A technical deep dive reveals how to achieve 30% faster Linux timestamps on x86 systems by bypassing vDSO and implementing custom timers using TSC, maintaining precision while reducing latency. The research emerged from optimizing distributed tracing for low-latency pipelines where nanosecond-level performance matters. While technically impressive, the author cautions that this approach is highly specialized and not recommended for general use.
Background
Linux timestamp operations typically rely on vDSO (virtual Dynamic Shared Object) for efficient system calls, but this can still introduce overhead in ultra-low-latency applications where nanosecond precision is critical.
- Source
- Lobsters
- Published
- Apr 26, 2026 at 09:01 PM
- Score
- 7.0 / 10