BFS Scheduler Update Brings SMT Nice Support

Con Kolivas released a new version of his BFS scheduler and besides porting it for Linux 3.16 compatibility it also contains a big new feature.

BFS CPU scheduler v0.450 made a Saturday morning premiere and it offers support for Linux 3.16, offers various bug-fixes, and brings configurable SMT nice support.

About the SMT nice support, Con explains, "Enabling Hyperthreading on Intel CPUs decreases the effectiveness of the use of 'nice' levels and different scheduling policies (e.g. realtime) due to sharing of CPU power between hyperthreads. SMT nice support makes each logical CPU aware of what is running on its hyperthread siblings, maintaining appropriate distribution of CPU according to nice levels and scheduling policies at the expense of slightly increased overhead."

Con's SMT nice support for BFS dates to an idea he originally expressed ten years ago.

More details on Brain Fuck Scheduler v0.450 can be found via the mailing list announcement.