4 .. **Read this first.**
6 The text below explains how to update the release notes.
8 Use proper spelling, capitalization and punctuation in all sections.
10 Variable and config names should be quoted as fixed width text: ``LIKE_THIS``.
12 Build the docs and view the output file to ensure the changes are correct::
16 firefox build/doc/html/guides/rel_notes/release_16_11.html
22 .. This section should contain new features added in this release. Sample format:
24 * **Add a title in the past tense with a full stop.**
26 Add a short 1-2 sentence description in the past tense. The description
27 should be enough to allow someone scanning the release notes to understand
30 If the feature adds a lot of sub-features you can use a bullet list like this.
32 * Added feature foo to do something.
33 * Enhanced feature bar to do something else.
35 Refer to the previous release notes for examples.
37 This section is a comment. Make sure to start the actual text at the margin.
40 * **Added software parser for packet type.**
42 * Added a new function ``rte_pktmbuf_read()`` to read the packet data from an
43 mbuf chain, linearizing if required.
44 * Added a new function ``rte_net_get_ptype()`` to parse an Ethernet packet
45 in an mbuf chain and retrieve its packet type by software.
46 * Added new functions ``rte_get_ptype_*()`` to dump a packet type as a string.
48 * **Improved offloads support in mbuf.**
50 * Added a new function ``rte_raw_cksum_mbuf()`` to process the checksum of
51 data embedded in an mbuf chain.
52 * Added new Rx checksum flags in mbufs to describe more states: unknown,
53 good, bad, or not present (useful for virtual drivers). This modification
54 was done for IP and L4.
55 * Added a new RX LRO mbuf flag, used when packets are coalesced. This
56 flag indicates that the segment size of original packets is known.
58 * **Added vhost-user dequeue zero copy support**
60 The copy in dequeue path is saved, which is meant to improve the performance.
61 In the VM2VM case, the boost is quite impressive. The bigger the packet size,
62 the bigger performance boost you may get. However, for VM2NIC case, there
63 are some limitations, yet the boost is not that impressive as VM2VM case.
64 It may even drop quite a bit for small packets.
66 For such reason, this feature is disabled by default. It can be enabled when
67 ``RTE_VHOST_USER_DEQUEUE_ZERO_COPY`` flag is given. Check the vhost section
68 at programming guide for more information.
70 * **Added vhost-user indirect descriptors support.**
72 If indirect descriptor feature is negotiated, each packet sent by the guest
73 will take exactly one slot in the enqueue virtqueue. Without the feature, in
74 current version, even 64 bytes packets take two slots with Virtio PMD on guest
77 The main impact is better performance for 0% packet loss use-cases, as it
78 behaves as if the virtqueue size was enlarged, so more packets can be buffered
79 in case of system perturbations. On the downside, small performance degradation
80 is measured when running micro-benchmarks.
82 * **Added vhost PMD xstats.**
84 Added extended statistics to vhost PMD from per port perspective.
86 * **Supported offloads with virtio.**
92 * **Added virtio NEON support for ARM.**
94 * **Updated the ixgbe base driver.**
96 Updated the ixgbe base driver, including the following changes:
98 * add X550em_a 10G PHY support
99 * support flow control auto negotiation for X550em_a 1G PHY
100 * add X550em_a FW ALEF support
101 * increase mailbox version to ixgbe_mbox_api_13
102 * add two MAC ops for Hyper-V support
104 * **Updated the QAT PMD.**
106 The QAT PMD was updated with following support:
109 * SHA224-HMAC algorithm
110 * SHA384-HMAC algorithm
112 * KASUMI (F8 and F9) algorithm
118 * **Added openssl PMD.**
120 A new crypto PMD has been added, which provides several ciphering and hashing.
121 All cryptography operations are using Openssl library crypto API.
123 * **Updated the IPsec example with following support:**
126 * AES CBC IV generation with cipher forward function
129 * **Added support for new gcc -march option.**
131 The GCC 4.9 ``-march`` option supports the Intel processor code names.
132 The config option ``RTE_MACHINE`` can be used to pass code names to the compiler as ``-march`` flag.
138 .. This section should contain bug fixes added to the relevant sections. Sample format:
140 * **code/section Fixed issue in the past tense with a full stop.**
142 Add a short 1-2 sentence description of the resolved issue in the past tense.
143 The title should contain the code/lib section like a commit message.
144 Add the entries in alphabetic order in the relevant sections below.
146 This section is a comment. Make sure to start the actual text at the margin.
172 .. This section should contain new known issues in this release. Sample format:
174 * **Add title in present tense with full stop.**
176 Add a short 1-2 sentence description of the known issue in the present
177 tense. Add information on any known workarounds.
179 This section is a comment. Make sure to start the actual text at the margin.
185 .. This section should contain API changes. Sample format:
187 * Add a short 1-2 sentence description of the API change. Use fixed width
188 quotes for ``rte_function_names`` or ``rte_struct_names``. Use the past tense.
190 This section is a comment. Make sure to start the actual text at the margin.
192 * The driver names have been changed. It especially impacts ``--vdev`` arguments.
193 Examples: ``eth_pcap`` becomes ``net_pcap``
194 and ``cryptodev_aesni_mb_pmd`` becomes ``crypto_aesni_mb``.
196 * The log history is removed.
198 * The ``rte_ivshmem`` feature (including library and EAL code) has been removed
199 in 16.11 because it had some design issues which were not planned to be fixed.
201 * The ``file_name`` data type of ``struct rte_port_source_params`` and
202 ``struct rte_port_sink_params`` is changed from `char *`` to ``const char *``.
204 * **Improved device/driver hierarchy and generalized hotplugging**
206 Device and driver relationship has been restructured by introducing generic
207 classes. This paves way for having PCI, VDEV and other device types as
208 just instantiated objects rather than classes in themselves. Hotplugging too
209 has been generalized into EAL so that ethernet or crypto devices can use the
210 common infrastructure.
212 * removed ``pmd_type`` as way of segregation of devices
213 * moved ``numa_node`` and ``devargs`` into ``rte_driver`` from
214 ``rte_pci_driver``. These can now be used by any instantiated object of
216 * added ``rte_device`` class and all PCI and VDEV devices inherit from it
217 * renamed devinit/devuninit handlers to probe/remove to make it more
218 semantically correct with respect to device<=>driver relationship
219 * moved hotplugging support to EAL. Hereafter, PCI and vdev can use the
220 APIs ``rte_eal_dev_attach`` and ``rte_eal_dev_detach``.
221 * helpers and support macros have been renamed to make them more synonymous
222 with their device types
223 (e.g. ``PMD_REGISTER_DRIVER`` => ``RTE_PMD_REGISTER_PCI``)
224 * Device naming functions have been generalized from ethdev and cryptodev
225 to EAL. ``rte_eal_pci_device_name`` has been introduced for obtaining
226 unique device name from PCI Domain-BDF description.
227 * Virtual device registration APIs have been added: ``rte_eal_vdrv_register``
228 and ``rte_eal_vdrv_unregister``.
234 .. This section should contain ABI changes. Sample format:
236 * Add a short 1-2 sentence description of the ABI change that was announced in
237 the previous releases and made in this release. Use fixed width quotes for
238 ``rte_function_names`` or ``rte_struct_names``. Use the past tense.
240 This section is a comment. Make sure to start the actual text at the margin.
244 Shared Library Versions
245 -----------------------
247 .. Update any library version updated in this release and prepend with a ``+``
252 + librte_cfgfile.so.2
257 The libraries prepended with a plus sign were incremented in this version.
264 + librte_cryptodev.so.2
265 librte_distributor.so.1
295 .. This section should contain a list of platforms that were tested with this release.
304 This section is a comment. Make sure to start the actual text at the margin.
310 .. This section should contain a list of NICs that were tested with this release.
319 This section is a comment. Make sure to start the actual text at the margin.
325 .. This section should contain a list of OSes that were tested with this release.
326 The format is as follows, in alphabetical order:
332 * Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.2
333 * SUSE Enterprise Linux 12
338 This section is a comment. Make sure to start the actual text at the margin.