QoS Support in the X11 Window System

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the problem of providing QoS guarantees to the execution of applications using the X11 window system. In particular, we offer a system level analysis of the issues encountered when using X11 to serve realtime applications. By using a tracer developed for the purpose we analyse in depth the internal behaviour of the system. The result of the analysis puts on display the adverse effect played by a non real-time scheduler on the performance of time-sensitive applications. Based on this analysis, we propose an alternative solution based on the CBS scheduler and prove its effectiveness by an extensive set of experiments on real hardware.