With the consolidation of put_prev_task/set_next_task(), see
commit 436f3eed5c69 ("sched: Combine the last put_prev_task() and the
first set_next_task()"), we are now skipping the transition between
these two functions when the previous and the next tasks are the same.
As a result, the scx idle state of a CPU is updated only when
transitioning to or from the idle thread. While this is generally
correct, it can lead to uneven and inefficient core utilization in
certain scenarios [1].
A typical scenario involves proactive wake-ups: scx_bpf_pick_idle_cpu()
selects and marks an idle CPU as busy, followed by a wake-up via
scx_bpf_kick_cpu(), without dispatching any tasks. In this case, the CPU
continues running the idle thread, returns to idle, but remains marked
as busy, preventing it from being selected again as an idle CPU (until a
task eventually runs on it and releases the CPU).
For example, running a workload that uses 20% of each CPU, combined with
an scx scheduler using proactive wake-ups, results in the following core
utilization:
CPU 0: 25.7%
CPU 1: 29.3%
CPU 2: 26.5%
CPU 3: 25.5%
CPU 4: 0.0%
CPU 5: 25.5%
CPU 6: 0.0%
CPU 7: 10.5%
To address this, refresh the idle state also in pick_task_idle(), during
idle-to-idle transitions, but only trigger ops.update_idle() on actual
state changes to prevent unnecessary updates to the scx scheduler and
maintain balanced state transitions.
With this change in place, the core utilization in the previous example
becomes the following:
CPU 0: 18.8%
CPU 1: 19.4%
CPU 2: 18.0%
CPU 3: 18.7%
CPU 4: 19.3%
CPU 5: 18.9%
CPU 6: 18.7%
CPU 7: 19.3%
[1] https://github.com/sched-ext/scx/pull/1139
Fixes: 7c65ae81ea86 ("sched_ext: Don't call put_prev_task_scx() before picking the next task")
Signed-off-by: Andrea Righi <arighi@nvidia.com>
Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org>
a2a3374c47