Deprecate async ring/perf buffer APIs and AUTO_CALLBACK usage by Copilot · Pull Request #5354 · microsoft/ebpf-for-windows

Copilot · 2026-06-08T16:24:46Z

Description

This change deprecates the Windows-specific async ring/perf consumer surface now that polling-mode APIs are available and preferred. It marks the targeted APIs for compiler deprecation warnings and updates docs to consistently steer users to polling-based consumption.

Public API deprecations
- Added __declspec(deprecated(...)) on:
  - ebpf_perf_buffer__new
  - ebpf_ring_buffer__new
  - ebpf_perf_event_array_map_write
  - ebpf_ring_buffer_map_write
- Added matching Doxygen @deprecated guidance with polling replacements.
Flag deprecation guidance
- Marked EBPF_RINGBUF_FLAG_AUTO_CALLBACK and EBPF_PERFBUF_FLAG_AUTO_CALLBACK as deprecated in API/docs comments and usage guidance.
- Kept ABI unchanged (no enum value changes).
Docs alignment
- Updated docs/RingBuffer.md and docs/PerfEventArray.md to label async callback mode as deprecated and direct consumers to *_poll() / *_consume() flow.
Internal/test callsite compatibility
- Added local warning suppression where deprecated APIs are intentionally exercised to avoid noisy failures from expected legacy coverage.
- Refactored ring/perf buffer construction so non-deprecated APIs no longer call deprecated APIs:
  - Introduced internal-only constructors (ebpf_ring_buffer_new_internal, ebpf_perf_buffer_new_internal).
  - Kept deprecated public symbols (ebpf_ring_buffer__new, ebpf_perf_buffer__new) as thin wrappers over the internal constructors.
  - Updated ring_buffer__new() and perf_buffer__new() to call the internal constructors directly.

_Must_inspect_result_ __declspec(deprecated("Use polling-based perf buffer APIs instead.")) ebpf_result_t
ebpf_perf_event_array_map_write(
    fd_t perf_event_array_map_fd,
    _In_reads_bytes_(data_length) const void* data,
    size_t data_length) EBPF_NO_EXCEPT;

Testing

Existing tests already exercise these APIs; no new functional test paths were introduced.

If new tests were added:

Unit tests are added.
Driver tests are added.
Fuzz tests are added.

Documentation

Yes. Updated RingBuffer and PerfEventArray documentation to reflect async-mode deprecation and polling-mode recommendation.

Installation

No installer impact.

github-actions · 2026-06-08T16:39:33Z

This pull request isn't linked to any GitHub issue. Please reference an issue with a keyword such as Fixes #123, Closes #456, etc., so the work can be tracked.

mikeagun · 2026-06-08T17:13:22Z

@copilot There are build failures from unsuppressed warnings - carefully address them.

Copilot · 2026-06-08T17:20:08Z

@copilot There are build failures from unsuppressed warnings - carefully address them.

Addressed in commit 5bc5e18. I traced the CI failures to libs/api/libbpf_map.cpp(474) and added a targeted #pragma warning(suppress : 4996) for the intentional ebpf_ring_buffer__new() compatibility call in ring_buffer__new(), matching the existing suppression pattern used for ebpf_perf_buffer__new().

github-actions · 2026-06-08T18:01:07Z

This pull request isn't linked to any GitHub issue. Please reference an issue with a keyword such as Fixes #123, Closes #456, etc., so the work can be tracked.

github-actions · 2026-06-09T18:18:57Z

This pull request isn't linked to any GitHub issue. Please reference an issue with a keyword such as Fixes #123, Closes #456, etc., so the work can be tracked.

mikeagun · 2026-06-19T15:32:04Z

@copilot Rename the deprecated functions so they can be internal-only functions (to address dthaler's comments) and add wrappers (with the current names) for the now-deprecated public functions.

Copilot · 2026-06-19T15:36:12Z

@copilot Rename the deprecated functions so they can be internal-only functions (to address dthaler's comments) and add wrappers (with the current names) for the now-deprecated public functions.

Updated in fac3f9f: I split the implementations into internal-only constructors (ebpf_ring_buffer_new_internal / ebpf_perf_buffer_new_internal), made the deprecated public APIs (ebpf_ring_buffer__new / ebpf_perf_buffer__new) thin wrappers over those internals, and switched ring_buffer__new/perf_buffer__new to call the internal constructors directly so non-deprecated APIs no longer wrap deprecated ones.

github-actions · 2026-06-19T21:06:38Z

This pull request isn't linked to any GitHub issue. Please reference an issue with a keyword such as Fixes #123, Closes #456, etc., so the work can be tracked.

github-actions · 2026-06-29T16:18:33Z

This pull request isn't linked to any GitHub issue. Please reference an issue with a keyword such as Fixes #123, Closes #456, etc., so the work can be tracked.

github-actions · 2026-07-07T16:29:19Z

This pull request isn't linked to any GitHub issue. Please reference an issue with a keyword such as Fixes #123, Closes #456, etc., so the work can be tracked.

github-actions · 2026-07-13T20:43:24Z

This pull request isn't linked to any GitHub issue. Please reference an issue with a keyword such as Fixes #123, Closes #456, etc., so the work can be tracked.

github-actions · 2026-07-13T22:59:21Z

This pull request isn't linked to any GitHub issue. Please reference an issue with a keyword such as Fixes #123, Closes #456, etc., so the work can be tracked.

saxena-anurag · 2026-07-15T16:46:46Z

General comment: it seems the deprecated APIs are being used in test code in a lot of places. Should we cleanup test code in the following way:

Use the deprecated APIs in those tests that are specifically testing the deprecated API (for functional / regression testing of these APIs).
For all other instances, maybe we should update the test code to move to new APIs?

Rest of the changes look good.

Address review feedback: instead of disabling C4996 for the whole file, suppress it only around the code that invokes the deprecated ring/perf buffer APIs. Use single-line #pragma warning(suppress : 4996) for isolated call sites and push/disable/pop blocks for test cases with several deprecated calls.

Remove the newly-added file-wide #pragma warning(disable : 4996) from socket_tests, end_to_end, common_tests, and libbpf_test, replacing each with suppression scoped to only the code that invokes the deprecated ring/perf buffer APIs: single-line #pragma warning(suppress : 4996) for isolated call sites and push/disable/pop blocks for test cases or helpers with several deprecated calls.

github-actions · 2026-07-15T17:40:13Z

This pull request isn't linked to any GitHub issue. Please reference an issue with a keyword such as Fixes #123, Closes #456, etc., so the work can be tracked.

mikeagun · 2026-07-15T20:31:21Z

General comment: it seems the deprecated APIs are being used in test code in a lot of places. Should we cleanup test code in the following way:

Use the deprecated APIs in those tests that are specifically testing the deprecated API (for functional / regression testing of these APIs).

For all other instances, maybe we should update the test code to move to new APIs?

Rest of the changes look good.

Avoiding the deprecated APIs (especially map_write) is a much larger change that will functionally change the tests. I will create a follow-up issue to update tests to avoid the deprecated APIs except where they are being specifically tested.

Resolve conflict in libs/api/libbpf_map.cpp perf_buffer__new: combine main's EBPF_LOG_ENTRY/EBPF_RETURN_POINTER instrumentation (#5438) with the PR's internal constructor call (ebpf_perf_buffer_new_internal). Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> Copilot-Session: 29d93f38-af6b-4ab7-a7dc-2ee9876fb933

github-actions · 2026-07-20T15:15:10Z

This pull request isn't linked to any GitHub issue. Please reference an issue with a keyword such as Fixes #123, Closes #456, etc., so the work can be tracked.

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and mikeagun Jun 8, 2026

Copilot started work on behalf of mikeagun June 8, 2026 16:24 View session

Copilot AI linked an issue Jun 8, 2026 that may be closed by this pull request

Deprecate all async IO based ring buffer APIs #5348

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4 tasks

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Deprecate all async IO based ring buffer APIs~~ Deprecate async ring/perf buffer APIs and AUTO_CALLBACK usage Jun 8, 2026

Copilot AI requested a review from mikeagun June 8, 2026 16:33

Copilot finished work on behalf of mikeagun June 8, 2026 16:33

Copilot started work on behalf of mikeagun June 8, 2026 17:13 View session

Copilot finished work on behalf of mikeagun June 8, 2026 17:20

mikeagun force-pushed the copilot/deprecate-async-io-ring-buffer-apis branch from 5bc5e18 to 0c942a5 Compare June 9, 2026 18:18

mikeagun marked this pull request as ready for review June 12, 2026 15:55

mikeagun requested review from Alan-Jowett, LakshK98, dthaler, matthewige, mtfriesen, poornagmsft, saxena-anurag and shankarseal as code owners June 12, 2026 15:55

dthaler reviewed Jun 12, 2026

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Comment thread libs/api/libbpf_map.cpp Outdated

Comment thread libs/api/libbpf_map.cpp Outdated

Copilot started work on behalf of mikeagun June 19, 2026 15:32 View session

github-project-automation Bot added this to eBPF for Windows Triage Jun 19, 2026

github-project-automation Bot moved this to Todo in eBPF for Windows Triage Jun 19, 2026

Copilot finished work on behalf of mikeagun June 19, 2026 15:37

mikeagun requested a review from dthaler June 19, 2026 15:49

dthaler previously approved these changes Jun 29, 2026

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shankarseal assigned kumarvin123 Jul 6, 2026

Alan-Jowett force-pushed the copilot/deprecate-async-io-ring-buffer-apis branch from bb39d2f to f678604 Compare July 7, 2026 16:28

saxena-anurag reviewed Jul 13, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread tests/api_test/api_test.cpp Outdated

mikeagun dismissed dthaler’s stale review via bd1e3d0 July 13, 2026 20:41

mikeagun requested review from dthaler and saxena-anurag July 13, 2026 20:42

Copilot AI and others added 5 commits July 15, 2026 10:39

Deprecate async ring/perf APIs and flags

4482cf4

Suppress deprecation warning in ring_buffer__new wrapper

b7f9f02

Use internal constructors for deprecated ring and perf APIs

99926f2

Alan-Jowett force-pushed the copilot/deprecate-async-io-ring-buffer-apis branch from 92fadc8 to 6dfeaf2 Compare July 15, 2026 17:39

Alan-Jowett previously approved these changes Jul 15, 2026

View reviewed changes

mikeagun mentioned this pull request Jul 15, 2026

Refactor ring buffer and perf event array tests to avoid deprecated APIs #5445

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mikeagun dismissed Alan-Jowett’s stale review via 76c9a31 July 20, 2026 15:14

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Copilot AI commented Jun 8, 2026 •

edited by mikeagun

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