kernel/sched/ext/ext.c | 21 ++++++++++++++++++--- kernel/sched/sched.h | 11 +++++++++++ 2 files changed, 29 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
SCX tasks with finite slices need the scheduler tick to make forward
progress on slice expiration. However, set_next_task_scx() used to refresh
the nohz dependency through sched_update_tick_dependency(), which evaluates
sched_can_stop_tick() using rq->curr.
When switching from idle, RT, CFS, or another previous task to a
finite-slice SCX task on a nohz_full CPU, rq->curr may still point at
the previous task while set_next_task_scx() is running. If that previous
task allows the tick to stop, the scheduler dependency can remain
cleared even though the next SCX task has p->scx.slice != SCX_SLICE_INF.
CFS does not hit the same gap for bandwidth-constrained tasks because its
pick path has a next-task based check: sched_fair_update_stop_tick()
explicitly sets TICK_DEP_BIT_SCHED when the selected CFS task needs
bandwidth accounting on a nohz_full CPU.
Add a helper to set the scheduler tick dependency directly and use it from
set_next_task_scx() whenever the next SCX task has a finite slice.
This avoids basing the finite-slice decision on the old rq->curr while
preserving the existing tickless behavior for SCX_SLICE_INF tasks.
Signed-off-by: Zhimin Feng <fengzhimin@bytedance.com>
Co-developed-by: Chengming Zhou <zhouchengming@bytedance.com>
Signed-off-by: Chengming Zhou <zhouchengming@bytedance.com>
---
kernel/sched/ext/ext.c | 21 ++++++++++++++++++---
kernel/sched/sched.h | 11 +++++++++++
2 files changed, 29 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
diff --git a/kernel/sched/ext/ext.c b/kernel/sched/ext/ext.c
index 691d53fe0f64..6c0c805d489a 100644
--- a/kernel/sched/ext/ext.c
+++ b/kernel/sched/ext/ext.c
@@ -2950,6 +2950,8 @@ static int balance_one(struct rq *rq, struct task_struct *prev)
static void set_next_task_scx(struct rq *rq, struct task_struct *p, bool first)
{
struct scx_sched *sch = scx_task_sched(p);
+ bool can_stop_tick;
+ bool tick_state_changed;
if (p->scx.flags & SCX_TASK_QUEUED) {
/*
@@ -2972,15 +2974,28 @@ static void set_next_task_scx(struct rq *rq, struct task_struct *p, bool first)
* @p is getting newly scheduled or got kicked after someone updated its
* slice. Refresh whether tick can be stopped. See scx_can_stop_tick().
*/
- if ((p->scx.slice == SCX_SLICE_INF) !=
- (bool)(rq->scx.flags & SCX_RQ_CAN_STOP_TICK)) {
- if (p->scx.slice == SCX_SLICE_INF)
+ can_stop_tick = p->scx.slice == SCX_SLICE_INF;
+ tick_state_changed = can_stop_tick !=
+ (bool)(rq->scx.flags & SCX_RQ_CAN_STOP_TICK);
+ if (tick_state_changed) {
+ if (can_stop_tick)
rq->scx.flags |= SCX_RQ_CAN_STOP_TICK;
else
rq->scx.flags &= ~SCX_RQ_CAN_STOP_TICK;
+ }
+ /*
+ * If @p has a finite slice, it needs the scheduler tick to make
+ * forward progress on slice expiration. Don't rely on
+ * sched_update_tick_dependency() here because rq->curr may still be
+ * the previous task while set_next_task_scx() is running.
+ */
+ if (!can_stop_tick)
+ sched_set_tick_dependency(rq);
+ else if (tick_state_changed)
sched_update_tick_dependency(rq);
+ if (tick_state_changed) {
/*
* For now, let's refresh the load_avgs just when transitioning
* in and out of nohz. In the future, we might want to add a
diff --git a/kernel/sched/sched.h b/kernel/sched/sched.h
index 56acf502ba26..d692d92fc095 100644
--- a/kernel/sched/sched.h
+++ b/kernel/sched/sched.h
@@ -2998,9 +2998,20 @@ static inline void sched_update_tick_dependency(struct rq *rq)
else
tick_nohz_dep_set_cpu(cpu, TICK_DEP_BIT_SCHED);
}
+
+static inline void sched_set_tick_dependency(struct rq *rq)
+{
+ int cpu = cpu_of(rq);
+
+ if (!tick_nohz_full_cpu(cpu))
+ return;
+
+ tick_nohz_dep_set_cpu(cpu, TICK_DEP_BIT_SCHED);
+}
#else /* !CONFIG_NO_HZ_FULL: */
static inline int sched_tick_offload_init(void) { return 0; }
static inline void sched_update_tick_dependency(struct rq *rq) { }
+static inline void sched_set_tick_dependency(struct rq *rq) { }
#endif /* !CONFIG_NO_HZ_FULL */
static inline void add_nr_running(struct rq *rq, unsigned count)
--
2.39.5
Hi Zhimin,
On Thu, Jul 16, 2026 at 10:37:46AM +0800, Zhimin Feng wrote:
> SCX tasks with finite slices need the scheduler tick to make forward
> progress on slice expiration. However, set_next_task_scx() used to refresh
> the nohz dependency through sched_update_tick_dependency(), which evaluates
> sched_can_stop_tick() using rq->curr.
>
> When switching from idle, RT, CFS, or another previous task to a
> finite-slice SCX task on a nohz_full CPU, rq->curr may still point at
> the previous task while set_next_task_scx() is running. If that previous
> task allows the tick to stop, the scheduler dependency can remain
> cleared even though the next SCX task has p->scx.slice != SCX_SLICE_INF.
>
> CFS does not hit the same gap for bandwidth-constrained tasks because its
> pick path has a next-task based check: sched_fair_update_stop_tick()
> explicitly sets TICK_DEP_BIT_SCHED when the selected CFS task needs
> bandwidth accounting on a nohz_full CPU.
>
> Add a helper to set the scheduler tick dependency directly and use it from
> set_next_task_scx() whenever the next SCX task has a finite slice.
> This avoids basing the finite-slice decision on the old rq->curr while
> preserving the existing tickless behavior for SCX_SLICE_INF tasks.
>
> Signed-off-by: Zhimin Feng <fengzhimin@bytedance.com>
> Co-developed-by: Chengming Zhou <zhouchengming@bytedance.com>
> Signed-off-by: Chengming Zhou <zhouchengming@bytedance.com>
This should already be fixed upstream by commit 4ec10f38ff901 ("sched_ext:
Enable tick for finite slices on nohz_full"):
See also:
https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260708074812.1041434-1-arighi@nvidia.com/
Thanks,
-Andrea
> ---
> kernel/sched/ext/ext.c | 21 ++++++++++++++++++---
> kernel/sched/sched.h | 11 +++++++++++
> 2 files changed, 29 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/kernel/sched/ext/ext.c b/kernel/sched/ext/ext.c
> index 691d53fe0f64..6c0c805d489a 100644
> --- a/kernel/sched/ext/ext.c
> +++ b/kernel/sched/ext/ext.c
> @@ -2950,6 +2950,8 @@ static int balance_one(struct rq *rq, struct task_struct *prev)
> static void set_next_task_scx(struct rq *rq, struct task_struct *p, bool first)
> {
> struct scx_sched *sch = scx_task_sched(p);
> + bool can_stop_tick;
> + bool tick_state_changed;
>
> if (p->scx.flags & SCX_TASK_QUEUED) {
> /*
> @@ -2972,15 +2974,28 @@ static void set_next_task_scx(struct rq *rq, struct task_struct *p, bool first)
> * @p is getting newly scheduled or got kicked after someone updated its
> * slice. Refresh whether tick can be stopped. See scx_can_stop_tick().
> */
> - if ((p->scx.slice == SCX_SLICE_INF) !=
> - (bool)(rq->scx.flags & SCX_RQ_CAN_STOP_TICK)) {
> - if (p->scx.slice == SCX_SLICE_INF)
> + can_stop_tick = p->scx.slice == SCX_SLICE_INF;
> + tick_state_changed = can_stop_tick !=
> + (bool)(rq->scx.flags & SCX_RQ_CAN_STOP_TICK);
> + if (tick_state_changed) {
> + if (can_stop_tick)
> rq->scx.flags |= SCX_RQ_CAN_STOP_TICK;
> else
> rq->scx.flags &= ~SCX_RQ_CAN_STOP_TICK;
> + }
>
> + /*
> + * If @p has a finite slice, it needs the scheduler tick to make
> + * forward progress on slice expiration. Don't rely on
> + * sched_update_tick_dependency() here because rq->curr may still be
> + * the previous task while set_next_task_scx() is running.
> + */
> + if (!can_stop_tick)
> + sched_set_tick_dependency(rq);
> + else if (tick_state_changed)
> sched_update_tick_dependency(rq);
>
> + if (tick_state_changed) {
> /*
> * For now, let's refresh the load_avgs just when transitioning
> * in and out of nohz. In the future, we might want to add a
> diff --git a/kernel/sched/sched.h b/kernel/sched/sched.h
> index 56acf502ba26..d692d92fc095 100644
> --- a/kernel/sched/sched.h
> +++ b/kernel/sched/sched.h
> @@ -2998,9 +2998,20 @@ static inline void sched_update_tick_dependency(struct rq *rq)
> else
> tick_nohz_dep_set_cpu(cpu, TICK_DEP_BIT_SCHED);
> }
> +
> +static inline void sched_set_tick_dependency(struct rq *rq)
> +{
> + int cpu = cpu_of(rq);
> +
> + if (!tick_nohz_full_cpu(cpu))
> + return;
> +
> + tick_nohz_dep_set_cpu(cpu, TICK_DEP_BIT_SCHED);
> +}
> #else /* !CONFIG_NO_HZ_FULL: */
> static inline int sched_tick_offload_init(void) { return 0; }
> static inline void sched_update_tick_dependency(struct rq *rq) { }
> +static inline void sched_set_tick_dependency(struct rq *rq) { }
> #endif /* !CONFIG_NO_HZ_FULL */
>
> static inline void add_nr_running(struct rq *rq, unsigned count)
> --
> 2.39.5
Hi,Andrea
Thanks for the explanation, I get it now.
> From: "Andrea Righi"<arighi@nvidia.com>
> Date: Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 13:15
> Subject: Re: [PATCH sched_ext] sched/ext: Keep tick enabled for finite-slice tasks
> To: "Zhimin Feng"<fengzhimin@bytedance.com>
> Cc: "Tejun Heo"<tj@kernel.org>, "David Vernet"<void@manifault.com>, "Changwoo Min"<changwoo@igalia.com>, "Ingo Molnar"<mingo@redhat.com>, "Peter Zijlstra"<peterz@infradead.org>, "Juri Lelli"<juri.lelli@redhat.com>, "Vincent Guittot"<vincent.guittot@linaro.org>, "Dietmar Eggemann"<dietmar.eggemann@arm.com>, "Steven Rostedt"<rostedt@goodmis.org>, "Ben Segall"<bsegall@google.com>, "Mel Gorman"<mgorman@suse.de>, "Valentin Schneider"<vschneid@redhat.com>, "K Prateek Nayak"<kprateek.nayak@amd.com>, "Emil Tsalapatis"<etsal@meta.com>, "Cheng-Yang Chou"<yphbchou0911@gmail.com>, <sched-ext@lists.linux.dev>, <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>, "Chengming Zhou"<zhouchengming@bytedance.com>
> Hi Zhimin,
>
> On Thu, Jul 16, 2026 at 10:37:46AM +0800, Zhimin Feng wrote:
> > SCX tasks with finite slices need the scheduler tick to make forward
> > progress on slice expiration. However, set_next_task_scx() used to refresh
> > the nohz dependency through sched_update_tick_dependency(), which evaluates
> > sched_can_stop_tick() using rq->curr.
> >
> > When switching from idle, RT, CFS, or another previous task to a
> > finite-slice SCX task on a nohz_full CPU, rq->curr may still point at
> > the previous task while set_next_task_scx() is running. If that previous
> > task allows the tick to stop, the scheduler dependency can remain
> > cleared even though the next SCX task has p->scx.slice != SCX_SLICE_INF.
> >
> > CFS does not hit the same gap for bandwidth-constrained tasks because its
> > pick path has a next-task based check: sched_fair_update_stop_tick()
> > explicitly sets TICK_DEP_BIT_SCHED when the selected CFS task needs
> > bandwidth accounting on a nohz_full CPU.
> >
> > Add a helper to set the scheduler tick dependency directly and use it from
> > set_next_task_scx() whenever the next SCX task has a finite slice.
> > This avoids basing the finite-slice decision on the old rq->curr while
> > preserving the existing tickless behavior for SCX_SLICE_INF tasks.
> >
> > Signed-off-by: Zhimin Feng <fengzhimin@bytedance.com>
> > Co-developed-by: Chengming Zhou <zhouchengming@bytedance.com>
> > Signed-off-by: Chengming Zhou <zhouchengming@bytedance.com>
>
> This should already be fixed upstream by commit 4ec10f38ff901 ("sched_ext:
> Enable tick for finite slices on nohz_full"):
>
> See also:
> https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260708074812.1041434-1-arighi@nvidia.com/
>
> Thanks,
> -Andrea
>
> > ---
> > kernel/sched/ext/ext.c | 21 ++++++++++++++++++---
> > kernel/sched/sched.h | 11 +++++++++++
> > 2 files changed, 29 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
> >
> > diff --git a/kernel/sched/ext/ext.c b/kernel/sched/ext/ext.c
> > index 691d53fe0f64..6c0c805d489a 100644
> > --- a/kernel/sched/ext/ext.c
> > +++ b/kernel/sched/ext/ext.c
> > @@ -2950,6 +2950,8 @@ static int balance_one(struct rq *rq, struct task_struct *prev)
> > static void set_next_task_scx(struct rq *rq, struct task_struct *p, bool first)
> > {
> > struct scx_sched *sch = scx_task_sched(p);
> > + bool can_stop_tick;
> > + bool tick_state_changed;
> >
> > if (p->scx.flags & SCX_TASK_QUEUED) {
> > /*
> > @@ -2972,15 +2974,28 @@ static void set_next_task_scx(struct rq *rq, struct task_struct *p, bool first)
> > * @p is getting newly scheduled or got kicked after someone updated its
> > * slice. Refresh whether tick can be stopped. See scx_can_stop_tick().
> > */
> > - if ((p->scx.slice == SCX_SLICE_INF) !=
> > - (bool)(rq->scx.flags & SCX_RQ_CAN_STOP_TICK)) {
> > - if (p->scx.slice == SCX_SLICE_INF)
> > + can_stop_tick = p->scx.slice == SCX_SLICE_INF;
> > + tick_state_changed = can_stop_tick !=
> > + (bool)(rq->scx.flags & SCX_RQ_CAN_STOP_TICK);
> > + if (tick_state_changed) {
> > + if (can_stop_tick)
> > rq->scx.flags |= SCX_RQ_CAN_STOP_TICK;
> > else
> > rq->scx.flags &= ~SCX_RQ_CAN_STOP_TICK;
> > + }
> >
> > + /*
> > + * If @p has a finite slice, it needs the scheduler tick to make
> > + * forward progress on slice expiration. Don't rely on
> > + * sched_update_tick_dependency() here because rq->curr may still be
> > + * the previous task while set_next_task_scx() is running.
> > + */
> > + if (!can_stop_tick)
> > + sched_set_tick_dependency(rq);
> > + else if (tick_state_changed)
> > sched_update_tick_dependency(rq);
> >
> > + if (tick_state_changed) {
> > /*
> > * For now, let's refresh the load_avgs just when transitioning
> > * in and out of nohz. In the future, we might want to add a
> > diff --git a/kernel/sched/sched.h b/kernel/sched/sched.h
> > index 56acf502ba26..d692d92fc095 100644
> > --- a/kernel/sched/sched.h
> > +++ b/kernel/sched/sched.h
> > @@ -2998,9 +2998,20 @@ static inline void sched_update_tick_dependency(struct rq *rq)
> > else
> > tick_nohz_dep_set_cpu(cpu, TICK_DEP_BIT_SCHED);
> > }
> > +
> > +static inline void sched_set_tick_dependency(struct rq *rq)
> > +{
> > + int cpu = cpu_of(rq);
> > +
> > + if (!tick_nohz_full_cpu(cpu))
> > + return;
> > +
> > + tick_nohz_dep_set_cpu(cpu, TICK_DEP_BIT_SCHED);
> > +}
> > #else /* !CONFIG_NO_HZ_FULL: */
> > static inline int sched_tick_offload_init(void) { return 0; }
> > static inline void sched_update_tick_dependency(struct rq *rq) { }
> > +static inline void sched_set_tick_dependency(struct rq *rq) { }
> > #endif /* !CONFIG_NO_HZ_FULL */
> >
> > static inline void add_nr_running(struct rq *rq, unsigned count)
> > --
> > 2.39.5
>
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