System and method for intelligent timer services

A method of efficiently scheduling timer events within an operating system by allocating a plurality of timers to a set of available timer slots located in a timer wheel existing within the operating system, the timer wheel using a plurality of timer vectors arranged into successively increasing levels, beginning with level zero, each of the plurality of timers having an expiry time, the method comprising:

• defining a timer spread value for each of the plurality of timers which is a measure of an allowed variance of the expiry times of each of the plurality of timers;
• specifying a timer interval for each of the plurality of timers;
• calculating a set of available timer slots for each of the plurality of timers based on the timer spread value;
• comparing the timer interval for each of the plurality of timers to each slot in the plurality of timer vectors;
• and
• adjusting the expiry times of each of the plurality of timers so as to insert and spread the plurality of timers across the set of available timer slots.

A system for efficiently scheduling timer events within an operating system by allocating a plurality of timers to a set of available timer slots located in a timer wheel existing within the operating system, the timer wheel using a plurality of timer vectors arranged into successively increasing levels, beginning with level zero, each of the timers having an expiry time, the system comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• one or more modules stored on a memory and executable by the one or more processors, the one or more modules configured to:
• define a timer spread value which is a measure of an allowed variance of the expiry times of each of the plurality of timers;
• specify a timer interval for each of the plurality of timers;
• calculate a set of available timer slots for each of the timers based on the timer spread value;
• compare the timer interval for each of the plurality of timers to each slot in the plurality of timer vectors;
• and
• adjust the expiry times of the timers so as to insert and spread the timers across the set of available timer slots.