+Depending on system constraints and user preferences either RDMA core library
+with a recent enough Linux kernel release (recommended) or Mellanox OFED,
+which provides compatibility with older releases.
+
+Current RDMA core package and Linux kernel (recommended)
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+- Minimal Linux kernel version: 4.14.
+- Minimal RDMA core version: v15 (see `RDMA core installation documentation`_).
+
+- Starting with rdma-core v21, static libraries can be built::
+
+ cd build
+ CFLAGS=-fPIC cmake -DIN_PLACE=1 -DENABLE_STATIC=1 -GNinja ..
+ ninja
+
+.. _`RDMA core installation documentation`: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/linux-rdma/rdma-core/master/README.md
+
+.. _Mellanox_OFED_as_a_fallback:
+
+Mellanox OFED as a fallback
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+- `Mellanox OFED`_ version: **4.4, 4.5, 4.6**.
+- firmware version: **2.42.5000** and above.
+
+.. _`Mellanox OFED`: http://www.mellanox.com/page/products_dyn?product_family=26&mtag=linux_sw_drivers
+
+.. note::
+
+ Several versions of Mellanox OFED are available. Installing the version
+ this DPDK release was developed and tested against is strongly
+ recommended. Please check the `prerequisites`_.
+
+Installing Mellanox OFED
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+1. Download latest Mellanox OFED.
+
+2. Install the required libraries and kernel modules either by installing
+ only the required set, or by installing the entire Mellanox OFED:
+
+ For bare metal use::
+
+ ./mlnxofedinstall --dpdk --upstream-libs
+
+ For SR-IOV hypervisors use::
+
+ ./mlnxofedinstall --dpdk --upstream-libs --enable-sriov --hypervisor
+
+ For SR-IOV virtual machine use::
+
+ ./mlnxofedinstall --dpdk --upstream-libs --guest
+
+3. Verify the firmware is the correct one::
+
+ ibv_devinfo
+
+4. Set all ports links to Ethernet, follow instructions on the screen::
+
+ connectx_port_config
+
+5. Continue with :ref:`section 2 of the Quick Start Guide <QSG_2>`.
+
+.. _qsg:
+
+Quick Start Guide
+-----------------
+
+1. Set all ports links to Ethernet::
+
+ PCI=<NIC PCI address>
+ echo eth > "/sys/bus/pci/devices/$PCI/mlx4_port0"
+ echo eth > "/sys/bus/pci/devices/$PCI/mlx4_port1"
+
+ .. note::
+
+ If using Mellanox OFED one can permanently set the port link
+ to Ethernet using connectx_port_config tool provided by it.
+ :ref:`Mellanox_OFED_as_a_fallback`:
+
+.. _QSG_2:
+
+2. In case of bare metal or hypervisor, configure optimized steering mode
+ by adding the following line to ``/etc/modprobe.d/mlx4_core.conf``::
+
+ options mlx4_core log_num_mgm_entry_size=-7
+
+ .. note::
+
+ If VLAN filtering is used, set log_num_mgm_entry_size=-1.
+ Performance degradation can occur on this case.
+
+3. Restart the driver::
+
+ /etc/init.d/openibd restart
+
+ or::
+
+ service openibd restart
+
+4. Install DPDK and you are ready to go.
+ See :doc:`compilation instructions <../linux_gsg/build_dpdk>`.
+
+Performance tuning
+------------------
+
+1. Verify the optimized steering mode is configured::
+
+ cat /sys/module/mlx4_core/parameters/log_num_mgm_entry_size
+
+2. 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.
+
+3. 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.
+
+4. Disable pause frames::
+
+ ethtool -A <netdev> rx off tx off
+
+5. 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.
+
+6. 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.
+