Chapter 11. Setting the Scheduler

There are two different ways to configure and observe process configurations: the command line utilities, and the Tuna graphical tool. This section uses the command line tools, but all actions can also be performed using Tuna.

11.1. Using chrt to Set the Scheduler

The chrt is used to check and adjust scheduler policies and priorities. It can start new processes with the desired properties, or change the properties of a running process.
To check the attributes of a particular process, use the --pid or -p option alone to specify the process ID (PID): 
~]# chrt -p 468
pid 468's current scheduling policy: SCHED_FIFO
pid 468's current scheduling priority: 85

~]# chrt -p 476
pid 476's current scheduling policy: SCHED_OTHER
pid 476's current scheduling priority: 0
To set the scheduling policy of a process, use the appropriate command option:

Table 11.1. Policy Options for the chrt Command

Short option Long option Description
-f --fifo Set schedule to SCHED_FIFO
-o --other Set schedule to SCHED_OTHER
-r --rr Set schedule to SCHED_RR
To set the priority of a process, specify the value before the PID of the process that is being changed. The following command will set the process with PID 1000 to SCHED_FIFO, with a priority of 50: 
~]# chrt -f -p 50 1000
The following command will set the same process (PID 1000) to SCHED_OTHER, with a priority of 0: 
~]# chrt -o -p 0 1000
To start a new application with a given policy and priority, specify the name of the application (and the path, if necessary) along with the attributes. The following command will start /bin/my-app, with a policy of SCHED_FIFO and a priority of 36: 
~]# chrt -f 36 /bin/my-app

Note

For more information, or for further reading, the following man page is related to the information given in this section:
  • chrt(1)