You are going to block/wait yourself when availableToPoll() (now changed to availableToFetch() for clarity) returns 0. When that happens you can block/wait by b

You are going to block/wait yourself when availableToPoll() (now changed to availableToFetch() for clarity) returns 0. When that happens you can block/wait by busy spinning or by using a wait strategy. The blocking term means that the producer has to block/wait when the ring is full and the consumer has to block/wait when the ring is empty. For the non-blocking ring, the producer never blocks on a full ring. It overwrites the circular ring. The consumer can still block on an empty ring. So to make it clear: Blocking ring => producer and consumer can block/wait Non-Blocking ring => producer never blocks and consumer can still block on an empty ring. Consumer can also fall behind too much and disconnect.