# Understanding Interrupts, Softirqs, and Softnet in Linux

DevFeed: [Understanding Interrupts, Softirqs, and Softnet in Linux](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/understanding-interrupts-softirqs-and-softnet-in-linux-45069.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://www.netdata.cloud/blog/understanding-interrupts-softirqs-and-softnet-in-linux/>)

Published: 2023-05-02T00:00:00Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Netdata](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/blog-on-netdata.md>)

Topics: [Linux Kernel](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/linux-kernel.md>), [Monitoring](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/monitoring.md>), [Kernel](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/kernel.md>), [cpu](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/cpu.md>), [Hardware](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/hardware.md>), [virtual machines](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/virtual-machines.md>), [Cloud](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/cloud.md>), [IO](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/io.md>), [Data transmission](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/data-transmission.md>), [input](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/input.md>), [Process](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/process.md>), [scheduling](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/scheduling.md>)

Tags: [core](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/core.md>), [cpu](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/cpu.md>), [data-transmission](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/data-transmission.md>), [hardware](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/hardware.md>), [kernel](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/kernel.md>), [linux](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/linux.md>), [linux-kernel](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/linux-kernel.md>), [monitoring](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/monitoring.md>), [process](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/process.md>), [running](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/running.md>), [scheduling](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/scheduling.md>), [virtual-machines](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/virtual-machines.md>)

## AI overview

This article explains how Linux kernel interrupts, softirqs, and softnet affect system performance. It describes hardware-generated interrupts, common interrupt types, and how to monitor interrupts with Netdata on bare-metal servers and virtual machines. It also explains how interrupts are forwarded from physical hosts to cloud VMs.

## Source excerpt

Interrupts, softirqs, and softnet are all critical parts of the Linux kernel that can impact system performance. In this blog post, we'll explore their usefulness, and discuss how to monitor them using Netdata for both bare-metal servers and VMs. What are Interrupts? Interrupts are signals generated by hardware devices to indicate that they require attention from the CPU. Hardware devices can generate interrupts for a variety of reasons, including data transmission or reception, input/output operations, and other activities. When an interrupt is generated, the CPU stops what it is doing and handles the interrupt. Interrupts can have a significant impact on system performance, especially if there are a high number of interrupts occurring.