=============================
The MLX4 poll mode driver library (**librte_pmd_mlx4**) implements support
-for **Mellanox ConnectX-3** 10/40 Gbps adapters (EN 40, EN 10, Pro EN 40) as
-well as their virtual functions (VF) in SR-IOV context.
+for **Mellanox ConnectX-3** and **Mellanox ConnectX-3 Pro** 10/40 Gbps adapters
+as well as their virtual functions (VF) in SR-IOV context.
+
+Information and documentation about this family of adapters can be found on
+the `Mellanox website <http://www.mellanox.com>`_. Help is also provided by
+the `Mellanox community <http://community.mellanox.com/welcome>`_.
+
+There is also a `section dedicated to this poll mode driver
+<http://www.mellanox.com/page/products_dyn?product_family=209&mtag=pmd_for_dpdk>`_.
.. note::
Compiling librte_pmd_mlx4 causes DPDK to be linked against libibverbs.
-Features and limitations
-------------------------
+Features
+--------
- RSS, also known as RCA, is supported. In this mode the number of
configured RX queues must be a power of two.
- All multicast mode is supported.
- Multiple MAC addresses (unicast, multicast) can be configured.
- Scattered packets are supported for TX and RX.
+- Inner L3/L4 (IP, TCP and UDP) TX/RX checksum offloading and validation.
+- Outer L3 (IP) TX/RX checksum offloading and validation for VXLAN frames.
+- Secondary process TX is supported.
-..
+Limitations
+-----------
- RSS hash key cannot be modified.
+- RSS RETA cannot be configured
+- RSS always includes L3 (IPv4/IPv6) and L4 (UDP/TCP). They cannot be
+ dissociated.
- Hardware counters are not implemented (they are software counters).
-- Checksum offloads are not supported yet.
+- Secondary process RX is not supported.
Configuration
-------------
Compilation options
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+These options can be modified in the ``.config`` file.
+
- ``CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_MLX4_PMD`` (default **n**)
Toggle compilation of librte_pmd_mlx4 itself.
- **ethtool** operations on related kernel interfaces also affect the PMD.
+Kernel module parameters
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The **mlx4_core** kernel module has several parameters that affect the
+behavior and/or the performance of librte_pmd_mlx4. Some of them are described
+below.
+
+- **num_vfs** (integer or triplet, optionally prefixed by device address
+ strings)
+
+ Create the given number of VFs on the specified devices.
+
+- **log_num_mgm_entry_size** (integer)
+
+ Device-managed flow steering (DMFS) is required by DPDK applications. It is
+ enabled by using a negative value, the last four bits of which have a
+ special meaning.
+
+ - **-1**: force device-managed flow steering (DMFS).
+ - **-7**: configure optimized steering mode to improve performance with the
+ following limitation: VLAN filtering is not supported with this mode.
+ This is the recommended mode in case VLAN filter is not needed.
+
Prerequisites
-------------
- mlx4_ib: InifiniBand device driver.
- ib_uverbs: user space driver for verbs (entry point for libibverbs).
+- **Firmware update**
+
+ Mellanox OFED releases include firmware updates for ConnectX-3 adapters.
+
+ Because each release provides new features, these updates must be applied to
+ match the kernel modules and libraries they come with.
+
+.. note::
+
+ Both libraries are BSD and GPL licensed. Linux kernel modules are GPL
+ licensed.
+
+Currently supported by DPDK:
+
+- Mellanox OFED **4.0-1.0.1.0**.
+- Firmware version **2.40.5030**.
+- Supported architectures: **x86_64** and **POWER8**.
+
+Getting Mellanox OFED
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
While these libraries and kernel modules are available on OpenFabrics
-Aliance's `website <https://www.openfabrics.org/>`_ and provided by package
+Alliance's `website <https://www.openfabrics.org/>`_ and provided by package
managers on most distributions, this PMD requires Ethernet extensions that
may not be supported at the moment (this is a work in progress).
`Mellanox OFED
<http://www.mellanox.com/page/products_dyn?product_family=26&mtag=linux_sw_drivers>`_
includes the necessary support and should be used in the meantime. For DPDK,
-only libibverbs, libmlx4 and mlnx-ofed-kernel packages are required from
-that distribution.
+only libibverbs, libmlx4, mlnx-ofed-kernel packages and firmware updates are
+required from that distribution.
.. note::
- Both libraries are BSD and GPL licensed. Linux kernel modules are GPL
- licensed.
+ 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`_.
+
+Supported NICs
+--------------
+
+* Mellanox(R) ConnectX(R)-3 Pro 40G MCX354A-FCC_Ax (2*40G)
Usage example
-------------
modprobe -a ib_uverbs mlx4_en mlx4_core mlx4_ib
+ Alternatively if MLNX_OFED is fully installed, the following script can
+ be run:
+
+ .. code-block:: console
+
+ /etc/init.d/openibd restart
+
.. note::
User space I/O kernel modules (uio and igb_uio) are not used and do
.. code-block:: console
- testpmd -c 0xff00 -n 4 -w 0000:83:00.0 -w 0000:84:00.0 -- --rxq=2 --txq=2 -i
+ testpmd -l 8-15 -n 4 -w 0000:83:00.0 -w 0000:84:00.0 -- --rxq=2 --txq=2 -i
Example output:
git.droids-corp.org / dpdk.git / blobdiff