Adding upstream version 18.2.2.upstream/18.2.2

Signed-off-by: Daniel Baumann <daniel.baumann@progress-linux.org>

1 files changed, 1526 insertions, 0 deletions

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+..  SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+    Copyright 2015 6WIND S.A.
+    Copyright 2015 Mellanox Technologies, Ltd
+
+.. include:: <isonum.txt>
+
+MLX5 poll mode driver
+=====================
+
+The MLX5 poll mode driver library (**librte_pmd_mlx5**) provides support
+for **Mellanox ConnectX-4**, **Mellanox ConnectX-4 Lx** , **Mellanox
+ConnectX-5**, **Mellanox ConnectX-6**, **Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx** and
+**Mellanox BlueField** families of 10/25/40/50/100/200 Gb/s adapters
+as well as their virtual functions (VF) in SR-IOV context.
+
+Information and documentation about these adapters can be found on the
+`Mellanox website <http://www.mellanox.com>`__. Help is also provided by the
+`Mellanox community <http://community.mellanox.com/welcome>`__.
+
+There is also a `section dedicated to this poll mode driver
+<http://www.mellanox.com/page/products_dyn?product_family=209&mtag=pmd_for_dpdk>`__.
+
+.. note::
+
+   Due to external dependencies, this driver is disabled in default configuration
+   of the "make" build. It can be enabled with ``CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_MLX5_PMD=y``
+   or by using "meson" build system which will detect dependencies.
+
+Design
+------
+
+Besides its dependency on libibverbs (that implies libmlx5 and associated
+kernel support), librte_pmd_mlx5 relies heavily on system calls for control
+operations such as querying/updating the MTU and flow control parameters.
+
+For security reasons and robustness, this driver only deals with virtual
+memory addresses. The way resources allocations are handled by the kernel,
+combined with hardware specifications that allow to handle virtual memory
+addresses directly, ensure that DPDK applications cannot access random
+physical memory (or memory that does not belong to the current process).
+
+This capability allows the PMD to coexist with kernel network interfaces
+which remain functional, although they stop receiving unicast packets as
+long as they share the same MAC address.
+This means legacy linux control tools (for example: ethtool, ifconfig and
+more) can operate on the same network interfaces that owned by the DPDK
+application.
+
+The PMD can use libibverbs and libmlx5 to access the device firmware
+or directly the hardware components.
+There are different levels of objects and bypassing abilities
+to get the best performances:
+
+- Verbs is a complete high-level generic API
+- Direct Verbs is a device-specific API
+- DevX allows to access firmware objects
+- Direct Rules manages flow steering at low-level hardware layer
+
+Enabling librte_pmd_mlx5 causes DPDK applications to be linked against
+libibverbs.
+
+Features
+--------
+
+- Multi arch support: x86_64, POWER8, ARMv8, i686.
+- Multiple TX and RX queues.
+- Support for scattered TX and RX frames.
+- IPv4, IPv6, TCPv4, TCPv6, UDPv4 and UDPv6 RSS on any number of queues.
+- RSS using different combinations of fields: L3 only, L4 only or both,
+  and source only, destination only or both.
+- Several RSS hash keys, one for each flow type.
+- Default RSS operation with no hash key specification.
+- Configurable RETA table.
+- Link flow control (pause frame).
+- Support for multiple MAC addresses.
+- VLAN filtering.
+- RX VLAN stripping.
+- TX VLAN insertion.
+- RX CRC stripping configuration.
+- Promiscuous mode on PF and VF.
+- Multicast promiscuous mode on PF and VF.
+- Hardware checksum offloads.
+- Flow director (RTE_FDIR_MODE_PERFECT, RTE_FDIR_MODE_PERFECT_MAC_VLAN and
+  RTE_ETH_FDIR_REJECT).
+- Flow API, including :ref:`flow_isolated_mode`.
+- Multiple process.
+- KVM and VMware ESX SR-IOV modes are supported.
+- RSS hash result is supported.
+- Hardware TSO for generic IP or UDP tunnel, including VXLAN and GRE.
+- Hardware checksum Tx offload for generic IP or UDP tunnel, including VXLAN and GRE.
+- RX interrupts.
+- Statistics query including Basic, Extended and per queue.
+- Rx HW timestamp.
+- Tunnel types: VXLAN, L3 VXLAN, VXLAN-GPE, GRE, MPLSoGRE, MPLSoUDP, IP-in-IP, Geneve, GTP.
+- Tunnel HW offloads: packet type, inner/outer RSS, IP and UDP checksum verification.
+- NIC HW offloads: encapsulation (vxlan, gre, mplsoudp, mplsogre), NAT, routing, TTL
+  increment/decrement, count, drop, mark. For details please see :ref:`mlx5_offloads_support`.
+- Flow insertion rate of more then million flows per second, when using Direct Rules.
+- Support for multiple rte_flow groups.
+- Per packet no-inline hint flag to disable packet data copying into Tx descriptors.
+- Hardware LRO.
+- Hairpin.
+
+Limitations
+-----------
+
+- For secondary process:
+
+  - Forked secondary process not supported.
+  - External memory unregistered in EAL memseg list cannot be used for DMA
+    unless such memory has been registered by ``mlx5_mr_update_ext_mp()`` in
+    primary process and remapped to the same virtual address in secondary
+    process. If the external memory is registered by primary process but has
+    different virtual address in secondary process, unexpected error may happen.
+
+- When using Verbs flow engine (``dv_flow_en`` = 0), flow pattern without any
+  specific VLAN will match for VLAN packets as well:
+
+  When VLAN spec is not specified in the pattern, the matching rule will be created with VLAN as a wild card.
+  Meaning, the flow rule::
+
+        flow create 0 ingress pattern eth / vlan vid is 3 / ipv4 / end ...
+
+  Will only match vlan packets with vid=3. and the flow rule::
+
+        flow create 0 ingress pattern eth / ipv4 / end ...
+
+  Will match any ipv4 packet (VLAN included).
+
+- When using DV flow engine (``dv_flow_en`` = 1), flow pattern without VLAN item
+  will match untagged packets only.
+  The flow rule::
+
+        flow create 0 ingress pattern eth / ipv4 / end ...
+
+  Will match untagged packets only.
+  The flow rule::
+
+        flow create 0 ingress pattern eth / vlan / ipv4 / end ...
+
+  Will match tagged packets only, with any VLAN ID value.
+  The flow rule::
+
+        flow create 0 ingress pattern eth / vlan vid is 3 / ipv4 / end ...
+
+  Will only match tagged packets with VLAN ID 3.
+
+- VLAN pop offload command:
+
+  - Flow rules having a VLAN pop offload command as one of their actions and
+    are lacking a match on VLAN as one of their items are not supported.
+  - The command is not supported on egress traffic.
+
+- VLAN push offload is not supported on ingress traffic.
+
+- VLAN set PCP offload is not supported on existing headers.
+
+- A multi segment packet must have not more segments than reported by dev_infos_get()
+  in tx_desc_lim.nb_seg_max field. This value depends on maximal supported Tx descriptor
+  size and ``txq_inline_min`` settings and may be from 2 (worst case forced by maximal
+  inline settings) to 58.
+
+- Flows with a VXLAN Network Identifier equal (or ends to be equal)
+  to 0 are not supported.
+
+- L3 VXLAN and VXLAN-GPE tunnels cannot be supported together with MPLSoGRE and MPLSoUDP.
+
+- Match on Geneve header supports the following fields only:
+
+     - VNI
+     - OAM
+     - protocol type
+     - options length
+       Currently, the only supported options length value is 0.
+
+- VF: flow rules created on VF devices can only match traffic targeted at the
+  configured MAC addresses (see ``rte_eth_dev_mac_addr_add()``).
+
+- Match on GTP tunnel header item supports the following fields only:
+
+     - v_pt_rsv_flags: E flag, S flag, PN flag
+     - msg_type
+     - teid
+
+- No Tx metadata go to the E-Switch steering domain for the Flow group 0.
+  The flows within group 0 and set metadata action are rejected by hardware.
+
+.. note::
+
+   MAC addresses not already present in the bridge table of the associated
+   kernel network device will be added and cleaned up by the PMD when closing
+   the device. In case of ungraceful program termination, some entries may
+   remain present and should be removed manually by other means.
+
+- When Multi-Packet Rx queue is configured (``mprq_en``), a Rx packet can be
+  externally attached to a user-provided mbuf with having EXT_ATTACHED_MBUF in
+  ol_flags. As the mempool for the external buffer is managed by PMD, all the
+  Rx mbufs must be freed before the device is closed. Otherwise, the mempool of
+  the external buffers will be freed by PMD and the application which still
+  holds the external buffers may be corrupted.
+
+- If Multi-Packet Rx queue is configured (``mprq_en``) and Rx CQE compression is
+  enabled (``rxq_cqe_comp_en``) at the same time, RSS hash result is not fully
+  supported. Some Rx packets may not have PKT_RX_RSS_HASH.
+
+- IPv6 Multicast messages are not supported on VM, while promiscuous mode
+  and allmulticast mode are both set to off.
+  To receive IPv6 Multicast messages on VM, explicitly set the relevant
+  MAC address using rte_eth_dev_mac_addr_add() API.
+
+- To support a mixed traffic pattern (some buffers from local host memory, some
+  buffers from other devices) with high bandwidth, a mbuf flag is used.
+
+  An application hints the PMD whether or not it should try to inline the
+  given mbuf data buffer. PMD should do the best effort to act upon this request.
+
+  The hint flag ``RTE_PMD_MLX5_FINE_GRANULARITY_INLINE`` is dynamic,
+  registered by application with rte_mbuf_dynflag_register(). This flag is
+  purely driver-specific and declared in PMD specific header ``rte_pmd_mlx5.h``,
+  which is intended to be used by the application.
+
+  To query the supported specific flags in runtime,
+  the function ``rte_pmd_mlx5_get_dyn_flag_names`` returns the array of
+  currently (over present hardware and configuration) supported specific flags.
+  The "not inline hint" feature operating flow is the following one:
+
+    - application starts
+    - probe the devices, ports are created
+    - query the port capabilities
+    - if port supporting the feature is found
+    - register dynamic flag ``RTE_PMD_MLX5_FINE_GRANULARITY_INLINE``
+    - application starts the ports
+    - on ``dev_start()`` PMD checks whether the feature flag is registered and
+      enables the feature support in datapath
+    - application might set the registered flag bit in ``ol_flags`` field
+      of mbuf being sent and PMD will handle ones appropriately.
+
+- The amount of descriptors in Tx queue may be limited by data inline settings.
+  Inline data require the more descriptor building blocks and overall block
+  amount may exceed the hardware supported limits. The application should
+  reduce the requested Tx size or adjust data inline settings with
+  ``txq_inline_max`` and ``txq_inline_mpw`` devargs keys.
+
+- E-Switch decapsulation Flow:
+
+  - can be applied to PF port only.
+  - must specify VF port action (packet redirection from PF to VF).
+  - optionally may specify tunnel inner source and destination MAC addresses.
+
+- E-Switch  encapsulation Flow:
+
+  - can be applied to VF ports only.
+  - must specify PF port action (packet redirection from VF to PF).
+
+- Raw encapsulation:
+
+  - The input buffer, used as outer header, is not validated.
+
+- Raw decapsulation:
+
+  - The decapsulation is always done up to the outermost tunnel detected by the HW.
+  - The input buffer, providing the removal size, is not validated.
+  - The buffer size must match the length of the headers to be removed.
+
+- ICMP/ICMP6 code/type matching, IP-in-IP and MPLS flow matching are all
+  mutually exclusive features which cannot be supported together
+  (see :ref:`mlx5_firmware_config`).
+
+- LRO:
+
+  - Requires DevX and DV flow to be enabled.
+  - KEEP_CRC offload cannot be supported with LRO.
+  - The first mbuf length, without head-room,  must be big enough to include the
+    TCP header (122B).
+  - Rx queue with LRO offload enabled, receiving a non-LRO packet, can forward
+    it with size limited to max LRO size, not to max RX packet length.
+  - LRO can be used with outer header of TCP packets of the standard format:
+        eth (with or without vlan) / ipv4 or ipv6 / tcp / payload
+
+    Other TCP packets (e.g. with MPLS label) received on Rx queue with LRO enabled, will be received with bad checksum.
+
+Statistics
+----------
+
+MLX5 supports various methods to report statistics:
+
+Port statistics can be queried using ``rte_eth_stats_get()``. The received and sent statistics are through SW only and counts the number of packets received or sent successfully by the PMD. The imissed counter is the amount of packets that could not be delivered to SW because a queue was full. Packets not received due to congestion in the bus or on the NIC can be queried via the rx_discards_phy xstats counter.
+
+Extended statistics can be queried using ``rte_eth_xstats_get()``. The extended statistics expose a wider set of counters counted by the device. The extended port statistics counts the number of packets received or sent successfully by the port. As Mellanox NICs are using the :ref:`Bifurcated Linux Driver <linux_gsg_linux_drivers>` those counters counts also packet received or sent by the Linux kernel. The counters with ``_phy`` suffix counts the total events on the physical port, therefore not valid for VF.
+
+Finally per-flow statistics can by queried using ``rte_flow_query`` when attaching a count action for specific flow. The flow counter counts the number of packets received successfully by the port and match the specific flow.
+
+Configuration
+-------------
+
+Compilation options
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+These options can be modified in the ``.config`` file.
+
+- ``CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_MLX5_PMD`` (default **n**)
+
+  Toggle compilation of librte_pmd_mlx5 itself.
+
+- ``CONFIG_RTE_IBVERBS_LINK_DLOPEN`` (default **n**)
+
+  Build PMD with additional code to make it loadable without hard
+  dependencies on **libibverbs** nor **libmlx5**, which may not be installed
+  on the target system.
+
+  In this mode, their presence is still required for it to run properly,
+  however their absence won't prevent a DPDK application from starting (with
+  ``CONFIG_RTE_BUILD_SHARED_LIB`` disabled) and they won't show up as
+  missing with ``ldd(1)``.
+
+  It works by moving these dependencies to a purpose-built rdma-core "glue"
+  plug-in which must either be installed in a directory whose name is based
+  on ``CONFIG_RTE_EAL_PMD_PATH`` suffixed with ``-glue`` if set, or in a
+  standard location for the dynamic linker (e.g. ``/lib``) if left to the
+  default empty string (``""``).
+
+  This option has no performance impact.
+
+- ``CONFIG_RTE_IBVERBS_LINK_STATIC`` (default **n**)
+
+  Embed static flavor of the dependencies **libibverbs** and **libmlx5**
+  in the PMD shared library or the executable static binary.
+
+- ``CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_MLX5_DEBUG`` (default **n**)
+
+  Toggle debugging code and stricter compilation flags. Enabling this option
+  adds additional run-time checks and debugging messages at the cost of
+  lower performance.
+
+.. note::
+
+   For BlueField, target should be set to ``arm64-bluefield-linux-gcc``. This
+   will enable ``CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_MLX5_PMD`` and set ``RTE_CACHE_LINE_SIZE`` to
+   64. Default armv8a configuration of make build and meson build set it to 128
+   then brings performance degradation.
+
+This option is available in meson:
+
+- ``ibverbs_link`` can be ``static``, ``shared``, or ``dlopen``.
+
+Environment variables
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+- ``MLX5_GLUE_PATH``
+
+  A list of directories in which to search for the rdma-core "glue" plug-in,
+  separated by colons or semi-colons.
+
+  Only matters when compiled with ``CONFIG_RTE_IBVERBS_LINK_DLOPEN``
+  enabled and most useful when ``CONFIG_RTE_EAL_PMD_PATH`` is also set,
+  since ``LD_LIBRARY_PATH`` has no effect in this case.
+
+- ``MLX5_SHUT_UP_BF``
+
+  Configures HW Tx doorbell register as IO-mapped.
+
+  By default, the HW Tx doorbell is configured as a write-combining register.
+  The register would be flushed to HW usually when the write-combining buffer
+  becomes full, but it depends on CPU design.
+
+  Except for vectorized Tx burst routines, a write memory barrier is enforced
+  after updating the register so that the update can be immediately visible to
+  HW.
+
+  When vectorized Tx burst is called, the barrier is set only if the burst size
+  is not aligned to MLX5_VPMD_TX_MAX_BURST. However, setting this environmental
+  variable will bring better latency even though the maximum throughput can
+  slightly decline.
+
+Run-time configuration
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+- librte_pmd_mlx5 brings kernel network interfaces up during initialization
+  because it is affected by their state. Forcing them down prevents packets
+  reception.
+
+- **ethtool** operations on related kernel interfaces also affect the PMD.
+
+Run as non-root
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+In order to run as a non-root user,
+some capabilities must be granted to the application::
+
+   setcap cap_sys_admin,cap_net_admin,cap_net_raw,cap_ipc_lock+ep <dpdk-app>
+
+Below are the reasons of the need for each capability:
+
+``cap_sys_admin``
+   When using physical addresses (PA mode), with Linux >= 4.0,
+   for access to ``/proc/self/pagemap``.
+
+``cap_net_admin``
+   For device configuration.
+
+``cap_net_raw``
+   For raw ethernet queue allocation through kernel driver.
+
+``cap_ipc_lock``
+   For DMA memory pinning.
+
+Driver options
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+- ``rxq_cqe_comp_en`` parameter [int]
+
+  A nonzero value enables the compression of CQE on RX side. This feature
+  allows to save PCI bandwidth and improve performance. Enabled by default.
+
+  Supported on:
+
+  - x86_64 with ConnectX-4, ConnectX-4 Lx, ConnectX-5, ConnectX-6, ConnectX-6 Dx
+    and BlueField.
+  - POWER9 and ARMv8 with ConnectX-4 Lx, ConnectX-5, ConnectX-6, ConnectX-6 Dx
+    and BlueField.
+
+- ``rxq_cqe_pad_en`` parameter [int]
+
+  A nonzero value enables 128B padding of CQE on RX side. The size of CQE
+  is aligned with the size of a cacheline of the core. If cacheline size is
+  128B, the CQE size is configured to be 128B even though the device writes
+  only 64B data on the cacheline. This is to avoid unnecessary cache
+  invalidation by device's two consecutive writes on to one cacheline.
+  However in some architecture, it is more beneficial to update entire
+  cacheline with padding the rest 64B rather than striding because
+  read-modify-write could drop performance a lot. On the other hand,
+  writing extra data will consume more PCIe bandwidth and could also drop
+  the maximum throughput. It is recommended to empirically set this
+  parameter. Disabled by default.
+
+  Supported on:
+
+  - CPU having 128B cacheline with ConnectX-5 and BlueField.
+
+- ``rxq_pkt_pad_en`` parameter [int]
+
+  A nonzero value enables padding Rx packet to the size of cacheline on PCI
+  transaction. This feature would waste PCI bandwidth but could improve
+  performance by avoiding partial cacheline write which may cause costly
+  read-modify-copy in memory transaction on some architectures. Disabled by
+  default.
+
+  Supported on:
+
+  - x86_64 with ConnectX-4, ConnectX-4 Lx, ConnectX-5, ConnectX-6, ConnectX-6 Dx
+    and BlueField.
+  - POWER8 and ARMv8 with ConnectX-4 Lx, ConnectX-5, ConnectX-6, ConnectX-6 Dx
+    and BlueField.
+
+- ``mprq_en`` parameter [int]
+
+  A nonzero value enables configuring Multi-Packet Rx queues. Rx queue is
+  configured as Multi-Packet RQ if the total number of Rx queues is
+  ``rxqs_min_mprq`` or more. Disabled by default.
+
+  Multi-Packet Rx Queue (MPRQ a.k.a Striding RQ) can further save PCIe bandwidth
+  by posting a single large buffer for multiple packets. Instead of posting a
+  buffers per a packet, one large buffer is posted in order to receive multiple
+  packets on the buffer. A MPRQ buffer consists of multiple fixed-size strides
+  and each stride receives one packet. MPRQ can improve throughput for
+  small-packet traffic.
+
+  When MPRQ is enabled, max_rx_pkt_len can be larger than the size of
+  user-provided mbuf even if DEV_RX_OFFLOAD_SCATTER isn't enabled. PMD will
+  configure large stride size enough to accommodate max_rx_pkt_len as long as
+  device allows. Note that this can waste system memory compared to enabling Rx
+  scatter and multi-segment packet.
+
+- ``mprq_log_stride_num`` parameter [int]
+
+  Log 2 of the number of strides for Multi-Packet Rx queue. Configuring more
+  strides can reduce PCIe traffic further. If configured value is not in the
+  range of device capability, the default value will be set with a warning
+  message. The default value is 4 which is 16 strides per a buffer, valid only
+  if ``mprq_en`` is set.
+
+  The size of Rx queue should be bigger than the number of strides.
+
+- ``mprq_log_stride_size`` parameter [int]
+
+  Log 2 of the size of a stride for Multi-Packet Rx queue. Configuring a smaller
+  stride size can save some memory and reduce probability of a depletion of all
+  available strides due to unreleased packets by an application. If configured
+  value is not in the range of device capability, the default value will be set
+  with a warning message. The default value is 11 which is 2048 bytes per a
+  stride, valid only if ``mprq_en`` is set. With ``mprq_log_stride_size`` set
+  it is possible for a pcaket to span across multiple strides. This mode allows
+  support of jumbo frames (9K) with MPRQ. The memcopy of some packets (or part
+  of a packet if Rx scatter is configured) may be required in case there is no
+  space left for a head room at the end of a stride which incurs some
+  performance penalty.
+
+- ``mprq_max_memcpy_len`` parameter [int]
+
+  The maximum length of packet to memcpy in case of Multi-Packet Rx queue. Rx
+  packet is mem-copied to a user-provided mbuf if the size of Rx packet is less
+  than or equal to this parameter. Otherwise, PMD will attach the Rx packet to
+  the mbuf by external buffer attachment - ``rte_pktmbuf_attach_extbuf()``.
+  A mempool for external buffers will be allocated and managed by PMD. If Rx
+  packet is externally attached, ol_flags field of the mbuf will have
+  EXT_ATTACHED_MBUF and this flag must be preserved. ``RTE_MBUF_HAS_EXTBUF()``
+  checks the flag. The default value is 128, valid only if ``mprq_en`` is set.
+
+- ``rxqs_min_mprq`` parameter [int]
+
+  Configure Rx queues as Multi-Packet RQ if the total number of Rx queues is
+  greater or equal to this value. The default value is 12, valid only if
+  ``mprq_en`` is set.
+
+- ``txq_inline`` parameter [int]
+
+  Amount of data to be inlined during TX operations. This parameter is
+  deprecated and converted to the new parameter ``txq_inline_max`` providing
+  partial compatibility.
+
+- ``txqs_min_inline`` parameter [int]
+
+  Enable inline data send only when the number of TX queues is greater or equal
+  to this value.
+
+  This option should be used in combination with ``txq_inline_max`` and
+  ``txq_inline_mpw`` below and does not affect ``txq_inline_min`` settings above.
+
+  If this option is not specified the default value 16 is used for BlueField
+  and 8 for other platforms
+
+  The data inlining consumes the CPU cycles, so this option is intended to
+  auto enable inline data if we have enough Tx queues, which means we have
+  enough CPU cores and PCI bandwidth is getting more critical and CPU
+  is not supposed to be bottleneck anymore.
+
+  The copying data into WQE improves latency and can improve PPS performance
+  when PCI back pressure is detected and may be useful for scenarios involving
+  heavy traffic on many queues.
+
+  Because additional software logic is necessary to handle this mode, this
+  option should be used with care, as it may lower performance when back
+  pressure is not expected.
+
+  If inline data are enabled it may affect the maximal size of Tx queue in
+  descriptors because the inline data increase the descriptor size and
+  queue size limits supported by hardware may be exceeded.
+
+- ``txq_inline_min`` parameter [int]
+
+  Minimal amount of data to be inlined into WQE during Tx operations. NICs
+  may require this minimal data amount to operate correctly. The exact value
+  may depend on NIC operation mode, requested offloads, etc. It is strongly
+  recommended to omit this parameter and use the default values. Anyway,
+  applications using this parameter should take into consideration that
+  specifying an inconsistent value may prevent the NIC from sending packets.
+
+  If ``txq_inline_min`` key is present the specified value (may be aligned
+  by the driver in order not to exceed the limits and provide better descriptor
+  space utilization) will be used by the driver and it is guaranteed that
+  requested amount of data bytes are inlined into the WQE beside other inline
+  settings. This key also may update ``txq_inline_max`` value (default
+  or specified explicitly in devargs) to reserve the space for inline data.
+
+  If ``txq_inline_min`` key is not present, the value may be queried by the
+  driver from the NIC via DevX if this feature is available. If there is no DevX
+  enabled/supported the value 18 (supposing L2 header including VLAN) is set
+  for ConnectX-4 and ConnectX-4 Lx, and 0 is set by default for ConnectX-5
+  and newer NICs. If packet is shorter the ``txq_inline_min`` value, the entire
+  packet is inlined.
+
+  For ConnectX-4 NIC, driver does not allow specifying value below 18
+  (minimal L2 header, including VLAN), error will be raised.
+
+  For ConnectX-4 Lx NIC, it is allowed to specify values below 18, but
+  it is not recommended and may prevent NIC from sending packets over
+  some configurations.
+
+  Please, note, this minimal data inlining disengages eMPW feature (Enhanced
+  Multi-Packet Write), because last one does not support partial packet inlining.
+  This is not very critical due to minimal data inlining is mostly required
+  by ConnectX-4 and ConnectX-4 Lx, these NICs do not support eMPW feature.
+
+- ``txq_inline_max`` parameter [int]
+
+  Specifies the maximal packet length to be completely inlined into WQE
+  Ethernet Segment for ordinary SEND method. If packet is larger than specified
+  value, the packet data won't be copied by the driver at all, data buffer
+  is addressed with a pointer. If packet length is less or equal all packet
+  data will be copied into WQE. This may improve PCI bandwidth utilization for
+  short packets significantly but requires the extra CPU cycles.
+
+  The data inline feature is controlled by number of Tx queues, if number of Tx
+  queues is larger than ``txqs_min_inline`` key parameter, the inline feature
+  is engaged, if there are not enough Tx queues (which means not enough CPU cores
+  and CPU resources are scarce), data inline is not performed by the driver.
+  Assigning ``txqs_min_inline`` with zero always enables the data inline.
+
+  The default ``txq_inline_max`` value is 290. The specified value may be adjusted
+  by the driver in order not to exceed the limit (930 bytes) and to provide better
+  WQE space filling without gaps, the adjustment is reflected in the debug log.
+  Also, the default value (290) may be decreased in run-time if the large transmit
+  queue size is requested and hardware does not support enough descriptor
+  amount, in this case warning is emitted. If ``txq_inline_max`` key is
+  specified and requested inline settings can not be satisfied then error
+  will be raised.
+
+- ``txq_inline_mpw`` parameter [int]
+
+  Specifies the maximal packet length to be completely inlined into WQE for
+  Enhanced MPW method. If packet is large the specified value, the packet data
+  won't be copied, and data buffer is addressed with pointer. If packet length
+  is less or equal, all packet data will be copied into WQE. This may improve PCI
+  bandwidth utilization for short packets significantly but requires the extra
+  CPU cycles.
+
+  The data inline feature is controlled by number of TX queues, if number of Tx
+  queues is larger than ``txqs_min_inline`` key parameter, the inline feature
+  is engaged, if there are not enough Tx queues (which means not enough CPU cores
+  and CPU resources are scarce), data inline is not performed by the driver.
+  Assigning ``txqs_min_inline`` with zero always enables the data inline.
+
+  The default ``txq_inline_mpw`` value is 268. The specified value may be adjusted
+  by the driver in order not to exceed the limit (930 bytes) and to provide better
+  WQE space filling without gaps, the adjustment is reflected in the debug log.
+  Due to multiple packets may be included to the same WQE with Enhanced Multi
+  Packet Write Method and overall WQE size is limited it is not recommended to
+  specify large values for the ``txq_inline_mpw``. Also, the default value (268)
+  may be decreased in run-time if the large transmit queue size is requested
+  and hardware does not support enough descriptor amount, in this case warning
+  is emitted. If ``txq_inline_mpw`` key is  specified and requested inline
+  settings can not be satisfied then error will be raised.
+
+- ``txqs_max_vec`` parameter [int]
+
+  Enable vectorized Tx only when the number of TX queues is less than or
+  equal to this value. This parameter is deprecated and ignored, kept
+  for compatibility issue to not prevent driver from probing.
+
+- ``txq_mpw_hdr_dseg_en`` parameter [int]
+
+  A nonzero value enables including two pointers in the first block of TX
+  descriptor. The parameter is deprecated and ignored, kept for compatibility
+  issue.
+
+- ``txq_max_inline_len`` parameter [int]
+
+  Maximum size of packet to be inlined. This limits the size of packet to
+  be inlined. If the size of a packet is larger than configured value, the
+  packet isn't inlined even though there's enough space remained in the
+  descriptor. Instead, the packet is included with pointer. This parameter
+  is deprecated and converted directly to ``txq_inline_mpw`` providing full
+  compatibility. Valid only if eMPW feature is engaged.
+
+- ``txq_mpw_en`` parameter [int]
+
+  A nonzero value enables Enhanced Multi-Packet Write (eMPW) for ConnectX-5,
+  ConnectX-6, ConnectX-6 Dx and BlueField. eMPW allows the TX burst function to pack
+  up multiple packets in a single descriptor session in order to save PCI bandwidth
+  and improve performance at the cost of a slightly higher CPU usage. When
+  ``txq_inline_mpw`` is set along with ``txq_mpw_en``, TX burst function copies
+  entire packet data on to TX descriptor instead of including pointer of packet.
+
+  The Enhanced Multi-Packet Write feature is enabled by default if NIC supports
+  it, can be disabled by explicit specifying 0 value for ``txq_mpw_en`` option.
+  Also, if minimal data inlining is requested by non-zero ``txq_inline_min``
+  option or reported by the NIC, the eMPW feature is disengaged.
+
+- ``tx_db_nc`` parameter [int]
+
+  The rdma core library can map doorbell register in two ways, depending on the
+  environment variable "MLX5_SHUT_UP_BF":
+
+  - As regular cached memory (usually with write combining attribute), if the
+    variable is either missing or set to zero.
+  - As non-cached memory, if the variable is present and set to not "0" value.
+
+  The type of mapping may slightly affect the Tx performance, the optimal choice
+  is strongly relied on the host architecture and should be deduced practically.
+
+  If ``tx_db_nc`` is set to zero, the doorbell is forced to be mapped to regular
+  memory (with write combining), the PMD will perform the extra write memory barrier
+  after writing to doorbell, it might increase the needed CPU clocks per packet
+  to send, but latency might be improved.
+
+  If ``tx_db_nc`` is set to one, the doorbell is forced to be mapped to non
+  cached memory, the PMD will not perform the extra write memory barrier
+  after writing to doorbell, on some architectures it might improve the
+  performance.
+
+  If ``tx_db_nc`` is set to two, the doorbell is forced to be mapped to regular
+  memory, the PMD will use heuristics to decide whether write memory barrier
+  should be performed. For bursts with size multiple of recommended one (64 pkts)
+  it is supposed the next burst is coming and no need to issue the extra memory
+  barrier (it is supposed to be issued in the next coming burst, at least after
+  descriptor writing). It might increase latency (on some hosts till next
+  packets transmit) and should be used with care.
+
+  If ``tx_db_nc`` is omitted or set to zero, the preset (if any) environment
+  variable "MLX5_SHUT_UP_BF" value is used. If there is no "MLX5_SHUT_UP_BF",
+  the default ``tx_db_nc`` value is zero for ARM64 hosts and one for others.
+
+- ``tx_vec_en`` parameter [int]
+
+  A nonzero value enables Tx vector on ConnectX-5, ConnectX-6, ConnectX-6 Dx
+  and BlueField NICs if the number of global Tx queues on the port is less than
+  ``txqs_max_vec``. The parameter is deprecated and ignored.
+
+- ``rx_vec_en`` parameter [int]
+
+  A nonzero value enables Rx vector if the port is not configured in
+  multi-segment otherwise this parameter is ignored.
+
+  Enabled by default.
+
+- ``vf_nl_en`` parameter [int]
+
+  A nonzero value enables Netlink requests from the VF to add/remove MAC
+  addresses or/and enable/disable promiscuous/all multicast on the Netdevice.
+  Otherwise the relevant configuration must be run with Linux iproute2 tools.
+  This is a prerequisite to receive this kind of traffic.
+
+  Enabled by default, valid only on VF devices ignored otherwise.
+
+- ``l3_vxlan_en`` parameter [int]
+
+  A nonzero value allows L3 VXLAN and VXLAN-GPE flow creation. To enable
+  L3 VXLAN or VXLAN-GPE, users has to configure firmware and enable this
+  parameter. This is a prerequisite to receive this kind of traffic.
+
+  Disabled by default.
+
+- ``dv_xmeta_en`` parameter [int]
+
+  A nonzero value enables extensive flow metadata support if device is
+  capable and driver supports it. This can enable extensive support of
+  ``MARK`` and ``META`` item of ``rte_flow``. The newly introduced
+  ``SET_TAG`` and ``SET_META`` actions do not depend on ``dv_xmeta_en``.
+
+  There are some possible configurations, depending on parameter value:
+
+  - 0, this is default value, defines the legacy mode, the ``MARK`` and
+    ``META`` related actions and items operate only within NIC Tx and
+    NIC Rx steering domains, no ``MARK`` and ``META`` information crosses
+    the domain boundaries. The ``MARK`` item is 24 bits wide, the ``META``
+    item is 32 bits wide and match supported on egress only.
+
+  - 1, this engages extensive metadata mode, the ``MARK`` and ``META``
+    related actions and items operate within all supported steering domains,
+    including FDB, ``MARK`` and ``META`` information may cross the domain
+    boundaries. The ``MARK`` item is 24 bits wide, the ``META`` item width
+    depends on kernel and firmware configurations and might be 0, 16 or
+    32 bits. Within NIC Tx domain ``META`` data width is 32 bits for
+    compatibility, the actual width of data transferred to the FDB domain
+    depends on kernel configuration and may be vary. The actual supported
+    width can be retrieved in runtime by series of rte_flow_validate()
+    trials.
+
+  - 2, this engages extensive metadata mode, the ``MARK`` and ``META``
+    related actions and items operate within all supported steering domains,
+    including FDB, ``MARK`` and ``META`` information may cross the domain
+    boundaries. The ``META`` item is 32 bits wide, the ``MARK`` item width
+    depends on kernel and firmware configurations and might be 0, 16 or
+    24 bits. The actual supported width can be retrieved in runtime by
+    series of rte_flow_validate() trials.
+
+  +------+-----------+-----------+-------------+-------------+
+  | Mode | ``MARK``  | ``META``  | ``META`` Tx | FDB/Through |
+  +======+===========+===========+=============+=============+
+  | 0    | 24 bits   | 32 bits   | 32 bits     | no          |
+  +------+-----------+-----------+-------------+-------------+
+  | 1    | 24 bits   | vary 0-32 | 32 bits     | yes         |
+  +------+-----------+-----------+-------------+-------------+
+  | 2    | vary 0-32 | 32 bits   | 32 bits     | yes         |
+  +------+-----------+-----------+-------------+-------------+
+
+  If there is no E-Switch configuration the ``dv_xmeta_en`` parameter is
+  ignored and the device is configured to operate in legacy mode (0).
+
+  Disabled by default (set to 0).
+
+  The Direct Verbs/Rules (engaged with ``dv_flow_en`` = 1) supports all
+  of the extensive metadata features. The legacy Verbs supports FLAG and
+  MARK metadata actions over NIC Rx steering domain only.
+
+- ``dv_flow_en`` parameter [int]
+
+  A nonzero value enables the DV flow steering assuming it is supported
+  by the driver (RDMA Core library version is rdma-core-24.0 or higher).
+
+  Enabled by default if supported.
+
+- ``dv_esw_en`` parameter [int]
+
+  A nonzero value enables E-Switch using Direct Rules.
+
+  Enabled by default if supported.
+
+- ``mr_ext_memseg_en`` parameter [int]
+
+  A nonzero value enables extending memseg when registering DMA memory. If
+  enabled, the number of entries in MR (Memory Region) lookup table on datapath
+  is minimized and it benefits performance. On the other hand, it worsens memory
+  utilization because registered memory is pinned by kernel driver. Even if a
+  page in the extended chunk is freed, that doesn't become reusable until the
+  entire memory is freed.
+
+  Enabled by default.
+
+- ``representor`` parameter [list]
+
+  This parameter can be used to instantiate DPDK Ethernet devices from
+  existing port (or VF) representors configured on the device.
+
+  It is a standard parameter whose format is described in
+  :ref:`ethernet_device_standard_device_arguments`.
+
+  For instance, to probe port representors 0 through 2::
+
+    representor=[0-2]
+
+- ``max_dump_files_num`` parameter [int]
+
+  The maximum number of files per PMD entity that may be created for debug information.
+  The files will be created in /var/log directory or in current directory.
+
+  set to 128 by default.
+
+- ``lro_timeout_usec`` parameter [int]
+
+  The maximum allowed duration of an LRO session, in micro-seconds.
+  PMD will set the nearest value supported by HW, which is not bigger than
+  the input ``lro_timeout_usec`` value.
+  If this parameter is not specified, by default PMD will set
+  the smallest value supported by HW.
+
+- ``hp_buf_log_sz`` parameter [int]
+
+  The total data buffer size of a hairpin queue (logarithmic form), in bytes.
+  PMD will set the data buffer size to 2 ** ``hp_buf_log_sz``, both for RX & TX.
+  The capacity of the value is specified by the firmware and the initialization
+  will get a failure if it is out of scope.
+  The range of the value is from 11 to 19 right now, and the supported frame
+  size of a single packet for hairpin is from 512B to 128KB. It might change if
+  different firmware release is being used. By using a small value, it could
+  reduce memory consumption but not work with a large frame. If the value is
+  too large, the memory consumption will be high and some potential performance
+  degradation will be introduced.
+  By default, the PMD will set this value to 16, which means that 9KB jumbo
+  frames will be supported.
+
+.. _mlx5_firmware_config:
+
+Firmware configuration
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Firmware features can be configured as key/value pairs.
+
+The command to set a value is::
+
+  mlxconfig -d <device> set <key>=<value>
+
+The command to query a value is::
+
+  mlxconfig -d <device> query | grep <key>
+
+The device name for the command ``mlxconfig`` can be either the PCI address,
+or the mst device name found with::
+
+  mst status
+
+Below are some firmware configurations listed.
+
+- link type::
+
+    LINK_TYPE_P1
+    LINK_TYPE_P2
+    value: 1=Infiniband 2=Ethernet 3=VPI(auto-sense)
+
+- enable SR-IOV::
+
+    SRIOV_EN=1
+
+- maximum number of SR-IOV virtual functions::
+
+    NUM_OF_VFS=<max>
+
+- enable DevX (required by Direct Rules and other features)::
+
+    UCTX_EN=1
+
+- aggressive CQE zipping::
+
+    CQE_COMPRESSION=1
+
+- L3 VXLAN and VXLAN-GPE destination UDP port::
+
+    IP_OVER_VXLAN_EN=1
+    IP_OVER_VXLAN_PORT=<udp dport>
+
+- enable VXLAN-GPE tunnel flow matching::
+
+    FLEX_PARSER_PROFILE_ENABLE=0
+    or
+    FLEX_PARSER_PROFILE_ENABLE=2
+
+- enable IP-in-IP tunnel flow matching::
+
+    FLEX_PARSER_PROFILE_ENABLE=0
+
+- enable MPLS flow matching::
+
+    FLEX_PARSER_PROFILE_ENABLE=1
+
+- enable ICMP/ICMP6 code/type fields matching::
+
+    FLEX_PARSER_PROFILE_ENABLE=2
+
+- enable Geneve flow matching::
+
+   FLEX_PARSER_PROFILE_ENABLE=0
+   or
+   FLEX_PARSER_PROFILE_ENABLE=1
+
+- enable GTP flow matching::
+
+   FLEX_PARSER_PROFILE_ENABLE=3
+
+Prerequisites
+-------------
+
+This driver relies on external libraries and kernel drivers for resources
+allocations and initialization. The following dependencies are not part of
+DPDK and must be installed separately:
+
+- **libibverbs**
+
+  User space Verbs framework used by librte_pmd_mlx5. This library provides
+  a generic interface between the kernel and low-level user space drivers
+  such as libmlx5.
+
+  It allows slow and privileged operations (context initialization, hardware
+  resources allocations) to be managed by the kernel and fast operations to
+  never leave user space.
+
+- **libmlx5**
+
+  Low-level user space driver library for Mellanox
+  ConnectX-4/ConnectX-5/ConnectX-6/BlueField devices, it is automatically loaded
+  by libibverbs.
+
+  This library basically implements send/receive calls to the hardware
+  queues.
+
+- **Kernel modules**
+
+  They provide the kernel-side Verbs API and low level device drivers that
+  manage actual hardware initialization and resources sharing with user
+  space processes.
+
+  Unlike most other PMDs, these modules must remain loaded and bound to
+  their devices:
+
+  - mlx5_core: hardware driver managing Mellanox
+    ConnectX-4/ConnectX-5/ConnectX-6/BlueField devices and related Ethernet kernel
+    network devices.
+  - mlx5_ib: InifiniBand device driver.
+  - ib_uverbs: user space driver for Verbs (entry point for libibverbs).
+
+- **Firmware update**
+
+  Mellanox OFED/EN releases include firmware updates for
+  ConnectX-4/ConnectX-5/ConnectX-6/BlueField adapters.
+
+  Because each release provides new features, these updates must be applied to
+  match the kernel modules and libraries they come with.
+
+.. note::
+
+   Both libraries are BSD and GPL licensed. Linux kernel modules are GPL
+   licensed.
+
+Installation
+~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Either RDMA Core library with a recent enough Linux kernel release
+(recommended) or Mellanox OFED/EN, which provides compatibility with older
+releases.
+
+RDMA Core with Linux Kernel
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+- Minimal kernel version : v4.14 or the most recent 4.14-rc (see `Linux installation documentation`_)
+- Minimal rdma-core version: v15+ commit 0c5f5765213a ("Merge pull request #227 from yishaih/tm")
+  (see `RDMA Core installation documentation`_)
+- When building for i686 use:
+
+  - rdma-core version 18.0 or above built with 32bit support.
+  - Kernel version 4.14.41 or above.
+
+- Starting with rdma-core v21, static libraries can be built::
+
+    cd build
+    CFLAGS=-fPIC cmake -DIN_PLACE=1 -DENABLE_STATIC=1 -GNinja ..
+    ninja
+
+.. _`Linux installation documentation`: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git/plain/Documentation/admin-guide/README.rst
+.. _`RDMA Core installation documentation`: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/linux-rdma/rdma-core/master/README.md
+
+If rdma-core libraries are built but not installed, DPDK makefile can link them,
+thanks to these environment variables:
+
+   - ``EXTRA_CFLAGS=-I/path/to/rdma-core/build/include``
+   - ``EXTRA_LDFLAGS=-L/path/to/rdma-core/build/lib``
+   - ``PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/path/to/rdma-core/build/lib/pkgconfig``
+
+Mellanox OFED/EN
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+- Mellanox OFED version: **4.5** and above /
+  Mellanox EN version: **4.5** and above
+- firmware version:
+
+  - ConnectX-4: **12.21.1000** and above.
+  - ConnectX-4 Lx: **14.21.1000** and above.
+  - ConnectX-5: **16.21.1000** and above.
+  - ConnectX-5 Ex: **16.21.1000** and above.
+  - ConnectX-6: **20.27.0090** and above.
+  - ConnectX-6 Dx: **22.27.0090** and above.
+  - BlueField: **18.25.1010** and above.
+
+While these libraries and kernel modules are available on OpenFabrics
+Alliance's `website <https://www.openfabrics.org/>`__ and provided by package
+managers on most distributions, this PMD requires Ethernet extensions that
+may not be supported at the moment (this is a work in progress).
+
+`Mellanox OFED
+<http://www.mellanox.com/page/products_dyn?product_family=26&mtag=linux>`__ and
+`Mellanox EN
+<http://www.mellanox.com/page/products_dyn?product_family=27&mtag=linux>`__
+include the necessary support and should be used in the meantime. For DPDK,
+only libibverbs, libmlx5, mlnx-ofed-kernel packages and firmware updates are
+required from that distribution.
+
+.. note::
+
+   Several versions of Mellanox OFED/EN are available. Installing the version
+   this DPDK release was developed and tested against is strongly
+   recommended. Please check the `prerequisites`_.
+
+Supported NICs
+--------------
+
+The following Mellanox device families are supported by the same mlx5 driver:
+
+  - ConnectX-4
+  - ConnectX-4 Lx
+  - ConnectX-5
+  - ConnectX-5 Ex
+  - ConnectX-6
+  - ConnectX-6 Dx
+  - BlueField
+
+Below are detailed device names:
+
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 10G MCX4111A-XCAT (1x10G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 10G MCX412A-XCAT (2x10G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 25G MCX4111A-ACAT (1x25G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 25G MCX412A-ACAT (2x25G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 40G MCX413A-BCAT (1x40G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 40G MCX4131A-BCAT (1x40G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 40G MCX415A-BCAT (1x40G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 50G MCX413A-GCAT (1x50G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 50G MCX4131A-GCAT (1x50G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 50G MCX414A-BCAT (2x50G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 50G MCX415A-GCAT (1x50G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 50G MCX416A-BCAT (2x50G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 50G MCX416A-GCAT (2x50G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 50G MCX415A-CCAT (1x100G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 100G MCX416A-CCAT (2x100G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 Lx 10G MCX4111A-XCAT (1x10G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 Lx 10G MCX4121A-XCAT (2x10G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 Lx 25G MCX4111A-ACAT (1x25G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 Lx 25G MCX4121A-ACAT (2x25G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-4 Lx 40G MCX4131A-BCAT (1x40G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-5 100G MCX556A-ECAT (2x100G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-5 Ex EN 100G MCX516A-CDAT (2x100G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-6 200G MCX654106A-HCAT (2x200G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-6 Dx EN 100G MCX623106AN-CDAT (2x100G)
+* Mellanox\ |reg| ConnectX\ |reg|-6 Dx EN 200G MCX623105AN-VDAT (1x200G)
+
+Quick Start Guide on OFED/EN
+----------------------------
+
+1. Download latest Mellanox OFED/EN. For more info check the  `prerequisites`_.
+
+
+2. Install the required libraries and kernel modules either by installing
+   only the required set, or by installing the entire Mellanox OFED/EN::
+
+        ./mlnxofedinstall --upstream-libs --dpdk
+
+3. Verify the firmware is the correct one::
+
+        ibv_devinfo
+
+4. Verify all ports links are set to Ethernet::
+
+        mlxconfig -d <mst device> query | grep LINK_TYPE
+        LINK_TYPE_P1                        ETH(2)
+        LINK_TYPE_P2                        ETH(2)
+
+   Link types may have to be configured to Ethernet::
+
+        mlxconfig -d <mst device> set LINK_TYPE_P1/2=1/2/3
+
+        * LINK_TYPE_P1=<1|2|3> , 1=Infiniband 2=Ethernet 3=VPI(auto-sense)
+
+   For hypervisors, verify SR-IOV is enabled on the NIC::
+
+        mlxconfig -d <mst device> query | grep SRIOV_EN
+        SRIOV_EN                            True(1)
+
+   If needed, configure SR-IOV::
+
+        mlxconfig -d <mst device> set SRIOV_EN=1 NUM_OF_VFS=16
+        mlxfwreset -d <mst device> reset
+
+5. Restart the driver::
+
+        /etc/init.d/openibd restart
+
+   or::
+
+        service openibd restart
+
+   If link type was changed, firmware must be reset as well::
+
+        mlxfwreset -d <mst device> reset
+
+   For hypervisors, after reset write the sysfs number of virtual functions
+   needed for the PF.
+
+   To dynamically instantiate a given number of virtual functions (VFs)::
+
+        echo [num_vfs] > /sys/class/infiniband/mlx5_0/device/sriov_numvfs
+
+6. Compile DPDK and you are ready to go. See instructions on
+   :ref:`Development Kit Build System <Development_Kit_Build_System>`
+
+Enable switchdev mode
+---------------------
+
+Switchdev mode is a mode in E-Switch, that binds between representor and VF.
+Representor is a port in DPDK that is connected to a VF in such a way
+that assuming there are no offload flows, each packet that is sent from the VF
+will be received by the corresponding representor. While each packet that is
+sent to a representor will be received by the VF.
+This is very useful in case of SRIOV mode, where the first packet that is sent
+by the VF will be received by the DPDK application which will decide if this
+flow should be offloaded to the E-Switch. After offloading the flow packet
+that the VF that are matching the flow will not be received any more by
+the DPDK application.
+
+1. Enable SRIOV mode::
+
+        mlxconfig -d <mst device> set SRIOV_EN=true
+
+2. Configure the max number of VFs::
+
+        mlxconfig -d <mst device> set NUM_OF_VFS=<num of vfs>
+
+3. Reset the FW::
+
+        mlxfwreset -d <mst device> reset
+
+3. Configure the actual number of VFs::
+
+        echo <num of vfs > /sys/class/net/<net device>/device/sriov_numvfs
+
+4. Unbind the device (can be rebind after the switchdev mode)::
+
+        echo -n "<device pci address" > /sys/bus/pci/drivers/mlx5_core/unbind
+
+5. Enbale switchdev mode::
+
+        echo switchdev > /sys/class/net/<net device>/compat/devlink/mode
+
+Performance tuning
+------------------
+
+1. Configure aggressive CQE Zipping for maximum performance::
+
+        mlxconfig -d <mst device> s CQE_COMPRESSION=1
+
+  To set it back to the default CQE Zipping mode use::
+
+        mlxconfig -d <mst device> s CQE_COMPRESSION=0
+
+2. In case of virtualization:
+
+   - Make sure that hypervisor kernel is 3.16 or newer.
+   - Configure boot with ``iommu=pt``.
+   - Use 1G huge pages.
+   - Make sure to allocate a VM on huge pages.
+   - Make sure to set CPU pinning.
+
+3. Use the CPU near local NUMA node to which the PCIe adapter is connected,
+   for better performance. For VMs, verify that the right CPU
+   and NUMA node are pinned according to the above. Run::
+
+        lstopo-no-graphics
+
+   to identify the NUMA node to which the PCIe adapter is connected.
+
+4. If more than one adapter is used, and root complex capabilities allow
+   to put both adapters on the same NUMA node without PCI bandwidth degradation,
+   it is recommended to locate both adapters on the same NUMA node.
+   This in order to forward packets from one to the other without
+   NUMA performance penalty.
+
+5. Disable pause frames::
+
+        ethtool -A <netdev> rx off tx off
+
+6. Verify IO non-posted prefetch is disabled by default. This can be checked
+   via the BIOS configuration. Please contact you server provider for more
+   information about the settings.
+
+.. note::
+
+        On some machines, depends on the machine integrator, it is beneficial
+        to set the PCI max read request parameter to 1K. This can be
+        done in the following way:
+
+        To query the read request size use::
+
+                setpci -s <NIC PCI address> 68.w
+
+        If the output is different than 3XXX, set it by::
+
+                setpci -s <NIC PCI address> 68.w=3XXX
+
+        The XXX can be different on different systems. Make sure to configure
+        according to the setpci output.
+
+7. To minimize overhead of searching Memory Regions:
+
+   - '--socket-mem' is recommended to pin memory by predictable amount.
+   - Configure per-lcore cache when creating Mempools for packet buffer.
+   - Refrain from dynamically allocating/freeing memory in run-time.
+
+.. _mlx5_offloads_support:
+
+Supported hardware offloads
+---------------------------
+
+.. table:: Minimal SW/HW versions for queue offloads
+
+   ============== ===== ===== ========= ===== ========== ==========
+   Offload        DPDK  Linux rdma-core OFED   firmware   hardware
+   ============== ===== ===== ========= ===== ========== ==========
+   common base    17.11  4.14    16     4.2-1 12.21.1000 ConnectX-4
+   checksums      17.11  4.14    16     4.2-1 12.21.1000 ConnectX-4
+   Rx timestamp   17.11  4.14    16     4.2-1 12.21.1000 ConnectX-4
+   TSO            17.11  4.14    16     4.2-1 12.21.1000 ConnectX-4
+   LRO            19.08  N/A     N/A    4.6-4 16.25.6406 ConnectX-5
+   ============== ===== ===== ========= ===== ========== ==========
+
+.. table:: Minimal SW/HW versions for rte_flow offloads
+
+   +-----------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
+   | Offload               | with E-Switch   | with NIC        |
+   +=======================+=================+=================+
+   | Count                 | | DPDK 19.05    | | DPDK 19.02    |
+   |                       | | OFED 4.6      | | OFED 4.6      |
+   |                       | | rdma-core 24  | | rdma-core 23  |
+   |                       | | ConnectX-5    | | ConnectX-5    |
+   +-----------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
+   | Drop                  | | DPDK 19.05    | | DPDK 18.11    |
+   |                       | | OFED 4.6      | | OFED 4.5      |
+   |                       | | rdma-core 24  | | rdma-core 23  |
+   |                       | | ConnectX-5    | | ConnectX-4    |
+   +-----------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
+   | Queue / RSS           | |               | | DPDK 18.11    |
+   |                       | |     N/A       | | OFED 4.5      |
+   |                       | |               | | rdma-core 23  |
+   |                       | |               | | ConnectX-4    |
+   +-----------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
+   | Encapsulation         | | DPDK 19.05    | | DPDK 19.02    |
+   | (VXLAN / NVGRE / RAW) | | OFED 4.7-1    | | OFED 4.6      |
+   |                       | | rdma-core 24  | | rdma-core 23  |
+   |                       | | ConnectX-5    | | ConnectX-5    |
+   +-----------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
+   | Encapsulation         | | DPDK 19.11    | | DPDK 19.11    |
+   | GENEVE                | | OFED 4.7-3    | | OFED 4.7-3    |
+   |                       | | rdma-core 27  | | rdma-core 27  |
+   |                       | | ConnectX-5    | | ConnectX-5    |
+   +-----------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
+   | | Header rewrite      | | DPDK 19.05    | | DPDK 19.02    |
+   | | (set_ipv4_src /     | | OFED 4.7-1    | | OFED 4.7-1    |
+   | | set_ipv4_dst /      | | rdma-core 24  | | rdma-core 24  |
+   | | set_ipv6_src /      | | ConnectX-5    | | ConnectX-5    |
+   | | set_ipv6_dst /      | |               | |               |
+   | | set_tp_src /        | |               | |               |
+   | | set_tp_dst /        | |               | |               |
+   | | dec_ttl /           | |               | |               |
+   | | set_ttl /           | |               | |               |
+   | | set_mac_src /       | |               | |               |
+   | | set_mac_dst)        | |               | |               |
+   +-----------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
+   | | Header rewrite      | | DPDK 20.02    | | DPDK 20.02    |
+   | | (set_dscp)          | | OFED 5.0      | | OFED 5.0      |
+   | |                     | | rdma-core 24  | | rdma-core 24  |
+   | |                     | | ConnectX-5    | | ConnectX-5    |
+   +-----------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
+   | Jump                  | | DPDK 19.05    | | DPDK 19.02    |
+   |                       | | OFED 4.7-1    | | OFED 4.7-1    |
+   |                       | | rdma-core 24  | | N/A           |
+   |                       | | ConnectX-5    | | ConnectX-5    |
+   +-----------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
+   | Mark / Flag           | | DPDK 19.05    | | DPDK 18.11    |
+   |                       | | OFED 4.6      | | OFED 4.5      |
+   |                       | | rdma-core 24  | | rdma-core 23  |
+   |                       | | ConnectX-5    | | ConnectX-4    |
+   +-----------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
+   | Port ID               | | DPDK 19.05    |     | N/A       |
+   |                       | | OFED 4.7-1    |     | N/A       |
+   |                       | | rdma-core 24  |     | N/A       |
+   |                       | | ConnectX-5    |     | N/A       |
+   +-----------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
+   | | VLAN                | | DPDK 19.11    | | DPDK 19.11    |
+   | | (of_pop_vlan /      | | OFED 4.7-1    | | OFED 4.7-1    |
+   | | of_push_vlan /      | | ConnectX-5    | | ConnectX-5    |
+   | | of_set_vlan_pcp /   | |               | |               |
+   | | of_set_vlan_vid)    | |               | |               |
+   +-----------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
+   | Hairpin               | |               | | DPDK 19.11    |
+   |                       | |     N/A       | | OFED 4.7-3    |
+   |                       | |               | | rdma-core 26  |
+   |                       | |               | | ConnectX-5    |
+   +-----------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
+   | Meta data             | |  DPDK 19.11   | | DPDK 19.11    |
+   |                       | |  OFED 4.7-3   | | OFED 4.7-3    |
+   |                       | |  rdma-core 26 | | rdma-core 26  |
+   |                       | |  ConnectX-5   | | ConnectX-5    |
+   +-----------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
+   | Metering              | |  DPDK 19.11   | | DPDK 19.11    |
+   |                       | |  OFED 4.7-3   | | OFED 4.7-3    |
+   |                       | |  rdma-core 26 | | rdma-core 26  |
+   |                       | |  ConnectX-5   | | ConnectX-5    |
+   +-----------------------+-----------------+-----------------+
+
+Notes for metadata
+------------------
+
+MARK and META items are interrelated with datapath - they might move from/to
+the applications in mbuf fields. Hence, zero value for these items has the
+special meaning - it means "no metadata are provided", not zero values are
+treated by applications and PMD as valid ones.
+
+Moreover in the flow engine domain the value zero is acceptable to match and
+set, and we should allow to specify zero values as rte_flow parameters for the
+META and MARK items and actions. In the same time zero mask has no meaning and
+should be rejected on validation stage.
+
+Notes for rte_flow
+------------------
+
+Flows are not cached in the driver.
+When stopping a device port, all the flows created on this port from the
+application will be flushed automatically in the background.
+After stopping the device port, all flows on this port become invalid and
+not represented in the system.
+All references to these flows held by the application should be discarded
+directly but neither destroyed nor flushed.
+
+The application should re-create the flows as required after the port restart.
+
+Notes for testpmd
+-----------------
+
+Compared to librte_pmd_mlx4 that implements a single RSS configuration per
+port, librte_pmd_mlx5 supports per-protocol RSS configuration.
+
+Since ``testpmd`` defaults to IP RSS mode and there is currently no
+command-line parameter to enable additional protocols (UDP and TCP as well
+as IP), the following commands must be entered from its CLI to get the same
+behavior as librte_pmd_mlx4::
+
+   > port stop all
+   > port config all rss all
+   > port start all
+
+Usage example
+-------------
+
+This section demonstrates how to launch **testpmd** with Mellanox
+ConnectX-4/ConnectX-5/ConnectX-6/BlueField devices managed by librte_pmd_mlx5.
+
+#. Load the kernel modules::
+
+      modprobe -a ib_uverbs mlx5_core mlx5_ib
+
+   Alternatively if MLNX_OFED/MLNX_EN is fully installed, the following script
+   can be run::
+
+      /etc/init.d/openibd restart
+
+   .. note::
+
+      User space I/O kernel modules (uio and igb_uio) are not used and do
+      not have to be loaded.
+
+#. Make sure Ethernet interfaces are in working order and linked to kernel
+   verbs. Related sysfs entries should be present::
+
+      ls -d /sys/class/net/*/device/infiniband_verbs/uverbs* | cut -d / -f 5
+
+   Example output::
+
+      eth30
+      eth31
+      eth32
+      eth33
+
+#. Optionally, retrieve their PCI bus addresses for whitelisting::
+
+      {
+          for intf in eth2 eth3 eth4 eth5;
+          do
+              (cd "/sys/class/net/${intf}/device/" && pwd -P);
+          done;
+      } |
+      sed -n 's,.*/\(.*\),-w \1,p'
+
+   Example output::
+
+      -w 0000:05:00.1
+      -w 0000:06:00.0
+      -w 0000:06:00.1
+      -w 0000:05:00.0
+
+#. Request huge pages::
+
+      echo 1024 > /sys/kernel/mm/hugepages/hugepages-2048kB/nr_hugepages/nr_hugepages
+
+#. Start testpmd with basic parameters::
+
+      testpmd -l 8-15 -n 4 -w 05:00.0 -w 05:00.1 -w 06:00.0 -w 06:00.1 -- --rxq=2 --txq=2 -i
+
+   Example output::
+
+      [...]
+      EAL: PCI device 0000:05:00.0 on NUMA socket 0
+      EAL:   probe driver: 15b3:1013 librte_pmd_mlx5
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: PCI information matches, using device "mlx5_0" (VF: false)
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: 1 port(s) detected
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: port 1 MAC address is e4:1d:2d:e7:0c:fe
+      EAL: PCI device 0000:05:00.1 on NUMA socket 0
+      EAL:   probe driver: 15b3:1013 librte_pmd_mlx5
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: PCI information matches, using device "mlx5_1" (VF: false)
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: 1 port(s) detected
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: port 1 MAC address is e4:1d:2d:e7:0c:ff
+      EAL: PCI device 0000:06:00.0 on NUMA socket 0
+      EAL:   probe driver: 15b3:1013 librte_pmd_mlx5
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: PCI information matches, using device "mlx5_2" (VF: false)
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: 1 port(s) detected
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: port 1 MAC address is e4:1d:2d:e7:0c:fa
+      EAL: PCI device 0000:06:00.1 on NUMA socket 0
+      EAL:   probe driver: 15b3:1013 librte_pmd_mlx5
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: PCI information matches, using device "mlx5_3" (VF: false)
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: 1 port(s) detected
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: port 1 MAC address is e4:1d:2d:e7:0c:fb
+      Interactive-mode selected
+      Configuring Port 0 (socket 0)
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: 0x8cba80: TX queues number update: 0 -> 2
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: 0x8cba80: RX queues number update: 0 -> 2
+      Port 0: E4:1D:2D:E7:0C:FE
+      Configuring Port 1 (socket 0)
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: 0x8ccac8: TX queues number update: 0 -> 2
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: 0x8ccac8: RX queues number update: 0 -> 2
+      Port 1: E4:1D:2D:E7:0C:FF
+      Configuring Port 2 (socket 0)
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: 0x8cdb10: TX queues number update: 0 -> 2
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: 0x8cdb10: RX queues number update: 0 -> 2
+      Port 2: E4:1D:2D:E7:0C:FA
+      Configuring Port 3 (socket 0)
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: 0x8ceb58: TX queues number update: 0 -> 2
+      PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: 0x8ceb58: RX queues number update: 0 -> 2
+      Port 3: E4:1D:2D:E7:0C:FB
+      Checking link statuses...
+      Port 0 Link Up - speed 40000 Mbps - full-duplex
+      Port 1 Link Up - speed 40000 Mbps - full-duplex
+      Port 2 Link Up - speed 10000 Mbps - full-duplex
+      Port 3 Link Up - speed 10000 Mbps - full-duplex
+      Done
+      testpmd>
+
+How to dump flows
+-----------------
+
+This section demonstrates how to dump flows. Currently, it's possible to dump
+all flows with assistance of external tools.
+
+#. 2 ways to get flow raw file:
+
+   - Using testpmd CLI:
+
+   .. code-block:: console
+
+       testpmd> flow dump <port> <output_file>
+
+   - call rte_flow_dev_dump api:
+
+   .. code-block:: console
+
+       rte_flow_dev_dump(port, file, NULL);
+
+#. Dump human-readable flows from raw file:
+
+   Get flow parsing tool from: https://github.com/Mellanox/mlx_steering_dump
+
+   .. code-block:: console
+
+       mlx_steering_dump.py -f <output_file>