napi_schedule_prep(9)

💖 napi_schedule_prep(9) 💖

okay so real talk, this is a page out of the Kernel API Manual, and it's about one tiny little function that has main character energy in the networking world. sit down bestie, we're learning this one 🌸

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✨ NAME ✨

napi_schedule_prep — check if napi can be scheduled

like, that's literally it. it's the vibe check before the actual scheduling happens 👑

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

bool napi_schedule_prep (struct napi_struct *n );

yep, returns a bool. true or false, no in-between, no "it's complicated" 💅

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• n — napi context. that's the struct you're passing in, she's a struct napi_struct * and she's the whole point of this function, ngl 🫶

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🔥 DESCRIPTION 🔥

okay so what does it actually do, because the name is giving nothing:

it tests if the NAPI routine is already running, and if it's not running, it marks it as running. slay ✨

it's used as a condition variable to make sure that only one NAPI poll instance runs at a time. literally no gatecrashing the poll party, periodt 💀

and on top of that, it also makes sure there's no pending NAPI disable. so if a disable is queued up, this whole thing is a no, and the function knows it 🙈

so: is she already running? no? cool, mark her running. and double check nobody's about to disable her. that's the entire plot 🍓

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

everything lives in the kernel file ./net/core/dev.c, and honestly the friend group is huge, so buckle up buttercup, we're listing every single one because nobody gets left behind 💜

dev_add_pack(9), __dev_remove_pack(9), dev_remove_pack(9), dev_get_iflink(9), dev_fill_metadata_dst(9), netdev_napi_by_id_lock(9), __dev_get_by_name(9), dev_get_by_name_rcu(9), netdev_get_by_name(9), __dev_get_by_index(9), dev_get_by_index_rcu(9), netdev_get_by_index(9), dev_get_by_napi_id(9), netdev_get_by_index_lock(9), netdev_get_name(9), dev_getbyhwaddr_rcu(9), dev_getbyhwaddr(9), netdev_get_by_flags_rcu(9), dev_valid_name(9), __dev_alloc_name(9), dev_alloc_name(9), dev_get_alias(9), netdev_features_change(9), __netdev_notify_peers(9), netdev_notify_peers(9), dev_disable_gro_hw(9)

register_netdevice_notifier(9), unregister_netdevice_notifier(9), register_netdevice_notifier_net(9), unregister_netdevice_notifier_net(9), call_netdevice_notifiers_info(9), call_netdevice_notifiers_info_robust(9), call_netdevice_notifiers(9), call_netdevice_notifiers_mtu(9), dev_forward_skb(9), dev_nit_active_rcu(9), netif_setup_tc(9), netif_set_real_num_rx_queues(9), netif_set_real_num_queues(9), netif_set_tso_max_size(9), netif_set_tso_max_segs(9), netif_inherit_tso_max(9), netif_get_num_default_rss_queues(9), netif_device_detach(9), netif_device_attach(9), dev_loopback_xmit(9), __dev_queue_xmit(9), rps_flow_is_active(9), rps_may_expire_flow(9)

__netif_rx(9), netif_rx(9), netdev_is_rx_handler_busy(9), netdev_rx_handler_register(9), netdev_rx_handler_unregister(9), netif_receive_skb_core(9), netif_receive_skb(9), netif_receive_skb_list(9), __napi_schedule(9), __napi_schedule_irqoff(9), netif_threaded_enable(9), netif_queue_set_napi(9), napi_disable(9), napi_enable(9), netdev_has_upper_dev(9), netdev_has_upper_dev_all_rcu(9), netdev_has_any_upper_dev(9), netdev_master_upper_dev_get(9), netdev_has_any_lower_dev(9), netdev_upper_get_next_dev_rcu(9), netdev_lower_get_next_private(9), netdev_lower_get_next_private_rcu(9), netdev_lower_get_next(9), netdev_lower_get_first_private_rcu(9), netdev_master_upper_dev_get_rcu(9)

netdev_upper_dev_link(9), netdev_master_upper_dev_link(9), netdev_upper_dev_unlink(9), netdev_bonding_info_change(9), netdev_get_xmit_slave(9), netdev_sk_get_lowest_dev(9), netdev_lower_state_changed(9), netif_get_flags(9), netif_set_mtu_ext(9), netif_pre_changeaddr_notify(9), dev_get_phys_port_id(9), dev_get_phys_port_name(9), netif_get_port_parent_id(9), netdev_port_same_parent_id(9), netdev_change_proto_down_reason_locked(9), dev_change_xdp_fd(9), dev_index_reserve(9), netdev_update_features(9), netdev_change_features(9), netif_stacked_transfer_operstate(9)

register_netdevice(9), register_netdev(9), netdev_wait_allrefs_any(9), dev_get_stats(9), dev_fetch_sw_netstats(9), dev_get_tstats64(9), netdev_sw_irq_coalesce_default_on(9), alloc_netdev_mqs(9), free_netdev(9), alloc_netdev_dummy(9), synchronize_net(9), unregister_netdevice_queue(9), unregister_netdevice_many(9), unregister_netdev(9), netdev_increment_features(9), netdev_compute_master_upper_features(9), netdev_drivername(9)

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that's the whole page bestie, go forth and schedule responsibly 🧚‍♀️

mwah 💋 this one came from the source directory ./net/core, dated October 2026, and it's page napi_schedule_prep(9) of the Kernel API Manual — ty for reading, ily, bye 👑