[PATCH] sched: Avoid unnecessarily moving highest priority task move_tasks()

Problem:

To help distribute high priority tasks evenly across the available CPUs
move_tasks() does not, under some circumstances, skip tasks whose load
weight is bigger than the designated amount.  Because the highest priority
task on the busiest queue may be on the expired array it may be moved as a
result of this mechanism.  Apart from not being the most desirable way to
redistribute the high priority tasks (we'd rather move the second highest
priority task), there is a risk that this could set up a loop with this
task bouncing backwards and forwards between the two queues.  (This latter
possibility can be demonstrated by running a nice==-20 CPU bound task on an
otherwise quiet 2 CPU system.)

Solution:

Modify the mechanism so that it does not override skip for the highest
priority task on the CPU.  Of course, if there are more than one tasks at
the highest priority then it will allow the override for one of them as
this is a desirable redistribution of high priority tasks.

Signed-off-by: Peter Williams <pwil3058@bigpond.com.au>
Cc: Ingo Molnar <mingo@elte.hu>
Cc: "Siddha, Suresh B" <suresh.b.siddha@intel.com>
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@osdl.org>
Signed-off-by: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org>
1 file changed