Bruce,

Is the following Linux update correct per your feedback?

Linux
-----

To run DPDK applications without root privileges on Linux, perform the
following steps:

1. **Create a DPDK User Group**: Create a new user group for DPDK and add
the desired user to this group.

2. **Set Up Hugepages**: Configure hugepages for the user.

3. **Bind the NIC to a User-Space Driver**: Use the DPDK tool
``dpdk-devbind.py`` to bind the NIC to a user-space driver like
``vfio-pci`` or ``igb_uio``.

4. **Adjust Permissions for Specific Files and Directories**:

   - VFIO entries in ``/dev``, such as ``/dev/vfio/<id>``, where <id> is
the VFIO group to which a device used by DPDK belongs.
   - The hugepage mount directory, typically ``/dev/hugepages`` on many
distributions, or any alternative mount point configured by the user, e.g.,
``/mnt/huge``, ``/mnt/huge_1G``.

   Note: Running DPDK as non-root on Linux requires IOMMU support through
vfio.

5. **Run the DPDK Application**: Run the desired DPDK application as the
user who has been added to the DPDK group.

FreeBSD
-------

- The userspace-io device files in ``/dev``, for example, ``/dev/uio0``,
``/dev/uio1``, and so on
- The userspace contiguous memory device: ``/dev/contigmem``

Refer to the `DPDK Release Notes <
https://doc.dpdk.org/guides/rel_notes/index.html>`_ for supported
applications.

Thanks!
David Young
Professional Copywriter/Technical Writer
Young Copy
+1 (678) 500-9550
https://www.youngcopy.com


On Fri, Nov 3, 2023 at 11:24 AM Bruce Richardson <bruce.richardson@intel.com>
wrote:

> I haven't reviewed this whole file in detail, as I assume most content is
> copy-pasted from existing docs and so is correct. One comment inline below,
> though.
>
> /Bruce
>
> On Fri, Nov 03, 2023 at 12:01:51AM -0400, David Young wrote:
> > ---
> >  .../appendix/cross_compile_dpdk.rst           |  37 +++
> >  .../appendix/dpdk_meson_build_options.rst     |  57 ++++
> >  .../getting_started_guide/appendix/index.rst  |  17 +
> >  .../running_dpdk_apps_without_root.rst        |  36 +++
> >  .../appendix/vfio_advanced.rst                | 295 ++++++++++++++++++
> >  5 files changed, 442 insertions(+)
> >  create mode 100644
> doc/guides/getting_started_guide/appendix/cross_compile_dpdk.rst
> >  create mode 100644
> doc/guides/getting_started_guide/appendix/dpdk_meson_build_options.rst
> >  create mode 100644 doc/guides/getting_started_guide/appendix/index.rst
> >  create mode 100644
> doc/guides/getting_started_guide/appendix/running_dpdk_apps_without_root.rst
> >  create mode 100644
> doc/guides/getting_started_guide/appendix/vfio_advanced.rst
> >
> > diff --git
> a/doc/guides/getting_started_guide/appendix/cross_compile_dpdk.rst
> b/doc/guides/getting_started_guide/appendix/cross_compile_dpdk.rst
> > new file mode 100644
> > index 0000000000..3e4efe23a4
> > --- /dev/null
> > +++ b/doc/guides/getting_started_guide/appendix/cross_compile_dpdk.rst
> > @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
> > +..  SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
> > +    Copyright(c) 2010-2025 Intel Corporation.
> > +
> > +.. _cross_compile_dpdk:
> > +
> > +Cross-compiling DPDK for Different Architectures on Linux
> > +=========================================================
> > +
> > +Cross-compiling DPDK for different architectures follows a similar
> process. Here are the general steps:
> > +
> > +1. **Get Compiler and Libraries**: Obtain the cross-compiler toolchain
> and any required libraries specific to the target architecture.
> > +
> > +2. **Build Using Cross-File**: Use Meson to set up the build with a
> cross-file specific to the target architecture, and then build with Ninja.
> > +
> > +Prerequisites
> > +-------------
> > +
> > +- NUMA Library (if required)
> > +- Meson and Ninja
> > +- pkg-config for the target architecture
> > +- Specific GNU or LLVM/Clang toolchain for the target architecture
> > +
> > +Cross-Compiling DPDK
> > +--------------------
> > +
> > +1. **Set Up the Cross Toolchain**: Download and extract the toolchain
> for the target architecture. Add it to the PATH.
> > +
> > +2. **Compile Any Required Libraries**: Compile libraries like NUMA if
> required.
> > +
> > +3. **Cross-Compile DPDK with Meson**:
> > +
> > +   .. code-block:: bash
> > +
> > +      meson setup cross-build --cross-file
> <target_machine_configuration>
> > +      ninja -C cross-build
> > +
> > +Refer to the specific sections for ARM64, LoongArch, and RISC-V for
> detailed instructions and architecture-specific considerations.
> > \ No newline at end of file
> > diff --git
> a/doc/guides/getting_started_guide/appendix/dpdk_meson_build_options.rst
> b/doc/guides/getting_started_guide/appendix/dpdk_meson_build_options.rst
> > new file mode 100644
> > index 0000000000..6669f98371
> > --- /dev/null
> > +++
> b/doc/guides/getting_started_guide/appendix/dpdk_meson_build_options.rst
> > @@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
> > +..  SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
> > +    Copyright(c) 2010-2025 Intel Corporation.
> > +
> > +.. _dpdk_meson_build_options:
> > +
> > +DPDK Meson Build Configuration Options
> > +======================================
> > +
> > +DPDK provides a number of build configuration options that can be
> adjusted using the Meson build system. These options can be listed by
> running ``meson configure`` inside a configured build
> > +folder.
> > +
> > +Changing the Build Type
> > +-----------------------
> > +
> > +To change the build type from the default "release" to a regular
> "debug" build,
> > +you can either:
> > +
> > +- Pass ``-Dbuildtype=debug`` or ``--buildtype=debug`` to meson when
> configuring the build folder initially.
> > +- Run ``meson configure -Dbuildtype=debug`` inside the build folder
> after the initial meson run.
> > +
> > +Platform Options
> > +----------------
> > +
> > +The "platform" option specifies a set of configuration parameters that
> will be used.
> > +The valid values are:
> > +
> > +- ``-Dplatform=native`` will tailor the configuration to the build
> machine.
> > +- ``-Dplatform=generic`` will use configuration that works on all
> machines of the same architecture as the build machine.
> > +- ``-Dplatform=<SoC>`` will use configuration optimized for a
> particular SoC.
> > +
> > +Consult the "socs" dictionary in ``config/arm/meson.build`` to see
> which SoCs are supported.
> > +
> > +Overriding Platform Parameters
> > +------------------------------
> > +
> > +The values determined by the platform parameter may be overwritten. For
> example,
> > +to set the ``max_lcores`` value to 256, you can either:
> > +
> > +- Pass ``-Dmax_lcores=256`` to meson when configuring the build folder
> initially.
> > +- Run ``meson configure -Dmax_lcores=256`` inside the build folder
> after the initial meson run.
> > +
> > +Building Sample Applications
> > +----------------------------
> > +
> > +Some of the DPDK sample applications in the examples directory can be
> automatically built as
> > +part of a meson build. To do so, pass a comma-separated list of the
> examples to build to the
> > +``-Dexamples`` meson option as below::
> > +
> > +    meson setup -Dexamples=l2fwd,l3fwd build
> > +
> > +There is also a special value "all" to request that all example
> applications whose dependencies
> > +are met on the current system are built. When ``-Dexamples=all`` is set
> as a meson option,
> > +meson will check each example application to see if it can be built,
> and add all which can be
> > +built to the list of tasks in the ninja build configuration file.
> > +
> > +For a complete list of options, run ``meson configure`` inside your
> configured build
> > +folder.
> > \ No newline at end of file
> > diff --git a/doc/guides/getting_started_guide/appendix/index.rst
> b/doc/guides/getting_started_guide/appendix/index.rst
> > new file mode 100644
> > index 0000000000..23bb1fcf78
> > --- /dev/null
> > +++ b/doc/guides/getting_started_guide/appendix/index.rst
> > @@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
> > +..  SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
> > +    Copyright(c) 2010-2025 Intel Corporation.
> > +
> > +.. _appendix:
> > +
> > +Appendix
> > +========
> > +
> > +This section covers specific guides related to DPDK.
> > +
> > +.. toctree::
> > +    :maxdepth: 2
> > +
> > +    dpdk_meson_build_options
> > +    running_dpdk_apps_without_root
> > +    vfio_advanced
> > +    cross_compile_dpdk
> > \ No newline at end of file
> > diff --git
> a/doc/guides/getting_started_guide/appendix/running_dpdk_apps_without_root.rst
> b/doc/guides/getting_started_guide/appendix/running_dpdk_apps_without_root.rst
> > new file mode 100644
> > index 0000000000..9f214bbdc8
> > --- /dev/null
> > +++
> b/doc/guides/getting_started_guide/appendix/running_dpdk_apps_without_root.rst
> > @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
> > +..  SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
> > +    Copyright(c) 2010-2025 Intel Corporation.
> > +
> > +.. _running_dpdk_apps_without_root:
> > +
> > +Running DPDK Applications Without Root Privileges
> > +=================================================
> > +
> > +Although applications using the DPDK use network ports and other
> hardware resources
> > +directly, with a number of small permission adjustments,
> > +it is possible to run these applications as a user other than “root”.
> > +To do so, the ownership, or permissions, on the following file system
> objects should be
> > +adjusted so the user account being used to run the DPDK application has
> > +access to them:
> > +
>
> The text above implies that we would just be listing a set of files to
> change. For FreeBSD that is the case, but for Linux, not so much! :-)
>
> I'd change the linux section to be a similar list of files to FreeBSD:
>
> * VFIO entries in /dev, /dev/vfio/<id>, where id is the VFIO group to which
>   a device used by DPDK belongs.
> * the hugepage mount directory: /dev/hugepages on many distributions, or
>   any alternative mount point configured by the user, e.g. /mnt/huge,
>   /mnt/huge_1G
>
> We also need to note that to run as non-root on linux, you need to use DPDK
> with iommu support through vfio.
>
> > +Linux
> > +-----
> > +
> > +1. **Create a DPDK User Group**: Create a new user group for DPDK and
> add the desired user to this group.
> > +
> > +2. **Set Up Hugepages**: Configure hugepages for the user.
> > +
> > +3. **Bind the NIC to a User-Space Driver**: Use the DPDK tool
> ``dpdk-devbind.py`` to bind the NIC to a user-space driver like
> ``vfio-pci`` or ``igb_uio``.
> > +
> > +4. **Set Permissions for UIO/VFIO Devices**: Change the ownership and
> permissions of the UIO or VFIO devices to allow access by the DPDK user
> group.
> > +
> > +5. **Run the DPDK Application**: Run the desired DPDK application as
> the user who has been added to the DPDK group.
> > +
> > +FreeBSD
> > +-------
> > +
> > +- The userspace-io device files in ``/dev``, for example,
> ``/dev/uio0``, ``/dev/uio1``, and so on
> > +- The userspace contiguous memory device: ``/dev/contigmem``
> > +
> > +
> > +Refer to the `DPDK Release Notes <
> https://doc.dpdk.org/guides/rel_notes/index.html>`_ for supported
> applications.
>
> <snip for brevity>
>