O Engine

This article explains how Linux’s epoll mechanism, built on libevent and using red‑black trees and ready‑list queues, provides scalable I/O multiplexing for sockets, eventfd and timerfd while traditional file systems like ext4 cannot be managed directly, and outlines the key efficiency tricks behind its design.

I/O MultiplexingLinuxSocket

0 likes · 8 min read

Why epoll Beats select/poll: Inside Linux’s High‑Performance I/O Engine

Liangxu Linux

Sep 2, 2025 · Fundamentals

Master Linux Timers: From alarm() to timerfd – Choose the Right One

This article walks through the evolution of Linux timers—from the simple alarm() function, through setitimer() and POSIX timer APIs, to the modern timerfd interface—explaining their APIs, code examples, advantages, limitations, performance trade‑offs, and practical selection guidance for different projects.

CLinuxPOSIX

0 likes · 16 min read

Master Linux Timers: From alarm() to timerfd – Choose the Right One

Liangxu Linux

Sep 5, 2021 · Fundamentals

Understanding Linux timerfd: From Procfs to Epoll Integration

This article explains the structure and operation of Linux timerfd, covering its representation in /proc, the timerfd_create/settime/gettime system calls, internal kernel structures, and how timerfd integrates with epoll for event-driven programming.

LinuxSystem Callepoll

0 likes · 15 min read

Understanding Linux timerfd: From Procfs to Epoll Integration