[dpdk-users] Capturing Pause Frames in DPDK Applications

[dpdk-users] Capturing Pause Frames in DPDK Applications

[Alireza Sanaee]

Dear all,

I'm wondering that if there is any chances to pass pause frames through 
a NIC and receive it in the DPDK application? Is there any ideas to 
practically make this modification?

I have read that Pause Frames are being consumed at ASIC level so it 
would not be possible to pass the frame to CPU. In that case, I'm just 
thinking of creating an artificial pause frame on arrival of a real 
Ethernet pause frame and push the artificial one to software, it might 
be crazy though but still capturing arrival event of an Ethernet pause 
frame remains a challenge.

In a DPDK less scenario, I'm thinking if a packet sniffer like Wireshark 
can capture a pause frame, then it means NIC is sending pause frames to 
higher layers I believe. Likewise in the DPDK scenario I should be able 
to see the pause frames maybe in the PMD driver?

Thanks,
Alireza

Re: [dpdk-users] Capturing Pause Frames in DPDK Applications

[Jim Thompson]

> On Apr 21, 2020, at 10:50 PM, Alireza Sanaee <sarsanaee@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Dear all,
> 
> I'm wondering that if there is any chances to pass pause frames through a NIC and receive it in the DPDK application? Is there any ideas to practically make this modification?
> 
> I have read that Pause Frames are being consumed at ASIC level so it would not be possible to pass the frame to CPU. In that case, I'm just thinking of creating an artificial pause frame on arrival of a real Ethernet pause frame and push the artificial one to software, it might be crazy though but still capturing arrival event of an Ethernet pause frame remains a challenge.
> 
> In a DPDK less scenario, I'm thinking if a packet sniffer like Wireshark can capture a pause frame, then it means NIC is sending pause frames to higher layers I believe. Likewise in the DPDK scenario I should be able to see the pause frames maybe in the PMD driver?
> 
> Thanks,
> Alireza

Alireza,

What you seek is documented.

https://doc.dpdk.org/dts/test_plans/link_flowctrl_test_plan.html <https://doc.dpdk.org/dts/test_plans/link_flowctrl_test_plan.html>

testpmd> set mac_ctrl_frame_fwd on


Not all PMDs support this setting, though igb and i40e do.