[dpdk-users] How to access SR-IOV devices from a DPDK application executing in a Docker container?

[Staffan Wiklund <staffan491@gmail.com>]

Hello

I wonder if you please can help me with a question related to execution of
a DPDK application in a Docker container?

In the DPDK documentation, Programmer's Guide, HowTo Guide, chapter 7, it
says
among other things "There are two use models of running DPDK inside
containers, as shown in Fig. 7.1"
Figure 7.1 shows two use models of running DPDK in a container. The first
use model is
called "slicing" where a DPDK application in a container access an SR-IOV
device directly
without using vSwitch or vRouter.

I wonder if you please can describe how this can be accomplished?
I wonder:

   1. Are there any specific requirements on the container so that it
   contains for example certain device drivers or fulfills any other specific
   requirement?
   2. If the PCI address of the SR-IOV VF device as seen in the host is
   provided to the DPDK application in the container, can this application
   access the SR-IOV VF device?
   3. Is there anything else that is needed to make it possible for a DPDK
   application in a Docker container to communicate via an SR-IOV VF device in
   the host?

Thanks in advance for your help
Staffan




<https://doc.dpdk.org/guides/howto/virtio_user_for_container_networking.html#figure-use-models-for-running-dpdk-in-containers>