14 ms·

Prevent Zoom from consuming all your CPU on Linux

63 points by nixcraft 5y ago

champtar 5y ago
PSA: AllowedCPUs only works with systemd.unified_cgroup_hierarchy=1. Until Docker 20.10 you needed unified_cgroup_hierarchy=0, and Ubuntu just switched in 21.10.
de6u99er 5y ago
Now do this for MS Teams on Linux (wasn't my decision).
- pseudosavant 5y ago
  Try https://teams.microsoft.com https://teams.microsoft.com. 99% of the app functionality - basically no virtual backgrounds. No install. Works as a PWA too.
  - kristopolous 5y ago
    I had issues so now I do it in microsoft edge on linux and it's been fine. Yeah, microsoft's browser is on linux, wild times... it's their first browser on *nix since IE 5.0 SP1 in 2001. I remember having a Sparc Ultra 5 that I used remote X with to run IE5 on my linux system at the time for those sites that absolutely insisted that I used IE and wouldn't work with NN. Fun times ... actually no, that kinda sucked.
echlebek 5y ago
I don't permit Zoom to run on my Linux desktop, too sketchy. Instead I use their web ui, which runs in the relative safety of my firefox container.
- gbrown 5y ago
  I found the video quality and responsiveness to be far worse, and I have to teach and work over Zoom. I tried running the desktop client virtualized as well, with similar results. So… sketchy it is. I find myself wondering what it’s doing with 15% CPU when not in a meeting. Feelsbad.
  - echlebek 5y ago
    I ran it under strace and after that it was never allowed to run again. I don't know exactly what it's doing, but it's nothing I want it to be doing. If you get an AMD GPU then the web experience is a bit more performant, the Intel iGPUs are not quite potent enough.
    - KennyBlanken 5y ago
      Discreet GPUs support encoding/decoding a lot more streams than the integrated stuff. Depending on the generation of Quicksync you have, the codec used by Zoom might not be hardware accelerated at all, though I think Zoom uses h264, so you'd have to be on some pretty old hardware.
      - londons_explore 5y ago
        I don't know about zoom specifically, but most video conferencing programs counterintuitively don't use hardware video encoders/decoders. They use the GPU for visual effects (background blur etc), but then do regular CPU video encoding. That's why they gobble so much CPU! I think that helps with system compatibility. Hardware video encoders are full of bugs and corner cases, and it's very easy for someone to end up seeing a garbled image when the bitstream was truncated or bad in some way.
    - gbrown 5y ago
      Is there something specific about the AMD drivers? I have a decent Nvidia card (I know, I know…)
    - Quasimarion 5y ago
      Mind if you elaborate on that? I just ran zoom with strace but see nothing out of ordinary.
  - eikenberry 5y ago
    Why run it when not in a meeting?
- alvarlagerlof 5y ago
  How do you use the web UI?
  - prussian 5y ago
    https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/zoom-redirector/fmaeeiocbalinknpdkjjfogehkdcbkcd?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/zoom-redirector/fm... I just use this. I'm assuming that is what you're asking about.
    - echlebek 5y ago
      I don't use that, since I'm not using Chrome, but it looks handy.
    - DesiLurker 5y ago
      you do know that any browser extension you use has a cleartext view of all your web content (on that browser).
      - notreallyserio 5y ago
        I fear the day that UBlock Origin ends up with an exploitable bug. It's so damn common, but the web is nearly unusable without it.
  - echlebek 5y ago
    When you get a link to a zoom call, instead of permitting it to open a handler program or clicking Join Now, click the link that says > Having issues with Zoom Client? Join from Your Browser
  - cwojno 5y ago
    They use dark patterns to hide the web version so that you download the client. I fear they'll yank the plug on the web version one of these days...
    - jaimex2 5y ago
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- tagrun 5y ago
  That's not really a container though, Firefox by default has a wide-range access. As someone who has to use Zoom, I use firejail, which is a true container, super easy to use and comes with a profile for Zoom out-of-the-box. To set it up, just create a symlink once # ln -s /usr/bin/firejail /usr/local/bin/zoom and you should be all set (assuming that in your PATH, /usr/local/bin comes before wherever the real zoom binary is, more details on firejail: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/firejail#Using_Firejail_by_default https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/firejail#Using_Firejail_by_...) In my case, I also have a ~/.config/firejail/zoom.local file with the contents whitelist ${HOME}/Documents/Zoom/ noblacklist ${HOME}/Documents/Zoom/ to fine-tune access for storing chat logs under the default path. It is also very easy to sandbox X11 access with firejail (which uses Xpra or Xephyr), but I only have Zoom running when I use it, and I often need share my screen, so I don't enable it.
Ozzie_osman 5y ago
If I run Zoom on Mac, I find that once a week, I have to reset my PRAM. If I don't, my Mac freezes for a few seconds whenever I use the volume up/down buttons, or whenever I screen share on Zoom.
- jeffbee 5y ago
  I don't know if it still does this but Zoom used to just preemptively murder coreaudiod at startup. Which was not ideal, to say the least. I assume this is also why it sketchily reads all process names at startup on Linux: it is trying to find and destroy pulseaudio. Really, there's no reason to permit the Zoom application to get anywhere near your computer. Just run it in a web browser.
mijoharas 5y ago
I recently uninstalled the desktop version due to how broken it is on Wayland. To give credit where due, their web client has improved a lot over time, so now it is a legitimate replacement. (Apart from the nag screen to use their desktop version. It would also be great to have it as a separate PWA though rather than a tab, I should look into that)
- chrismorgan 5y ago
  I unset WAYLAND_DISPLAY when running Zoom’s desktop client, to make it use X (thus XWayland). This fixes the crash-on-meeting-join problem it’s had for some months now, theoretically at the cost of screen sharing, but as a Sway user that was already not working, as they only support GNOME rather than using xdg-desktop-portal like everyone else.
  - mijoharas 5y ago
    Brilliant! I hadn't been able to find a solution for that one! (I'm still gonna stick with the web version for now since that way I can screenshare, but good to know there's a solution to one of my issues)
anm89 5y ago
Best way to do this is to keep their software of your machine and use the web client
- noahtallen 5y ago
  I’d love to do this, but the web client is (as of a month or two ago) missing “grid view,” which makes it useless to me for team meetings. Seeing everyone at once is very nice
  - curt15 5y ago
    Grid view works in Chrome but not Firefox.
    - 0des 5y ago
      The aristocrats! All jest aside though, I wonder how long this type of thing will continue, or if Chrome will just consume all.
    - fouc 5y ago
      I wonder if it will work in Firefox if you change the useragent string to one that pretends you're using a Chrome browser
      - KennyBlanken 5y ago
        Chrome has some APIs that Firefox doesn't; for example, Jitsi video conferencing supports e2ee videoconferencing on chrome, but not Firefox, due to Chrome having an API that let them do the manipulation on the video stream after it hits the client (I think. My memory is fuzzy.)
jeffbee 5y ago
This is a hell of a long way to just say `taskset -c 0-4 ZoomLauncher`.
- t-writescode 5y ago
  Oh cool! So, does that update this file, too, so it always does it this way? Or? I'm definitely not familiar with the tricks they're doing here. Looks like an ini file!
  - throwaway09223 5y ago
    It's: taskset <arguments> <command to run> So to run `ls ~` on only cpu0 you would run: taskset -c 0 ls ~ Run it each time you want to invoke the command.
    - t-writescode 5y ago
      It seems like the article itself updates the icon on the desktop to always use those specific processors, though, right?
      - serf 5y ago
        that's true -- but given that not all desktop environments respect the idea of *.desktop , and not all distributions use /.local/share, so , pedantically, the parent that suggests 'taskset -c 0-4 ZoomLauncher' suggests a tip that will work on just about every linux distribution, however the git snippet that was linked as the parent of this thread will only work on a handful of distribution/desktop-environment combinations. tl;dr : parent to your comment suggests a more generalized 'for linux' solution that doesn't depend on specific flavor nuances and desktop environs. (user 10000truths has a good point, it sets memory ceilings as well -- this should still be done in a way that is distro-agnostic.)
- 10000truths 5y ago
  It doesn't just set CPU affinity, it also defines a memory usage ceiling for the application beyond which it gets throttled.
jaimex2 5y ago
Like everyone else here, I refuse to run Zoom. Web client if it cant be helped.
asddubs 5y ago
my main gripe with zoom on linux (besides being forced to use it at all) is that it sets my microphone volume to 0 every time i join a new meeting or breakout room
- trissylegs 5y ago
  I had that. Under Settings -> Audio there's a setting "Automatically adjust microphone volume". It used to happen to me on Windows as well.
- erikschoster 5y ago
  This happens to me all the time too. Seems to happen even when just muting / unmuting.
- mrtweetyhack 5y ago
  some call that a feature
- drdec 5y ago
  I had this problem as well. I eventually found a setting to title which for zoom to leave the mike alone. Check you settings...
  - legerdemain 5y ago
    To title which for zoom did you setting to leave the mike alone?
    - drdec 5y ago
      That's what I get for not proofreading for autocorrect errors
xarope 5y ago
Can someone enlighten me on what actually happens? I run zoom (desktop client) everyday for short standups and hour+ long architecture/tech discussions and code reviews, and I've never really noticed the CPU usage? (Linux Mint 20 with 5.14.12-xanmod1 on a t480s, which reminds me I need to reboot since I have 5.14.18 installed and waiting...)
- staticautomatic 5y ago
  I wish I knew. When I run Zoom on a Windows i5 with 8gb of ram it tells me I need to close other applications in order to free up resources.
chrismorgan 5y ago
For platforms where you are running things via the command line rather than via the .desktop files, you could run this in a few different ways: gtk-launch Zoom gio launch ~/.local/share/applications/Zoom.desktop systemd-run --user --slice=zoom.slice /opt/zoom/ZoomLauncher Perhaps alias `zoom` to one of these, or create a shell script that execs one of those and add it somewhere higher in your path than /usr/bin.

63 points by nixcraft 5y ago

PSA: AllowedCPUs only works with systemd.unified_cgroup_hierarchy=1. Until Docker 20.10 you needed unified_cgroup_hierarchy=0, and Ubuntu just switched in 21.10.

de6u99er 5y ago

Now do this for MS Teams on Linux (wasn't my decision).

pseudosavant 5y ago
Try https://teams.microsoft.com https://teams.microsoft.com. 99% of the app functionality - basically no virtual backgrounds. No install. Works as a PWA too.
- kristopolous 5y ago
  I had issues so now I do it in microsoft edge on linux and it's been fine. Yeah, microsoft's browser is on linux, wild times... it's their first browser on *nix since IE 5.0 SP1 in 2001. I remember having a Sparc Ultra 5 that I used remote X with to run IE5 on my linux system at the time for those sites that absolutely insisted that I used IE and wouldn't work with NN. Fun times ... actually no, that kinda sucked.

echlebek 5y ago

I don't permit Zoom to run on my Linux desktop, too sketchy. Instead I use their web ui, which runs in the relative safety of my firefox container.

gbrown 5y ago
I found the video quality and responsiveness to be far worse, and I have to teach and work over Zoom. I tried running the desktop client virtualized as well, with similar results. So… sketchy it is. I find myself wondering what it’s doing with 15% CPU when not in a meeting. Feelsbad.
- echlebek 5y ago
  I ran it under strace and after that it was never allowed to run again. I don't know exactly what it's doing, but it's nothing I want it to be doing. If you get an AMD GPU then the web experience is a bit more performant, the Intel iGPUs are not quite potent enough.
  - KennyBlanken 5y ago
    Discreet GPUs support encoding/decoding a lot more streams than the integrated stuff. Depending on the generation of Quicksync you have, the codec used by Zoom might not be hardware accelerated at all, though I think Zoom uses h264, so you'd have to be on some pretty old hardware.
    - londons_explore 5y ago
      I don't know about zoom specifically, but most video conferencing programs counterintuitively don't use hardware video encoders/decoders. They use the GPU for visual effects (background blur etc), but then do regular CPU video encoding. That's why they gobble so much CPU! I think that helps with system compatibility. Hardware video encoders are full of bugs and corner cases, and it's very easy for someone to end up seeing a garbled image when the bitstream was truncated or bad in some way.
  - gbrown 5y ago
    Is there something specific about the AMD drivers? I have a decent Nvidia card (I know, I know…)
  - Quasimarion 5y ago
    Mind if you elaborate on that? I just ran zoom with strace but see nothing out of ordinary.
- eikenberry 5y ago
  Why run it when not in a meeting?
alvarlagerlof 5y ago
How do you use the web UI?
- prussian 5y ago
  https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/zoom-redirector/fmaeeiocbalinknpdkjjfogehkdcbkcd?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/zoom-redirector/fm... I just use this. I'm assuming that is what you're asking about.
  - echlebek 5y ago
    I don't use that, since I'm not using Chrome, but it looks handy.
  - DesiLurker 5y ago
    you do know that any browser extension you use has a cleartext view of all your web content (on that browser).
    - notreallyserio 5y ago
      I fear the day that UBlock Origin ends up with an exploitable bug. It's so damn common, but the web is nearly unusable without it.
- echlebek 5y ago
  When you get a link to a zoom call, instead of permitting it to open a handler program or clicking Join Now, click the link that says > Having issues with Zoom Client? Join from Your Browser
- cwojno 5y ago
  They use dark patterns to hide the web version so that you download the client. I fear they'll yank the plug on the web version one of these days...
  - jaimex2 5y ago
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
tagrun 5y ago
That's not really a container though, Firefox by default has a wide-range access. As someone who has to use Zoom, I use firejail, which is a true container, super easy to use and comes with a profile for Zoom out-of-the-box. To set it up, just create a symlink once # ln -s /usr/bin/firejail /usr/local/bin/zoom and you should be all set (assuming that in your PATH, /usr/local/bin comes before wherever the real zoom binary is, more details on firejail: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/firejail#Using_Firejail_by_default https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/firejail#Using_Firejail_by_...) In my case, I also have a ~/.config/firejail/zoom.local file with the contents whitelist ${HOME}/Documents/Zoom/ noblacklist ${HOME}/Documents/Zoom/ to fine-tune access for storing chat logs under the default path. It is also very easy to sandbox X11 access with firejail (which uses Xpra or Xephyr), but I only have Zoom running when I use it, and I often need share my screen, so I don't enable it.

Ozzie_osman 5y ago

If I run Zoom on Mac, I find that once a week, I have to reset my PRAM. If I don't, my Mac freezes for a few seconds whenever I use the volume up/down buttons, or whenever I screen share on Zoom.

jeffbee 5y ago
I don't know if it still does this but Zoom used to just preemptively murder coreaudiod at startup. Which was not ideal, to say the least. I assume this is also why it sketchily reads all process names at startup on Linux: it is trying to find and destroy pulseaudio. Really, there's no reason to permit the Zoom application to get anywhere near your computer. Just run it in a web browser.

mijoharas 5y ago

I recently uninstalled the desktop version due to how broken it is on Wayland. To give credit where due, their web client has improved a lot over time, so now it is a legitimate replacement. (Apart from the nag screen to use their desktop version. It would also be great to have it as a separate PWA though rather than a tab, I should look into that)

chrismorgan 5y ago
I unset WAYLAND_DISPLAY when running Zoom’s desktop client, to make it use X (thus XWayland). This fixes the crash-on-meeting-join problem it’s had for some months now, theoretically at the cost of screen sharing, but as a Sway user that was already not working, as they only support GNOME rather than using xdg-desktop-portal like everyone else.
- mijoharas 5y ago
  Brilliant! I hadn't been able to find a solution for that one! (I'm still gonna stick with the web version for now since that way I can screenshare, but good to know there's a solution to one of my issues)

anm89 5y ago

Best way to do this is to keep their software of your machine and use the web client

noahtallen 5y ago
I’d love to do this, but the web client is (as of a month or two ago) missing “grid view,” which makes it useless to me for team meetings. Seeing everyone at once is very nice
- curt15 5y ago
  Grid view works in Chrome but not Firefox.
  - 0des 5y ago
    The aristocrats! All jest aside though, I wonder how long this type of thing will continue, or if Chrome will just consume all.
  - fouc 5y ago
    I wonder if it will work in Firefox if you change the useragent string to one that pretends you're using a Chrome browser
    - KennyBlanken 5y ago
      Chrome has some APIs that Firefox doesn't; for example, Jitsi video conferencing supports e2ee videoconferencing on chrome, but not Firefox, due to Chrome having an API that let them do the manipulation on the video stream after it hits the client (I think. My memory is fuzzy.)

jeffbee 5y ago

This is a hell of a long way to just say `taskset -c 0-4 ZoomLauncher`.

t-writescode 5y ago
Oh cool! So, does that update this file, too, so it always does it this way? Or? I'm definitely not familiar with the tricks they're doing here. Looks like an ini file!
- throwaway09223 5y ago
  It's: taskset <arguments> <command to run> So to run `ls ~` on only cpu0 you would run: taskset -c 0 ls ~ Run it each time you want to invoke the command.
  - t-writescode 5y ago
    It seems like the article itself updates the icon on the desktop to always use those specific processors, though, right?
    - serf 5y ago
      that's true -- but given that not all desktop environments respect the idea of *.desktop , and not all distributions use /.local/share, so , pedantically, the parent that suggests 'taskset -c 0-4 ZoomLauncher' suggests a tip that will work on just about every linux distribution, however the git snippet that was linked as the parent of this thread will only work on a handful of distribution/desktop-environment combinations. tl;dr : parent to your comment suggests a more generalized 'for linux' solution that doesn't depend on specific flavor nuances and desktop environs. (user 10000truths has a good point, it sets memory ceilings as well -- this should still be done in a way that is distro-agnostic.)
10000truths 5y ago
It doesn't just set CPU affinity, it also defines a memory usage ceiling for the application beyond which it gets throttled.

jaimex2 5y ago

Like everyone else here, I refuse to run Zoom. Web client if it cant be helped.

asddubs 5y ago

my main gripe with zoom on linux (besides being forced to use it at all) is that it sets my microphone volume to 0 every time i join a new meeting or breakout room

trissylegs 5y ago
I had that. Under Settings -> Audio there's a setting "Automatically adjust microphone volume". It used to happen to me on Windows as well.
erikschoster 5y ago
This happens to me all the time too. Seems to happen even when just muting / unmuting.
mrtweetyhack 5y ago
some call that a feature
drdec 5y ago
I had this problem as well. I eventually found a setting to title which for zoom to leave the mike alone. Check you settings...
- legerdemain 5y ago
  To title which for zoom did you setting to leave the mike alone?
  - drdec 5y ago
    That's what I get for not proofreading for autocorrect errors

xarope 5y ago

Can someone enlighten me on what actually happens? I run zoom (desktop client) everyday for short standups and hour+ long architecture/tech discussions and code reviews, and I've never really noticed the CPU usage? (Linux Mint 20 with 5.14.12-xanmod1 on a t480s, which reminds me I need to reboot since I have 5.14.18 installed and waiting...)

staticautomatic 5y ago
I wish I knew. When I run Zoom on a Windows i5 with 8gb of ram it tells me I need to close other applications in order to free up resources.

chrismorgan 5y ago

For platforms where you are running things via the command line rather than via the .desktop files, you could run this in a few different ways: gtk-launch Zoom gio launch ~/.local/share/applications/Zoom.desktop systemd-run --user --slice=zoom.slice /opt/zoom/ZoomLauncher Perhaps alias `zoom` to one of these, or create a shell script that execs one of those and add it somewhere higher in your path than /usr/bin.