DPDK Summit North America 2018

Windows support for DPDK was announced at the DPDK North America summit in November 2017. Since then, the code has been made available in a 'draft' repo at dpdk.org. The software stack for DPDK on Windows is similar to that on other operating systems, including the use of a Linux-style UIO driver to obtain access to the networking device. The use of a UIO driver in Windows is problematic from a multi-user/multi-process security point of view. It cannot be certified and signed independently by DPDK consumers. Windows certification is minimal as it does not fully utilize the capabilities of the networking device.

This presentation introduces a miniport pass-through Windows driver that exposes the device to a user-space application which can concurrently support DPDK and standard network functions in a shared and secure manner. These enhanced and Windows Logo certifiable network drivers will contain all standard functions while exposing a subset of resources for DPDK through two models: first a bifurcated model for devices with minimal resources and secondly, a multi-process/multi-user secure model for server grade NICs.

Lastly, this presentation will also touch upon the current status of DPDK on Windows and the future roadmap.