eal/linux: remove KNI restriction on IOVA

[dpdk.git] / doc / guides / prog_guide / kernel_nic_interface.rst

diff --git a/doc/guides/prog_guide/kernel_nic_interface.rst b/doc/guides/prog_guide/kernel_nic_interface.rst
index e12634d..c4479ff 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/guides/prog_guide/kernel_nic_interface.rst
+++ b/doc/guides/prog_guide/kernel_nic_interface.rst
@@ -300,6 +300,20 @@ The sk_buff is then freed and the mbuf sent in the tx_q FIFO.
 The DPDK TX thread dequeues the mbuf and sends it to the PMD via ``rte_eth_tx_burst()``.
 It then puts the mbuf back in the cache.
 
+IOVA = VA: Support
+------------------
+
+KNI operates in IOVA_VA scheme when
+
+- LINUX_VERSION_CODE >= KERNEL_VERSION(4, 6, 0) and
+- EAL option `iova-mode=va` is passed or bus IOVA scheme in the DPDK is selected
+  as RTE_IOVA_VA.
+
+Due to IOVA to KVA address translations, based on the KNI use case there
+can be a performance impact. For mitigation, forcing IOVA to PA via EAL
+"--iova-mode=pa" option can be used, IOVA_DC bus iommu scheme can also
+result in IOVA as PA.
+
 Ethtool
 -------