doc: clarify libnuma requirement for NUMA systems

[dpdk.git] / doc / guides / linux_gsg / sys_reqs.rst

diff --git a/doc/guides/linux_gsg/sys_reqs.rst b/doc/guides/linux_gsg/sys_reqs.rst
index 5ff740f..d0cb66f 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/guides/linux_gsg/sys_reqs.rst
+++ b/doc/guides/linux_gsg/sys_reqs.rst
@@ -1,32 +1,5 @@
-..  BSD LICENSE
-    Copyright(c) 2010-2014 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.
-    All rights reserved.
-
-    Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
-    modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
-    are met:
-
-    * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
-    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
-    * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
-    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in
-    the documentation and/or other materials provided with the
-    distribution.
-    * Neither the name of Intel Corporation nor the names of its
-    contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived
-    from this software without specific prior written permission.
-
-    THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
-    "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
-    LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR
-    A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT
-    OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
-    SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT
-    LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,
-    DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY
-    THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
-    (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE
-    OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
+..  SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+    Copyright(c) 2010-2014 Intel Corporation.

 
 System Requirements
 ===================
 
 System Requirements
 ===================


@@ -61,8 +34,8 @@ Compilation of the DPDK
 
 .. note::
 
 
 .. note::
 

-    Testing has been performed using Fedora 18. The setup commands and installed packages needed on other systems may be different.
-    For details on other Linux distributions and the versions tested, please consult the DPDK Release Notes.
+    The setup commands and installed packages needed on various systems may be different.
+    For details on Linux distributions and the versions tested, please consult the DPDK Release Notes.

 
 *   GNU ``make``.
 
 
 *   GNU ``make``.
 


@@ -91,7 +64,20 @@ Compilation of the DPDK
        x86_x32 ABI is currently supported with distribution packages only on Ubuntu
        higher than 13.10 or recent Debian distribution. The only supported  compiler is gcc 4.9+.
 
        x86_x32 ABI is currently supported with distribution packages only on Ubuntu
        higher than 13.10 or recent Debian distribution. The only supported  compiler is gcc 4.9+.
 

-*   libnuma-devel - library for handling NUMA (Non Uniform Memory Access).
+*   Library for handling NUMA (Non Uniform Memory Access).
+
+    * numactl-devel in Red Hat/Fedora;
+
+    * libnuma-dev in Debian/Ubuntu;
+
+    .. note::
+
+        On systems with NUMA support, `libnuma-dev` (aka `numactl-devel`)
+        is a recommended dependency when `--legacy-mem` switch is used,
+        and a *required* dependency if default memory mode is used.
+        While DPDK will compile and run without `libnuma`
+        even on NUMA-enabled systems,
+        both usability and performance will be degraded.

 
 *   Python, version 2.7+ or 3.2+, to use various helper scripts included in the DPDK package.
 
 
 *   Python, version 2.7+ or 3.2+, to use various helper scripts included in the DPDK package.
 


@@ -121,10 +107,11 @@ System Software
 
 **Required:**
 
 
 **Required:**
 

-*   Kernel version >= 3.2
+*   Kernel version >= 3.16

 
     The kernel version required is based on the oldest long term stable kernel available
     at kernel.org when the DPDK version is in development.
 
     The kernel version required is based on the oldest long term stable kernel available
     at kernel.org when the DPDK version is in development.

+    Compatibility for recent distribution kernels will be kept, notably RHEL/CentOS 7.

 
     The kernel version in use can be checked using the command::
 
 
     The kernel version in use can be checked using the command::
 


@@ -210,12 +197,6 @@ On a NUMA machine, pages should be allocated explicitly on separate nodes::
 
     For 1G pages, it is not possible to reserve the hugepage memory after the system has booted.
 
 
     For 1G pages, it is not possible to reserve the hugepage memory after the system has booted.
 

-    On IBM POWER system, the nr_overcommit_hugepages should be set to the same value as nr_hugepages.
-    For example, if the required page number is 128, the following commands are used::
-
-        echo 128 > /sys/kernel/mm/hugepages/hugepages-16384kB/nr_hugepages
-        echo 128 > /sys/kernel/mm/hugepages/hugepages-16384kB/nr_overcommit_hugepages
-

 Using Hugepages with the DPDK
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
 Using Hugepages with the DPDK
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^