October 28, 2025
Did a robot write your server?
From epoll to io_uring's Multishot Receives
Linux devs feud: game-changing speed or AI-written hype
TLDR: io_uring’s “multishot” receives promise faster, smoother servers than the old epoll approach by cutting overhead and delays. The crowd is split between performance fans cheering the upgrade and skeptics worried about hype, AI-written vibes, and swapping proven tools too fast—making trust the hottest benchmark
The article says a new Linux trick called “io_uring” (a faster way to handle network traffic) can replace the old “epoll” event watcher and make servers both quicker and smoother. It claims fewer system calls, cleaner code, and better worst‑case delays—aka the real stuff people feel under heavy load. But the comments? Oh boy. The top spark: one reader snaps, “later paragraphs appear to be mostly LLM,” kicking off a classic 2025 brawl—tech vs trust. Suddenly the debate isn’t just epoll vs io_uring, it’s human vs robot author. Some push back, noting the piece shows benchmarks and code pointers, while others argue “benchmarks aren’t production,” and warn against ripping out battle‑tested epoll overnight. In plain English: epoll explained is the old traffic cop; io_uring explained is the new express lane, and “multishot receives” means the system can grab multiple messages in one go with less back‑and‑forth. Memes fly about “epoll boomers vs io_uring zoomers,” and one joker calls it “async CrossFit—great gains, risky form.” The vibe: performance nerds are hyped, reliability folks clutch their pagers, and everyone’s side‑eyeing the prose for robo-fingerprints. The tech might be the future, but the comments are the main event—again
Key Points
- •Linux introduced the completion-based io_uring interface in 2019, evolving by 2025 to include multishot accept/receive.
- •select() (4.2BSD, 1983) and poll() (System V Release 3, 1987; Linux ~1997) have O(n) complexity and scaling limits.
- •io_uring’s multishot operations reduce boilerplate and syscall overhead by keeping repetitive I/O in the kernel.
- •Benchmarks in the article show io_uring achieving higher throughput and lower tail latency than epoll.
- •The article provides code references for reproducing benchmarks and guidance on migrating from epoll to io_uring in production.