From: Eyal Birger <eyal.birger@gmail.com>
To: ast@kernel.org, daniel@iogearbox.net, andrii@kernel.org,
martin.lau@linux.dev, eddyz87@gmail.com, memxor@gmail.com,
song@kernel.org, yonghong.song@linux.dev, jolsa@kernel.org,
paul.chaignon@gmail.com, chen.dylane@linux.dev,
kpsingh@kernel.org, a.s.protopopov@gmail.com, yatsenko@meta.com,
ameryhung@gmail.com, tklauser@distanz.ch,
shmulik.ladkani@gmail.com
Cc: bpf@vger.kernel.org, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org,
Eyal Birger <eyal.birger@gmail.com>
Subject: [PATCH bpf-next] bpf: warn against BPF_RB_NO_WAKEUP in bpf_ringbuf_discard()
Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2026 05:17:32 -0700 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260330121732.1601352-1-eyal.birger@gmail.com> (raw)
Document that BPF_RB_NO_WAKEUP is not recommended for
bpf_ringbuf_discard().
A discard done with BPF_RB_NO_WAKEUP can suppress a later adaptive
wakeup from a valid record, leaving an epoll-based userspace consumer
asleep even though data is available in the ring buffer.
Scenario:
epoll_wait(rb_fd); // blocks
rec = bpf_ringbuf_reserve(&rb, ...);
bpf_ringbuf_discard(rec, BPF_RB_NO_WAKEUP);
rec = bpf_ringbuf_reserve(&rb, ...);
bpf_ringbuf_submit(rec, 0); // valid record, but no wakeup
This behavior is surprising in the context of bpf_ringbuf_discard()
as it seems natural not to want to wake userspace.
Reported-by: Shmulik Ladkani <shmulik.ladkani@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Eyal Birger <eyal.birger@gmail.com>
---
include/uapi/linux/bpf.h | 3 ++-
tools/include/uapi/linux/bpf.h | 3 ++-
2 files changed, 4 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
diff --git a/include/uapi/linux/bpf.h b/include/uapi/linux/bpf.h
index c8d400b7680a..c46b06d45904 100644
--- a/include/uapi/linux/bpf.h
+++ b/include/uapi/linux/bpf.h
@@ -4645,7 +4645,8 @@ union bpf_attr {
* Description
* Discard reserved ring buffer sample, pointed to by *data*.
* If **BPF_RB_NO_WAKEUP** is specified in *flags*, no notification
- * of new data availability is sent.
+ * of new data availability is sent, which is not recommended as
+ * it can suppress a later adaptive wakeup from a subsequent submit.
* If **BPF_RB_FORCE_WAKEUP** is specified in *flags*, notification
* of new data availability is sent unconditionally.
* If **0** is specified in *flags*, an adaptive notification
diff --git a/tools/include/uapi/linux/bpf.h b/tools/include/uapi/linux/bpf.h
index 5e38b4887de6..96de37c3b896 100644
--- a/tools/include/uapi/linux/bpf.h
+++ b/tools/include/uapi/linux/bpf.h
@@ -4645,7 +4645,8 @@ union bpf_attr {
* Description
* Discard reserved ring buffer sample, pointed to by *data*.
* If **BPF_RB_NO_WAKEUP** is specified in *flags*, no notification
- * of new data availability is sent.
+ * of new data availability is sent, which is not recommended as
+ * it can suppress a later adaptive wakeup from a subsequent submit.
* If **BPF_RB_FORCE_WAKEUP** is specified in *flags*, notification
* of new data availability is sent unconditionally.
* If **0** is specified in *flags*, an adaptive notification
--
2.43.0
next reply other threads:[~2026-03-30 12:17 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 5+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-03-30 12:17 Eyal Birger [this message]
2026-03-30 13:39 ` [PATCH bpf-next] bpf: warn against BPF_RB_NO_WAKEUP in bpf_ringbuf_discard() Puranjay Mohan
2026-03-30 13:53 ` Eyal Birger
2026-03-31 0:27 ` Andrii Nakryiko
2026-03-31 12:57 ` Eyal Birger
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