Intel Updates Cluster Scheduling Linux Patches For Hybrid CPUs

Intel engineers have been working on new cluster scheduling code for the Linux kernel to better help with process scheduling for their modern hybrid processors. An updated version of these patches have now been posted for attempting to help with the Linux performance of Alder Lake CPUs and newer.

Cluster scheduling was previously attempted by Intel engineers for Linux, but it ended up causing regressions... I highlighted the problem back in 2021 with Linux 5.16's New Cluster Scheduling Is Causing Regression, Further Hurting Alder Lake. Intel engineers acknowledged it and have been working to improve the P vs. E core load balancing and provide further fixes to ensure proper behavior on x86 hybrid CPUs.

Thursday's v2 patches of cluster scheduling for hybrid CPUs address some issues raised in the prior round of code review.

With these updated patches they are seeing performance improvements for up to about 1.3% but some cases also yielding up to a ~2% hit for multi-threaded workloads. At least Intel's open-source engineers actively continue to work on enhancing the Intel Core performance under Linux.