Re: [PATCH 2/6] sched/fair: Attach sched_domain_shared to sd_asym_cpucapacity

Andrea Righi
2026-04-28T08:47:38Z

Hi Shrikanth,

On Tue, Apr 28, 2026 at 12:15:15PM +0530, Shrikanth Hegde wrote:
> On 4/28/26 10:46 AM, Andrea Righi wrote:
> > From: K Prateek Nayak <kprateek.nayak@amd.com>
> >
> > On asymmetric CPU capacity systems, the wakeup path uses
> > select_idle_capacity(), which scans the span of sd_asym_cpucapacity
> > rather than sd_llc.
> >
> > The has_idle_cores hint however lives on sd_llc->shared, so the
> > wakeup-time read of has_idle_cores operates on an LLC-scoped blob while
> > the actual scan/decision spans the asym domain; nr_busy_cpus also lives
> > in the same shared sched_domain data, but it's never used in the asym
> > CPU capacity scenario.
> >
> > Therefore, move the sched_domain_shared object to sd_asym_cpucapacity
> > whenever the CPU has a SD_ASYM_CPUCAPACITY_FULL ancestor and that
> > ancestor is non-overlapping (i.e., not built from SD_NUMA). In that case
> > the scope of has_idle_cores matches the scope of the wakeup scan.
> >
> > Fall back to attaching the shared object to sd_llc in three cases:
> >
> > 1) plain symmetric systems (no SD_ASYM_CPUCAPACITY_FULL anywhere);
> >
> > 2) CPUs in an exclusive cpuset that carves out a symmetric capacity
> > island: has_asym is system-wide but those CPUs have no
> > SD_ASYM_CPUCAPACITY_FULL ancestor in their hierarchy and follow
> > the symmetric LLC path in select_idle_sibling();
> >
> > 3) exotic topologies where SD_ASYM_CPUCAPACITY_FULL lands on an
> > SD_NUMA-built domain. init_sched_domain_shared() keys the shared
> > blob off cpumask_first(span), which on overlapping NUMA domains
> > would alias unrelated spans onto the same blob. Keep the shared
> > object on the LLC there; select_idle_capacity() gracefully skips
> > the has_idle_cores preference when sd->shared is NULL.
> >
>
> Can you share the example topology where this benefits?

I've tested this both on a system with 1 NUMA node, 1 LLC, 88 SMT cores per LLC
(176 CPUs total) and 2 NUMA nodes, 2 LLC (one per node), 88 SMT cores per LLC
(352 CPUs total). The CPU capacities are ranging from 992 to 1024.

>
> Is SD_ASYM_CPUCAPACITY_FULL one level above LLC but below NUMA?

In the system with a single node SD_ASYM_CPUCAPACITY_FULL is at the LLC level,
in the system with 2 nodes it's at the NUMA level.

>
> > While at it, also rename the per-CPU sd_llc_shared to sd_balance_shared,
> > as it is no longer strictly tied to the LLC.
> >
>
> llc scans are at wakeup's. name sd_balance_shared indicates it is for load balance.

True, but sd_llc/balance_shared is used for the balancer kick logic. And idle
CPU scan is still a form of balancing at the end... but I'm open to suggestions
if we find a better name.

Thanks,
-Andrea

>
> > Co-developed-by: Andrea Righi <arighi@nvidia.com>
> > Signed-off-by: Andrea Righi <arighi@nvidia.com>
> > Signed-off-by: K Prateek Nayak <kprateek.nayak@amd.com>
> > ---
> > kernel/sched/fair.c | 20 +++++----
> > kernel/sched/sched.h | 2 +-
> > kernel/sched/topology.c | 91 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------
> > 3 files changed, 91 insertions(+), 22 deletions(-)
> >
> > diff --git a/kernel/sched/fair.c b/kernel/sched/fair.c
> > index fc0828150c780..ece3a26f59c27 100644
> > --- a/kernel/sched/fair.c
> > +++ b/kernel/sched/fair.c
> > @@ -7790,7 +7790,7 @@ static inline void set_idle_cores(int cpu, int val)
> > {
> > struct sched_domain_shared *sds;
> > - sds = rcu_dereference_all(per_cpu(sd_llc_shared, cpu));
> > + sds = rcu_dereference_all(per_cpu(sd_balance_shared, cpu));
> > if (sds)
> > WRITE_ONCE(sds->has_idle_cores, val);
> > }
> > @@ -7799,7 +7799,7 @@ static inline bool test_idle_cores(int cpu)
> > {
> > struct sched_domain_shared *sds;
> > - sds = rcu_dereference_all(per_cpu(sd_llc_shared, cpu));
> > + sds = rcu_dereference_all(per_cpu(sd_balance_shared, cpu));
> > if (sds)
> > return READ_ONCE(sds->has_idle_cores);
> > @@ -7808,7 +7808,7 @@ static inline bool test_idle_cores(int cpu)
> > /*
> > * Scans the local SMT mask to see if the entire core is idle, and records this
> > - * information in sd_llc_shared->has_idle_cores.
> > + * information in sd_balance_shared->has_idle_cores.
> > *
> > * Since SMT siblings share all cache levels, inspecting this limited remote
> > * state should be fairly cheap.
> > @@ -7925,7 +7925,7 @@ static int select_idle_cpu(struct task_struct *p, struct sched_domain *sd, bool
> > struct cpumask *cpus = this_cpu_cpumask_var_ptr(select_rq_mask);
> > int i, cpu, idle_cpu = -1, nr = INT_MAX;
> > - if (sched_feat(SIS_UTIL)) {
> > + if (sched_feat(SIS_UTIL) && sd->shared) {
> > /*
> > * Increment because !--nr is the condition to stop scan.
> > *
> > @@ -12759,7 +12759,7 @@ static bool nohz_balancer_needs_kick(struct rq *rq)
> > return false;
> > }
> > - sds = rcu_dereference_all(per_cpu(sd_llc_shared, cpu));
> > + sds = rcu_dereference_all(per_cpu(sd_balance_shared, cpu));
> > if (sds) {
> > /*
> > * If there is an imbalance between LLC domains (IOW we could
> > @@ -12841,10 +12841,13 @@ static void set_cpu_sd_state_busy(int cpu)
> > guard(rcu)();
> > sd = rcu_dereference_all(per_cpu(sd_llc, cpu));
> > - if (!sd || !sd->nohz_idle)
> > + /*
> > + * sd->nohz_idle only pairs with nr_busy_cpus on sd->shared; if this LLC
> > + * domain has no shared object there is nothing to clear or account.
> > + */
> > + if (!sd || !sd->shared || !sd->nohz_idle)
> > return;
> > sd->nohz_idle = 0;
> > -
> > atomic_inc(&sd->shared->nr_busy_cpus);
> > }
> > @@ -12868,7 +12871,8 @@ static void set_cpu_sd_state_idle(int cpu)
> > guard(rcu)();
> > sd = rcu_dereference_all(per_cpu(sd_llc, cpu));
> > - if (!sd || sd->nohz_idle)
> > + /* See set_cpu_sd_state_busy(): nohz_idle is only used with sd->shared. */
> > + if (!sd || !sd->shared || sd->nohz_idle)
> > return;
> > sd->nohz_idle = 1;
> > diff --git a/kernel/sched/sched.h b/kernel/sched/sched.h
> > index 9f63b15d309d1..330f5893c4561 100644
> > --- a/kernel/sched/sched.h
> > +++ b/kernel/sched/sched.h
> > @@ -2170,7 +2170,7 @@ DECLARE_PER_CPU(struct sched_domain __rcu *, sd_llc);
> > DECLARE_PER_CPU(int, sd_llc_size);
> > DECLARE_PER_CPU(int, sd_llc_id);
> > DECLARE_PER_CPU(int, sd_share_id);
> > -DECLARE_PER_CPU(struct sched_domain_shared __rcu *, sd_llc_shared);
> > +DECLARE_PER_CPU(struct sched_domain_shared __rcu *, sd_balance_shared);
> > DECLARE_PER_CPU(struct sched_domain __rcu *, sd_numa);
> > DECLARE_PER_CPU(struct sched_domain __rcu *, sd_asym_packing);
> > DECLARE_PER_CPU(struct sched_domain __rcu *, sd_asym_cpucapacity);
> > diff --git a/kernel/sched/topology.c b/kernel/sched/topology.c
> > index 5847b83d9d552..1e6ce369a4bbc 100644
> > --- a/kernel/sched/topology.c
> > +++ b/kernel/sched/topology.c
> > @@ -665,7 +665,7 @@ DEFINE_PER_CPU(struct sched_domain __rcu *, sd_llc);
> > DEFINE_PER_CPU(int, sd_llc_size);
> > DEFINE_PER_CPU(int, sd_llc_id);
> > DEFINE_PER_CPU(int, sd_share_id);
> > -DEFINE_PER_CPU(struct sched_domain_shared __rcu *, sd_llc_shared);
> > +DEFINE_PER_CPU(struct sched_domain_shared __rcu *, sd_balance_shared);
> > DEFINE_PER_CPU(struct sched_domain __rcu *, sd_numa);
> > DEFINE_PER_CPU(struct sched_domain __rcu *, sd_asym_packing);
> > DEFINE_PER_CPU(struct sched_domain __rcu *, sd_asym_cpucapacity);
> > @@ -680,20 +680,39 @@ static void update_top_cache_domain(int cpu)
> > int id = cpu;
> > int size = 1;
> > + sd = lowest_flag_domain(cpu, SD_ASYM_CPUCAPACITY_FULL);
> > + /*
> > + * The shared object is attached to sd_asym_cpucapacity only when the
> > + * asym domain is non-overlapping (i.e., not built from SD_NUMA).
> > + * On overlapping (NUMA) asym domains we fall back to letting the
> > + * SD_SHARE_LLC path own the shared object, so sd->shared may be NULL
> > + * here.
> > + */
> > + if (sd && sd->shared)
> > + sds = sd->shared;
> > +
> > + rcu_assign_pointer(per_cpu(sd_asym_cpucapacity, cpu), sd);
> > +
> > sd = highest_flag_domain(cpu, SD_SHARE_LLC);
> > if (sd) {
> > id = cpumask_first(sched_domain_span(sd));
> > size = cpumask_weight(sched_domain_span(sd));
> > - /* If sd_llc exists, sd_llc_shared should exist too. */
> > - WARN_ON_ONCE(!sd->shared);
> > - sds = sd->shared;
> > + /*
> > + * If sd_asym_cpucapacity didn't claim the shared object,
> > + * sd_llc must have one linked.
> > + */
> > + if (!sds) {
> > + WARN_ON_ONCE(!sd->shared);
> > + sds = sd->shared;
> > + }
> > }
> > rcu_assign_pointer(per_cpu(sd_llc, cpu), sd);
> > per_cpu(sd_llc_size, cpu) = size;
> > per_cpu(sd_llc_id, cpu) = id;
> > - rcu_assign_pointer(per_cpu(sd_llc_shared, cpu), sds);
> > +
> > + rcu_assign_pointer(per_cpu(sd_balance_shared, cpu), sds);
> > sd = lowest_flag_domain(cpu, SD_CLUSTER);
> > if (sd)
> > @@ -711,9 +730,6 @@ static void update_top_cache_domain(int cpu)
> > sd = highest_flag_domain(cpu, SD_ASYM_PACKING);
> > rcu_assign_pointer(per_cpu(sd_asym_packing, cpu), sd);
> > -
> > - sd = lowest_flag_domain(cpu, SD_ASYM_CPUCAPACITY_FULL);
> > - rcu_assign_pointer(per_cpu(sd_asym_cpucapacity, cpu), sd);
> > }
> > /*
> > @@ -2650,6 +2666,49 @@ static void adjust_numa_imbalance(struct sched_domain *sd_llc)
> > }
> > }
> > +static void init_sched_domain_shared(struct s_data *d, struct sched_domain *sd)
> > +{
> > + int sd_id = cpumask_first(sched_domain_span(sd));
> > +
> > + sd->shared = *per_cpu_ptr(d->sds, sd_id);
> > + atomic_set(&sd->shared->nr_busy_cpus, sd->span_weight);
> > + atomic_inc(&sd->shared->ref);
> > +}
> > +
> > +/*
> > + * For asymmetric CPU capacity, attach sched_domain_shared on the innermost
> > + * SD_ASYM_CPUCAPACITY_FULL ancestor of @cpu's base domain when that ancestor is
> > + * not an overlapping NUMA-built domain (then LLC should claim shared).
> > + *
> > + * A CPU may lack any FULL ancestor (e.g., exclusive cpuset symmetric island),
> > + * then LLC must claim shared instead.
> > + *
> > + * Note: SD_ASYM_CPUCAPACITY_FULL is only set when multiple distinct capacities
> > + * exist in the domain span, so the asym domain we attach to cannot degenerate
> > + * into a single-capacity group. The relevant edge cases are instead covered by
> > + * the caveats above.
> > + *
> > + * Return true if this CPU's asym path claimed sd->shared, false otherwise.
> > + */
> > +static bool claim_asym_sched_domain_shared(struct s_data *d, int cpu)
> > +{
> > + struct sched_domain *sd = *per_cpu_ptr(d->sd, cpu);
> > + struct sched_domain *sd_asym;
> > +
> > + if (!sd)
> > + return false;
> > +
> > + sd_asym = sd;
> > + while (sd_asym && !(sd_asym->flags & SD_ASYM_CPUCAPACITY_FULL))
> > + sd_asym = sd_asym->parent;
> > +
> > + if (!sd_asym || (sd_asym->flags & SD_NUMA))
> > + return false;
> > +
> > + init_sched_domain_shared(d, sd_asym);
> > + return true;
> > +}
> > +
> > /*
> > * Build sched domains for a given set of CPUs and attach the sched domains
> > * to the individual CPUs
> > @@ -2708,20 +2767,26 @@ build_sched_domains(const struct cpumask *cpu_map, struct sched_domain_attr *att
> > }
> > for_each_cpu(i, cpu_map) {
> > + bool asym_claimed = false;
> > +
> > sd = *per_cpu_ptr(d.sd, i);
> > if (!sd)
> > continue;
> > + if (has_asym)
> > + asym_claimed = claim_asym_sched_domain_shared(&d, i);
> > +
> > /* First, find the topmost SD_SHARE_LLC domain */
> > while (sd->parent && (sd->parent->flags & SD_SHARE_LLC))
> > sd = sd->parent;
> > if (sd->flags & SD_SHARE_LLC) {
> > - int sd_id = cpumask_first(sched_domain_span(sd));
> > -
> > - sd->shared = *per_cpu_ptr(d.sds, sd_id);
> > - atomic_set(&sd->shared->nr_busy_cpus, sd->span_weight);
> > - atomic_inc(&sd->shared->ref);
> > + /*
> > + * Initialize the sd->shared for SD_SHARE_LLC unless
> > + * the asym path above already claimed it.
> > + */
> > + if (!asym_claimed)
> > + init_sched_domain_shared(&d, sd);
> > /*
> > * In presence of higher domains, adjust the
>