[PATCH] selftests: timers: Use CPU time for CPU timers in posix_timers test

[PATCH] selftests: timers: Use CPU time for CPU timers in posix_timers test

[Wake Liu]

The posix_timers test compares the elapsed real time (GTOD) with the
expected timer delay to verify if the timer expired. This works fine for
real-time timers (ITIMER_REAL), but is flaky for CPU-time timers
(ITIMER_PROF, ITIMER_VIRTUAL, and CLOCK_*_CPUTIME_ID) on loaded systems
(like shared test runners) because the test process might be scheduled
out, resulting in elapsed real time being larger than the consumed CPU
time.

Fix this by using the appropriate measurement method for each timer:
- Use CPU process/thread time (via clock_gettime or getrusage) for CPU
  timers.
- Keep using monotonic clock (real time) for real-time timers.

This makes the test robust against scheduling delays.
---
 tools/testing/selftests/timers/posix_timers.c | 65 +++++++++++++------
 1 file changed, 46 insertions(+), 19 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/timers/posix_timers.c b/tools/testing/selftests/timers/posix_timers.c
index 6f78b6068589..55c5f96ea6c8 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/timers/posix_timers.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/timers/posix_timers.c
@@ -79,16 +79,39 @@ static void sig_handler(int nr)
 	done = 1;
 }
 
-/*
- * Check the expected timer expiration matches the GTOD elapsed delta since
- * we armed the timer. Keep a 0.5 sec error margin due to various jitter.
- */
-static int check_diff(struct timeval start, struct timeval end)
+#include <sys/resource.h>
+
+static long long get_clock_time_us(clockid_t clock_id)
+{
+	struct timespec ts;
+	if (clock_gettime(clock_id, &ts) < 0)
+		return -1;
+	return (long long)ts.tv_sec * USECS_PER_SEC + ts.tv_nsec / 1000;
+}
+
+static long long get_itimer_time_us(int which)
+{
+	struct rusage usage;
+
+	switch (which) {
+	case ITIMER_REAL:
+		return get_clock_time_us(CLOCK_MONOTONIC);
+	case ITIMER_PROF:
+		return get_clock_time_us(CLOCK_PROCESS_CPUTIME_ID);
+	case ITIMER_VIRTUAL:
+		if (getrusage(RUSAGE_SELF, &usage) < 0)
+			return -1;
+		return (long long)usage.ru_utime.tv_sec * USECS_PER_SEC + usage.ru_utime.tv_usec;
+	default:
+		return -1;
+	}
+}
+
+static int check_diff_us(long long start, long long end)
 {
 	long long diff;
 
-	diff = end.tv_usec - start.tv_usec;
-	diff += (end.tv_sec - start.tv_sec) * USECS_PER_SEC;
+	diff = end - start;
 
 	if (llabs(diff - DELAY * USECS_PER_SEC) > USECS_PER_SEC / 2) {
 		printf("Diff too high: %lld..", diff);
@@ -100,7 +123,7 @@ static int check_diff(struct timeval start, struct timeval end)
 
 static void check_itimer(int which, const char *name)
 {
-	struct timeval start, end;
+	long long start, end;
 	struct itimerval val = {
 		.it_value.tv_sec = DELAY,
 	};
@@ -114,8 +137,9 @@ static void check_itimer(int which, const char *name)
 	else if (which == ITIMER_REAL)
 		signal(SIGALRM, sig_handler);
 
-	if (gettimeofday(&start, NULL) < 0)
-		fatal_error(name, "gettimeofday()");
+	start = get_itimer_time_us(which);
+	if (start < 0)
+		fatal_error(name, "get_itimer_time_us()");
 
 	if (setitimer(which, &val, NULL) < 0)
 		fatal_error(name, "setitimer()");
@@ -127,15 +151,16 @@ static void check_itimer(int which, const char *name)
 	else if (which == ITIMER_REAL)
 		idle_loop();
 
-	if (gettimeofday(&end, NULL) < 0)
-		fatal_error(name, "gettimeofday()");
+	end = get_itimer_time_us(which);
+	if (end < 0)
+		fatal_error(name, "get_itimer_time_us()");
 
-	ksft_test_result(check_diff(start, end) == 0, "%s\n", name);
+	ksft_test_result(check_diff_us(start, end) == 0, "%s\n", name);
 }
 
 static void check_timer_create(int which, const char *name)
 {
-	struct timeval start, end;
+	long long start, end;
 	struct itimerspec val = {
 		.it_value.tv_sec = DELAY,
 	};
@@ -149,18 +174,20 @@ static void check_timer_create(int which, const char *name)
 	if (signal(SIGALRM, sig_handler) == SIG_ERR)
 		fatal_error(name, "signal()");
 
-	if (gettimeofday(&start, NULL) < 0)
-		fatal_error(name, "gettimeofday()");
+	start = get_clock_time_us(which);
+	if (start < 0)
+		fatal_error(name, "get_clock_time_us()");
 
 	if (timer_settime(id, 0, &val, NULL) < 0)
 		fatal_error(name, "timer_settime()");
 
 	user_loop();
 
-	if (gettimeofday(&end, NULL) < 0)
-		fatal_error(name, "gettimeofday()");
+	end = get_clock_time_us(which);
+	if (end < 0)
+		fatal_error(name, "get_clock_time_us()");
 
-	ksft_test_result(check_diff(start, end) == 0,
+	ksft_test_result(check_diff_us(start, end) == 0,
 			 "timer_create() per %s\n", name);
 }
 
-- 
2.55.0.795.g602f6c329a-goog

Re: [PATCH] selftests: timers: Use CPU time for CPU timers in posix_timers test

[Thomas Gleixner]

On Wed, Jul 08 2026 at 12:15, Wake Liu wrote:
> The posix_timers test compares the elapsed real time (GTOD) with the
> expected timer delay to verify if the timer expired. This works fine for
> real-time timers (ITIMER_REAL), but is flaky for CPU-time timers
> (ITIMER_PROF, ITIMER_VIRTUAL, and CLOCK_*_CPUTIME_ID) on loaded systems
> (like shared test runners) because the test process might be scheduled
> out, resulting in elapsed real time being larger than the consumed CPU
> time.
>
> Fix this by using the appropriate measurement method for each timer:
> - Use CPU process/thread time (via clock_gettime or getrusage) for CPU
>   timers.
> - Keep using monotonic clock (real time) for real-time timers.
>
> This makes the test robust against scheduling delays.

Lacks Signed-off-by ....

> +#include <sys/resource.h>
> +
> +static long long get_clock_time_us(clockid_t clock_id)
> +{
> +	struct timespec ts;

Newline between declaration and code.

> +	if (clock_gettime(clock_id, &ts) < 0)
> +		return -1;
> +	return (long long)ts.tv_sec * USECS_PER_SEC + ts.tv_nsec / 1000;
> +}
> +
> +static long long get_itimer_time_us(int which)
> +{
> +	struct rusage usage;
> +
> +	switch (which) {
> +	case ITIMER_REAL:
> +		return get_clock_time_us(CLOCK_MONOTONIC);
> +	case ITIMER_PROF:
> +		return get_clock_time_us(CLOCK_PROCESS_CPUTIME_ID);
> +	case ITIMER_VIRTUAL:
> +		if (getrusage(RUSAGE_SELF, &usage) < 0)
> +			return -1;
> +		return (long long)usage.ru_utime.tv_sec * USECS_PER_SEC + usage.ru_utime.tv_usec;
> +	default:
> +		return -1;
> +	}
> +}
> +
> +static int check_diff_us(long long start, long long end)
>  {
>  	long long diff;
>  
> -	diff = end.tv_usec - start.tv_usec;
> -	diff += (end.tv_sec - start.tv_sec) * USECS_PER_SEC;
> +	diff = end - start;

Move that to the declaration line.

>  	if (llabs(diff - DELAY * USECS_PER_SEC) > USECS_PER_SEC / 2) {
>  		printf("Diff too high: %lld..", diff);
> @@ -100,7 +123,7 @@ static int check_diff(struct timeval start, struct timeval end)
>  
> -	if (gettimeofday(&end, NULL) < 0)
> -		fatal_error(name, "gettimeofday()");
> +	end = get_clock_time_us(which);
> +	if (end < 0)
> +		fatal_error(name, "get_clock_time_us()");
>  
> -	ksft_test_result(check_diff(start, end) == 0,
> +	ksft_test_result(check_diff_us(start, end) == 0,
>  			 "timer_create() per %s\n", name);

Please get rid of the line break.

[PATCH v2] selftests: timers: Use CPU time for CPU timers in posix_timers test

[Wake Liu]

The posix_timers test compares the elapsed real time (GTOD) with the
expected timer delay to verify if the timer expired. This works fine for
real-time timers (ITIMER_REAL), but is flaky for CPU-time timers
(ITIMER_PROF, ITIMER_VIRTUAL, and CLOCK_*_CPUTIME_ID) on loaded systems
(like shared test runners) because the test process might be scheduled
out, resulting in elapsed real time being larger than the consumed CPU
time.

Fix this by using the appropriate measurement method for each timer:
- Use CPU process/thread time (via clock_gettime or getrusage) for CPU
  timers.
- Keep using monotonic clock (real time) for real-time timers.

This makes the test robust against scheduling delays.

Signed-off-by: Wake Liu <wakel@google.com>
---
v2:
  - Add Signed-off-by.
  - Fix coding style issues:
    - Add newline after variable declaration in get_clock_time_us().
    - Merge variable declaration and assignment in check_diff_us().
    - Remove unnecessary line break in ksft_test_result() call.

 tools/testing/selftests/timers/posix_timers.c | 67 +++++++++++++------
 1 file changed, 46 insertions(+), 21 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/timers/posix_timers.c b/tools/testing/selftests/timers/posix_timers.c
index 6f78b6068589..02eb9d5c769c 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/timers/posix_timers.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/timers/posix_timers.c
@@ -79,16 +79,38 @@ static void sig_handler(int nr)
 	done = 1;
 }
 
-/*
- * Check the expected timer expiration matches the GTOD elapsed delta since
- * we armed the timer. Keep a 0.5 sec error margin due to various jitter.
- */
-static int check_diff(struct timeval start, struct timeval end)
+#include <sys/resource.h>
+
+static long long get_clock_time_us(clockid_t clock_id)
+{
+	struct timespec ts;
+
+	if (clock_gettime(clock_id, &ts) < 0)
+		return -1;
+	return (long long)ts.tv_sec * USECS_PER_SEC + ts.tv_nsec / 1000;
+}
+
+static long long get_itimer_time_us(int which)
 {
-	long long diff;
+	struct rusage usage;
+
+	switch (which) {
+	case ITIMER_REAL:
+		return get_clock_time_us(CLOCK_MONOTONIC);
+	case ITIMER_PROF:
+		return get_clock_time_us(CLOCK_PROCESS_CPUTIME_ID);
+	case ITIMER_VIRTUAL:
+		if (getrusage(RUSAGE_SELF, &usage) < 0)
+			return -1;
+		return (long long)usage.ru_utime.tv_sec * USECS_PER_SEC + usage.ru_utime.tv_usec;
+	default:
+		return -1;
+	}
+}
 
-	diff = end.tv_usec - start.tv_usec;
-	diff += (end.tv_sec - start.tv_sec) * USECS_PER_SEC;
+static int check_diff_us(long long start, long long end)
+{
+	long long diff = end - start;
 
 	if (llabs(diff - DELAY * USECS_PER_SEC) > USECS_PER_SEC / 2) {
 		printf("Diff too high: %lld..", diff);
@@ -100,7 +122,7 @@ static int check_diff(struct timeval start, struct timeval end)
 
 static void check_itimer(int which, const char *name)
 {
-	struct timeval start, end;
+	long long start, end;
 	struct itimerval val = {
 		.it_value.tv_sec = DELAY,
 	};
@@ -114,8 +136,9 @@ static void check_itimer(int which, const char *name)
 	else if (which == ITIMER_REAL)
 		signal(SIGALRM, sig_handler);
 
-	if (gettimeofday(&start, NULL) < 0)
-		fatal_error(name, "gettimeofday()");
+	start = get_itimer_time_us(which);
+	if (start < 0)
+		fatal_error(name, "get_itimer_time_us()");
 
 	if (setitimer(which, &val, NULL) < 0)
 		fatal_error(name, "setitimer()");
@@ -127,15 +150,16 @@ static void check_itimer(int which, const char *name)
 	else if (which == ITIMER_REAL)
 		idle_loop();
 
-	if (gettimeofday(&end, NULL) < 0)
-		fatal_error(name, "gettimeofday()");
+	end = get_itimer_time_us(which);
+	if (end < 0)
+		fatal_error(name, "get_itimer_time_us()");
 
-	ksft_test_result(check_diff(start, end) == 0, "%s\n", name);
+	ksft_test_result(check_diff_us(start, end) == 0, "%s\n", name);
 }
 
 static void check_timer_create(int which, const char *name)
 {
-	struct timeval start, end;
+	long long start, end;
 	struct itimerspec val = {
 		.it_value.tv_sec = DELAY,
 	};
@@ -149,19 +173,20 @@ static void check_timer_create(int which, const char *name)
 	if (signal(SIGALRM, sig_handler) == SIG_ERR)
 		fatal_error(name, "signal()");
 
-	if (gettimeofday(&start, NULL) < 0)
-		fatal_error(name, "gettimeofday()");
+	start = get_clock_time_us(which);
+	if (start < 0)
+		fatal_error(name, "get_clock_time_us()");
 
 	if (timer_settime(id, 0, &val, NULL) < 0)
 		fatal_error(name, "timer_settime()");
 
 	user_loop();
 
-	if (gettimeofday(&end, NULL) < 0)
-		fatal_error(name, "gettimeofday()");
+	end = get_clock_time_us(which);
+	if (end < 0)
+		fatal_error(name, "get_clock_time_us()");
 
-	ksft_test_result(check_diff(start, end) == 0,
-			 "timer_create() per %s\n", name);
+	ksft_test_result(check_diff_us(start, end) == 0, "timer_create() per %s\n", name);
 }
 
 static pthread_t ctd_thread;
-- 
2.55.0.229.g6434b31f56-goog

Re: [PATCH] selftests: timers: Use CPU time for CPU timers in posix_timers test

[Wake Liu]

Hi Thomas,

Thanks for the review. I've addressed all the style issues and sent
out PATCH v2.

On Mon, Jul 20, 2026 at 10:14 PM Thomas Gleixner <tglx@kernel.org> wrote:
>
> On Wed, Jul 08 2026 at 12:15, Wake Liu wrote:
> > The posix_timers test compares the elapsed real time (GTOD) with the
> > expected timer delay to verify if the timer expired. This works fine for
> > real-time timers (ITIMER_REAL), but is flaky for CPU-time timers
> > (ITIMER_PROF, ITIMER_VIRTUAL, and CLOCK_*_CPUTIME_ID) on loaded systems
> > (like shared test runners) because the test process might be scheduled
> > out, resulting in elapsed real time being larger than the consumed CPU
> > time.
> >
> > Fix this by using the appropriate measurement method for each timer:
> > - Use CPU process/thread time (via clock_gettime or getrusage) for CPU
> >   timers.
> > - Keep using monotonic clock (real time) for real-time timers.
> >
> > This makes the test robust against scheduling delays.
>
> Lacks Signed-off-by ....
>
> > +#include <sys/resource.h>
> > +
> > +static long long get_clock_time_us(clockid_t clock_id)
> > +{
> > +     struct timespec ts;
>
> Newline between declaration and code.
>
> > +     if (clock_gettime(clock_id, &ts) < 0)
> > +             return -1;
> > +     return (long long)ts.tv_sec * USECS_PER_SEC + ts.tv_nsec / 1000;
> > +}
> > +
> > +static long long get_itimer_time_us(int which)
> > +{
> > +     struct rusage usage;
> > +
> > +     switch (which) {
> > +     case ITIMER_REAL:
> > +             return get_clock_time_us(CLOCK_MONOTONIC);
> > +     case ITIMER_PROF:
> > +             return get_clock_time_us(CLOCK_PROCESS_CPUTIME_ID);
> > +     case ITIMER_VIRTUAL:
> > +             if (getrusage(RUSAGE_SELF, &usage) < 0)
> > +                     return -1;
> > +             return (long long)usage.ru_utime.tv_sec * USECS_PER_SEC + usage.ru_utime.tv_usec;
> > +     default:
> > +             return -1;
> > +     }
> > +}
> > +
> > +static int check_diff_us(long long start, long long end)
> >  {
> >       long long diff;
> >
> > -     diff = end.tv_usec - start.tv_usec;
> > -     diff += (end.tv_sec - start.tv_sec) * USECS_PER_SEC;
> > +     diff = end - start;
>
> Move that to the declaration line.
>
> >       if (llabs(diff - DELAY * USECS_PER_SEC) > USECS_PER_SEC / 2) {
> >               printf("Diff too high: %lld..", diff);
> > @@ -100,7 +123,7 @@ static int check_diff(struct timeval start, struct timeval end)
> >
> > -     if (gettimeofday(&end, NULL) < 0)
> > -             fatal_error(name, "gettimeofday()");
> > +     end = get_clock_time_us(which);
> > +     if (end < 0)
> > +             fatal_error(name, "get_clock_time_us()");
> >
> > -     ksft_test_result(check_diff(start, end) == 0,
> > +     ksft_test_result(check_diff_us(start, end) == 0,
> >                        "timer_create() per %s\n", name);
>
> Please get rid of the line break.
>


-- 
Best Regards,
Wake Liu