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+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+ Copyright(c) 2018 Intel Corporation.
+
+AF_PACKET Poll Mode Driver
+==========================
+
+The AF_PACKET socket in Linux allows an application to receive and send raw
+packets. This Linux-specific PMD driver binds to an AF_PACKET socket and allows
+a DPDK application to send and receive raw packets through the Kernel.
+
+In order to improve Rx and Tx performance this implementation makes use of
+PACKET_MMAP, which provides a mmap'ed ring buffer, shared between user space
+and kernel, that's used to send and receive packets. This helps reducing system
+calls and the copies needed between user space and Kernel.
+
+The PACKET_FANOUT_HASH behavior of AF_PACKET is used for frame reception.
+
+Options and inherent limitations
+--------------------------------
+
+The following options can be provided to set up an af_packet port in DPDK.
+Some of these, in turn, will be used to configure the PACKET_MMAP settings.
+
+* ``iface`` - name of the Kernel interface to attach to (required);
+* ``qpairs`` - number of Rx and Tx queues (optional, default 1);
+* ``qdisc_bypass`` - set PACKET_QDISC_BYPASS option in AF_PACKET (optional,
+ disabled by default);
+* ``blocksz`` - PACKET_MMAP block size (optional, default 4096);
+* ``framesz`` - PACKET_MMAP frame size (optional, default 2048B; Note: multiple
+ of 16B);
+* ``framecnt`` - PACKET_MMAP frame count (optional, default 512).
+
+Because this implementation is based on PACKET_MMAP, and PACKET_MMAP has its
+own pre-requisites, it should be noted that the inner workings of PACKET_MMAP
+should be carefully considered before modifying some of these options (namely,
+``blocksz``, ``framesz`` and ``framecnt`` above).
+
+As an example, if one changes ``framesz`` to be 1024B, it is expected that
+``blocksz`` is set to at least 1024B as well (although 2048B in this case would
+allow two "frames" per "block").
+
+This restriction happens because PACKET_MMAP expects each single "frame" to fit
+inside of a "block". And although multiple "frames" can fit inside of a single
+"block", a "frame" may not span across two "blocks".
+
+For the full details behind PACKET_MMAP's structures and settings, consider
+reading the `PACKET_MMAP documentation in the Kernel
+<https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/networking/packet_mmap.txt>`_.
+
+Prerequisites
+-------------
+
+This is a Linux-specific PMD, thus the following prerequisites apply:
+
+* A Linux Kernel;
+* A Kernel bound interface to attach to (e.g. a tap interface).
+
+Set up an af_packet interface
+-----------------------------
+
+The following example will set up an af_packet interface in DPDK with the
+default options described above (blocksz=4096B, framesz=2048B and
+framecnt=512):
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+ --vdev=eth_af_packet0,iface=tap0,blocksz=4096,framesz=2048,framecnt=512,qpairs=1,qdisc_bypass=0