      ...
      if (r.p == NULL) {
          first_above_time = 0;   // <-- Linux omits this
      }
      ...
  }

Note that codel_should_drop() does reset first_above_time when called
with a NULL skb, but codel_dequeue() returns early before ever calling
codel_should_drop() in the empty-queue case.  The post-drop code paths
do reach codel_should_drop(NULL) and correctly reset the timer, so a
dropped packet breaks the cycle -- but the next delivered packet
re-arms first_above_time and the cycle repeats.

For sparse flows such as ICMP ping (one packet every 200ms-1s), the
first packet arms first_above_time, the flow goes empty, and the
second packet arrives after the interval has elapsed and gets dropped.
The pattern repeats, producing sustained loss on flows that are not
actually congested.

Test: veth pair, fq_codel, BQL disabled, 30000 iptables rules in the
consumer namespace (NAPI-64 cycle ~14ms, well above fq_codel's 5ms
target), ping at 5 pps under UDP flood:

  Before fix:  26% ping packet loss
  After fix:    0% ping packet loss

Fix by resetting first_above_time to zero in the empty-queue path
of codel_dequeue(), matching the reference algorithm.

Fixes: 76e3cc126b ("codel: Controlled Delay AQM")
Fixes: d068ca2ae2 ("codel: split into multiple files")
Co-developed-by: Jesper Dangaard Brouer <hawk@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Jesper Dangaard Brouer <hawk@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Jonas Köppeler <j.koeppeler@tu-berlin.de>
Reported-by: Chris Arges <carges@cloudflare.com>
Tested-by: Jonas Köppeler <j.koeppeler@tu-berlin.de>
Reviewed-by: Toke Høiland-Jørgensen <toke@redhat.com>
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260318134826.1281205-7-hawk@kernel.org/
Reviewed-by: Eric Dumazet <edumazet@google.com>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260323174920.253526-1-hawk@kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Jakub Kicinski <kuba@kernel.org>
2026-03-24 20:57:57 -07:00
arch Crypto library fixes for v7.0-rc5 2026-03-18 15:50:29 -07:00
block block-7.0-20260305 2026-03-06 08:36:18 -08:00
certs Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
crypto crypto: testmgr - Fix stale references to aes-generic 2026-03-03 11:57:15 -08:00
Documentation Including fixes from wireless, Bluetooth and netfilter. 2026-03-19 11:25:40 -07:00
drivers net: lan743x: fix duplex configuration in mac_link_up 2026-03-24 20:48:25 -07:00
fs nfsd-7.0 fixes: 2026-03-18 14:27:11 -07:00
include net_sched: codel: fix stale state for empty flows in fq_codel 2026-03-24 20:57:57 -07:00
init io_uring-7.0-20260305 2026-03-06 08:31:36 -08:00
io_uring io_uring-7.0-20260312 2026-03-13 10:09:35 -07:00
ipc Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
kernel Power management fixes for 7.0-rc5 2026-03-19 08:45:34 -07:00
lib Crypto library fixes for v7.0-rc5 2026-03-18 15:50:29 -07:00
LICENSES LICENSES: Add modern form of the LGPL-2.1 tags to the usage guide section 2025-10-22 07:58:19 +02:00
mm 6 hotfixes. 4 are cc:stable. 3 are for MM. 2026-03-16 12:21:00 -07:00
net rtnetlink: fix leak of SRCU struct in rtnl_link_register 2026-03-24 20:56:02 -07:00
rust Rust fixes for v7.0 (2nd) 2026-03-14 12:35:16 -07:00
samples drm-fixes for 7.0-rc4 2026-03-13 15:38:55 -07:00
scripts Hi Dave and Sima, 2026-03-13 10:40:17 +10:00
security apparmor: fix race between freeing data and fs accessing it 2026-03-09 16:05:44 -07:00
sound ASoC: Fixes for v7.0 2026-03-12 12:59:28 +01:00
tools selftests: team: add non-Ethernet header_ops reproducer 2026-03-24 11:26:32 +01:00
usr kbuild: uapi: drop dependency on CC_CAN_LINK 2026-01-16 15:02:11 -07:00
virt KVM generic changes for 7.0 2026-03-11 18:01:55 +01:00
.clang-format Devicetree updates for v7.0: 2026-02-11 18:27:08 -08:00
.clippy.toml rust: clean Rust 1.88.0's warning about clippy::disallowed_macros configuration 2025-05-07 00:11:47 +02:00
.cocciconfig
.editorconfig editorconfig: add rst extension 2026-01-26 19:07:09 -08:00
.get_maintainer.ignore MAINTAINERS: remove Alyssa Rosenzweig 2025-09-18 21:17:31 +02:00
.gitattributes .gitattributes: set diff driver for Rust source code files 2023-05-31 17:48:25 +02:00
.gitignore rust: kbuild: add proc macro library support 2025-11-24 17:15:36 +01:00
.mailmap MAINTAINERS: update email address for Ignat Korchagin 2026-03-10 16:01:49 -07:00
.pylintrc docs: Move the python libraries to tools/lib/python 2025-11-18 09:22:40 -07:00
.rustfmt.toml rust: add .rustfmt.toml 2022-09-28 09:02:20 +02:00
COPYING
CREDITS MAINTAINERS: remove Thomas Falcon from IBM ibmvnic 2026-03-05 07:35:45 -08:00
Kbuild sched: Make migrate_{en,dis}able() inline 2025-09-25 09:57:16 +02:00
Kconfig io_uring: Rename KConfig to Kconfig 2025-02-19 14:53:27 -07:00
MAINTAINERS 6 hotfixes. 4 are cc:stable. 3 are for MM. 2026-03-16 12:21:00 -07:00
Makefile Linux 7.0-rc4 2026-03-15 13:52:05 -07:00
README docs: add AI Coding Assistants documentation 2026-01-06 14:55:06 -07:00

Linux kernel
============

The Linux kernel is the core of any Linux operating system. It manages hardware,
system resources, and provides the fundamental services for all other software.

Quick Start
-----------

* Report a bug: See Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst
* Get the latest kernel: https://kernel.org
* Build the kernel: See Documentation/admin-guide/quickly-build-trimmed-linux.rst
* Join the community: https://lore.kernel.org/

Essential Documentation
-----------------------

All users should be familiar with:

* Building requirements: Documentation/process/changes.rst
* Code of Conduct: Documentation/process/code-of-conduct.rst
* License: See COPYING

Documentation can be built with make htmldocs or viewed online at:
https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/


Who Are You?
============

Find your role below:

* New Kernel Developer - Getting started with kernel development
* Academic Researcher - Studying kernel internals and architecture
* Security Expert - Hardening and vulnerability analysis
* Backport/Maintenance Engineer - Maintaining stable kernels
* System Administrator - Configuring and troubleshooting
* Maintainer - Leading subsystems and reviewing patches
* Hardware Vendor - Writing drivers for new hardware
* Distribution Maintainer - Packaging kernels for distros
* AI Coding Assistant - LLMs and AI-powered development tools


For Specific Users
==================

New Kernel Developer
--------------------

Welcome! Start your kernel development journey here:

* Getting Started: Documentation/process/development-process.rst
* Your First Patch: Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
* Coding Style: Documentation/process/coding-style.rst
* Build System: Documentation/kbuild/index.rst
* Development Tools: Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst
* Kernel Hacking Guide: Documentation/kernel-hacking/hacking.rst
* Core APIs: Documentation/core-api/index.rst

Academic Researcher
-------------------

Explore the kernel's architecture and internals:

* Researcher Guidelines: Documentation/process/researcher-guidelines.rst
* Memory Management: Documentation/mm/index.rst
* Scheduler: Documentation/scheduler/index.rst
* Networking Stack: Documentation/networking/index.rst
* Filesystems: Documentation/filesystems/index.rst
* RCU (Read-Copy Update): Documentation/RCU/index.rst
* Locking Primitives: Documentation/locking/index.rst
* Power Management: Documentation/power/index.rst

Security Expert
---------------

Security documentation and hardening guides:

* Security Documentation: Documentation/security/index.rst
* LSM Development: Documentation/security/lsm-development.rst
* Self Protection: Documentation/security/self-protection.rst
* Reporting Vulnerabilities: Documentation/process/security-bugs.rst
* CVE Procedures: Documentation/process/cve.rst
* Embargoed Hardware Issues: Documentation/process/embargoed-hardware-issues.rst
* Security Features: Documentation/userspace-api/seccomp_filter.rst

Backport/Maintenance Engineer
-----------------------------

Maintain and stabilize kernel versions:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* Backporting Guide: Documentation/process/backporting.rst
* Applying Patches: Documentation/process/applying-patches.rst
* Subsystem Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git for Maintainers: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

System Administrator
--------------------

Configure, tune, and troubleshoot Linux systems:

* Admin Guide: Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Sysctl Tuning: Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/index.rst
* Tracing/Debugging: Documentation/trace/index.rst
* Performance Security: Documentation/admin-guide/perf-security.rst
* Hardware Monitoring: Documentation/hwmon/index.rst

Maintainer
----------

Lead kernel subsystems and manage contributions:

* Maintainer Handbook: Documentation/maintainer/index.rst
* Pull Requests: Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst
* Managing Patches: Documentation/maintainer/modifying-patches.rst
* Rebasing and Merging: Documentation/maintainer/rebasing-and-merging.rst
* Development Process: Documentation/process/maintainer-handbooks.rst
* Maintainer Entry Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git Configuration: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

Hardware Vendor
---------------

Write drivers and support new hardware:

* Driver API Guide: Documentation/driver-api/index.rst
* Driver Model: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/driver.rst
* Device Drivers: Documentation/driver-api/infrastructure.rst
* Bus Types: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/bus.rst
* Device Tree Bindings: Documentation/devicetree/bindings/
* Power Management: Documentation/driver-api/pm/index.rst
* DMA API: Documentation/core-api/dma-api.rst

Distribution Maintainer
-----------------------

Package and distribute the kernel:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* ABI Documentation: Documentation/ABI/README
* Kernel Configuration: Documentation/kbuild/kconfig.rst
* Module Signing: Documentation/admin-guide/module-signing.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Tainted Kernels: Documentation/admin-guide/tainted-kernels.rst

AI Coding Assistant
-------------------

CRITICAL: If you are an LLM or AI-powered coding assistant, you MUST read and
follow the AI coding assistants documentation before contributing to the Linux
kernel:

* Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst

This documentation contains essential requirements about licensing, attribution,
and the Developer Certificate of Origin that all AI tools must comply with.


Communication and Support
=========================

* Mailing Lists: https://lore.kernel.org/
* IRC: #kernelnewbies on irc.oftc.net
* Bugzilla: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/
* MAINTAINERS file: Lists subsystem maintainers and mailing lists
* Email Clients: Documentation/process/email-clients.rst