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-rw-r--r--Documentation/block/deadline-iosched.txt14
1 files changed, 10 insertions, 4 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/block/deadline-iosched.txt b/Documentation/block/deadline-iosched.txt
index c23cab13c3d1..72576769e0f4 100644
--- a/Documentation/block/deadline-iosched.txt
+++ b/Documentation/block/deadline-iosched.txt
@@ -30,12 +30,18 @@ write_expire (in ms)
Similar to read_expire mentioned above, but for writes.
-fifo_batch
+fifo_batch (number of requests)
----------
-When a read request expires its deadline, we must move some requests from
-the sorted io scheduler list to the block device dispatch queue. fifo_batch
-controls how many requests we move.
+Requests are grouped into ``batches'' of a particular data direction (read or
+write) which are serviced in increasing sector order. To limit extra seeking,
+deadline expiries are only checked between batches. fifo_batch controls the
+maximum number of requests per batch.
+
+This parameter tunes the balance between per-request latency and aggregate
+throughput. When low latency is the primary concern, smaller is better (where
+a value of 1 yields first-come first-served behaviour). Increasing fifo_batch
+generally improves throughput, at the cost of latency variation.
writes_starved (number of dispatches)