grpc / grpc/grpc-java

Use FastThreadLocalThread's in shared channel executor.

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performance
Dominant language
Java
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Description

While working on https://github.com/netty/netty/commit/b88a980482d2aef1163a9abe759f68e685550052 I noticed that when using the blocking stub and the netty transport, we allocate in Netty's allocator from within the shared executor threads. Netty's allocator employs thread local caches that perform the majority of allocations. These caches are accessed via Netty's own threadlocal implementation `FastThreadLocal`, which is only "fast" when used in the context of a `FastThreadLocalThread`.

We should provide our own thread factory to the cached thread pool in order to create `FastThreadLocalThreads`. Additionally, we should override the Thread's `run()` method to do

```
public void run() {
try {
super.run();
} finally {
FastThreadLocal.removeAll();
}
}
```

This will release all memory from a thread's cache when it is shutdown. That should happen quite frequently, with the pool sizing threads dynamically.

However, I don't know how to best implement this. The shared channel executor should be shared by all transport, client, server combinations running in a JVM. Also, I assume we can't rely on the Netty dependency to be there on Android?

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start at the shared channel executor and its cached thread pool, then trace how executor threads are created for the Java transport. Implement the requested FastThreadLocalThread creation and cleanup behavior while checking whether the shared executor can remain compatible with Android; done means allocator thread-local caches are released when pool threads shut down.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
java
Domain
backend, performance
Issue type
Refactor
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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