[dpdk-dev,3/4] virtio: use indirect ring elements

Message ID 1441400308-5725-4-git-send-email-stephen@networkplumber.org (mailing list archive)
State Superseded, archived
Headers

Commit Message

Stephen Hemminger Sept. 4, 2015, 8:58 p.m. UTC
  The virtio ring in QEMU/KVM is usually limited to 256 entries
and the normal way that virtio driver was queuing mbufs required
nsegs + 1 ring elements. By using the indirect ring element feature
if available, each packet will take only one ring slot even for
multi-segment packets.

Signed-off-by: Stephen Hemminger <stephen@networkplumber.org>
---
 drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c | 11 +++++---
 drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.h |  3 ++-
 drivers/net/virtio/virtio_rxtx.c   | 51 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------
 drivers/net/virtio/virtqueue.h     |  8 ++++++
 4 files changed, 57 insertions(+), 16 deletions(-)
  

Comments

Ouyang Changchun Sept. 6, 2015, 8:36 a.m. UTC | #1
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stephen Hemminger [mailto:stephen@networkplumber.org]
> Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2015 4:58 AM
> To: Xie, Huawei; Ouyang, Changchun
> Cc: dev@dpdk.org; Stephen Hemminger
> Subject: [PATCH 3/4] virtio: use indirect ring elements
> 
> The virtio ring in QEMU/KVM is usually limited to 256 entries and the normal
> way that virtio driver was queuing mbufs required nsegs + 1 ring elements.
> By using the indirect ring element feature if available, each packet will take
> only one ring slot even for multi-segment packets.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Stephen Hemminger <stephen@networkplumber.org>
> ---
>  drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c | 11 +++++---
> drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.h |  3 ++-
>  drivers/net/virtio/virtio_rxtx.c   | 51 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
> -------
>  drivers/net/virtio/virtqueue.h     |  8 ++++++
>  4 files changed, 57 insertions(+), 16 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c
> b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c
> index 465d3cd..bcfb87b 100644
> --- a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c
> +++ b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c
> @@ -359,12 +359,15 @@ int virtio_dev_queue_setup(struct rte_eth_dev
> *dev,
>  	if (queue_type == VTNET_TQ) {

Do we also need implement indirect ring elements for RX path?

>  		/*
>  		 * For each xmit packet, allocate a virtio_net_hdr
> +		 * and indirect ring elements
>  		 */
>  		snprintf(vq_name, sizeof(vq_name),
> "port%d_tvq%d_hdrzone",
> -			dev->data->port_id, queue_idx);
> -		vq->virtio_net_hdr_mz =
> rte_memzone_reserve_aligned(vq_name,
> -			vq_size * hw->vtnet_hdr_size,
> -			socket_id, 0, RTE_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
> +			 dev->data->port_id, queue_idx);
> +
> +		vq->virtio_net_hdr_mz =
> +			rte_memzone_reserve_aligned(vq_name,
> +						    vq_size * sizeof(struct
> virtio_tx_region),
> +						    socket_id, 0,
> RTE_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
>  		if (vq->virtio_net_hdr_mz == NULL) {
>  			if (rte_errno == EEXIST)
>  				vq->virtio_net_hdr_mz =
> diff --git a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.h
> b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.h
> index 9026d42..07a9265 100644
> --- a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.h
> +++ b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.h
> @@ -64,7 +64,8 @@
>  	 1u << VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_VQ	  |	\
>  	 1u << VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_RX	  |	\
>  	 1u << VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_VLAN	  |	\
> -	 1u << VIRTIO_NET_F_MRG_RXBUF)
> +	 1u << VIRTIO_NET_F_MRG_RXBUF     |	\
> +	 1u << VIRTIO_RING_F_INDIRECT_DESC)
> 
>  /*
>   * CQ function prototype
> diff --git a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_rxtx.c b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_rxtx.c
> index dbe6665..8979695 100644
> --- a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_rxtx.c
> +++ b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_rxtx.c
> @@ -199,14 +199,15 @@ virtqueue_enqueue_recv_refill(struct virtqueue
> *vq, struct rte_mbuf *cookie)  }
> 
>  static int
> -virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(struct virtqueue *txvq, struct rte_mbuf *cookie)
> +virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(struct virtqueue *txvq, struct rte_mbuf *cookie,
> +		       int use_indirect)
>  {
>  	struct vq_desc_extra *dxp;
>  	struct vring_desc *start_dp;
>  	uint16_t seg_num = cookie->nb_segs;
> -	uint16_t needed = 1 + seg_num;
> +	uint16_t needed = use_indirect ? 1 : 1 + seg_num;

Do we need check if seg_num > VIRTIO_MAX_TX_INDIRECT?
That mean one slot is not enough for the whole big packet even it is indirect ring.

>  	uint16_t head_idx, idx;
> -	uint16_t head_size = txvq->hw->vtnet_hdr_size;
> +	unsigned long offs;
> 
>  	if (unlikely(txvq->vq_free_cnt == 0))
>  		return -ENOSPC;
> @@ -220,11 +221,26 @@ virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(struct virtqueue *txvq,
> struct rte_mbuf *cookie)
>  	dxp = &txvq->vq_descx[idx];
>  	dxp->cookie = (void *)cookie;
>  	dxp->ndescs = needed;
> -
>  	start_dp = txvq->vq_ring.desc;
> -	start_dp[idx].addr =
> -		txvq->virtio_net_hdr_mem + idx * head_size;
> -	start_dp[idx].len = (uint32_t)head_size;
> +
> +	if (use_indirect) {
> +		offs = offsetof(struct virtio_tx_region, tx_indir)
> +			+ idx * sizeof(struct virtio_tx_region);
> +
> +		start_dp[idx].addr = txvq->virtio_net_hdr_mem + offs;
> +		start_dp[idx].len = sizeof(struct vring_desc);
> +		start_dp[idx].flags = VRING_DESC_F_INDIRECT;
> +
> +		start_dp = (struct vring_desc *)
> +			((char *)txvq->virtio_net_hdr_mz->addr + offs);
> +		idx = 0;
> +	}
> +
> +	offs = offsetof(struct virtio_tx_region, tx_hdr)
> +		+ idx * sizeof(struct virtio_tx_region);
> +
> +	start_dp[idx].addr = txvq->virtio_net_hdr_mem + offs;
> +	start_dp[idx].len = txvq->hw->vtnet_hdr_size;
>  	start_dp[idx].flags = VRING_DESC_F_NEXT;
> 
>  	for (; ((seg_num > 0) && (cookie != NULL)); seg_num--) { @@ -236,7
> +252,12 @@ virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(struct virtqueue *txvq, struct
> rte_mbuf *cookie)
>  	}
> 
>  	start_dp[idx].flags &= ~VRING_DESC_F_NEXT;
> -	idx = start_dp[idx].next;
> +
> +	if (use_indirect)
> +		idx = txvq->vq_ring.desc[head_idx].next;
> +	else
> +		idx = start_dp[idx].next;
> +
>  	txvq->vq_desc_head_idx = idx;
>  	if (txvq->vq_desc_head_idx == VQ_RING_DESC_CHAIN_END)
>  		txvq->vq_desc_tail_idx = idx;
> @@ -760,7 +781,15 @@ virtio_xmit_pkts(void *tx_queue, struct rte_mbuf
> **tx_pkts, uint16_t nb_pkts)
> 
>  	for (nb_tx = 0; nb_tx < nb_pkts; nb_tx++) {
>  		struct rte_mbuf *txm = tx_pkts[nb_tx];
> -		int need = txm->nb_segs - txvq->vq_free_cnt + 1;
> +		int use_indirect, slots, need;
> +
> +		use_indirect = vtpci_with_feature(txvq->hw,
> +
> VIRTIO_RING_F_INDIRECT_DESC)
> +			&& (txm->nb_segs < VIRTIO_MAX_TX_INDIRECT);
> +
> +		/* How many ring entries are needed to this Tx? */
> +		slots = use_indirect ? 1 : 1 + txm->nb_segs;
> +		need = slots - txvq->vq_free_cnt;
> 
>  		/* Positive value indicates it need free vring descriptors */
>  		if (need > 0) {
> @@ -769,7 +798,7 @@ virtio_xmit_pkts(void *tx_queue, struct rte_mbuf
> **tx_pkts, uint16_t nb_pkts)
>  			need = RTE_MIN(need, (int)nb_used);
> 
>  			virtio_xmit_cleanup(txvq, need);
> -			need = txm->nb_segs - txvq->vq_free_cnt + 1;
> +			need = slots - txvq->vq_free_cnt;
>  			if (unlikely(need > 0)) {
>  				PMD_TX_LOG(ERR,
>  					   "No free tx descriptors to transmit");
> @@ -787,7 +816,7 @@ virtio_xmit_pkts(void *tx_queue, struct rte_mbuf
> **tx_pkts, uint16_t nb_pkts)
>  		}
> 
>  		/* Enqueue Packet buffers */
> -		error = virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(txvq, txm);
> +		error = virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(txvq, txm, use_indirect);
>  		if (unlikely(error)) {
>  			if (error == ENOSPC)
>  				PMD_TX_LOG(ERR, "virtqueue_enqueue
> Free count = 0"); diff --git a/drivers/net/virtio/virtqueue.h
> b/drivers/net/virtio/virtqueue.h index 7789411..a9410b4 100644
> --- a/drivers/net/virtio/virtqueue.h
> +++ b/drivers/net/virtio/virtqueue.h
> @@ -237,6 +237,14 @@ struct virtio_net_hdr_mrg_rxbuf {
>  	uint16_t num_buffers; /**< Number of merged rx buffers */  };
> 
> +/* Region reserved to allow for transmit header and indirect ring */
> +#define VIRTIO_MAX_TX_INDIRECT 8 struct virtio_tx_region {
> +	struct virtio_net_hdr_mrg_rxbuf tx_hdr;
> +	struct vring_desc tx_indir[VIRTIO_MAX_TX_INDIRECT]
> +			   __attribute__((__aligned__(16))); };
> +
>  /**
>   * Tell the backend not to interrupt us.
>   */
> --
> 2.1.4
  
Ouyang Changchun Sept. 6, 2015, 8:40 a.m. UTC | #2
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stephen Hemminger [mailto:stephen@networkplumber.org]
> Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2015 4:58 AM
> To: Xie, Huawei; Ouyang, Changchun
> Cc: dev@dpdk.org; Stephen Hemminger
> Subject: [PATCH 3/4] virtio: use indirect ring elements
> 
> The virtio ring in QEMU/KVM is usually limited to 256 entries and the normal
> way that virtio driver was queuing mbufs required nsegs + 1 ring elements.
> By using the indirect ring element feature if available, each packet will take
> only one ring slot even for multi-segment packets.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Stephen Hemminger <stephen@networkplumber.org>
> ---
>  drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c | 11 +++++---
> drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.h |  3 ++-
>  drivers/net/virtio/virtio_rxtx.c   | 51 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
> -------
>  drivers/net/virtio/virtqueue.h     |  8 ++++++
>  4 files changed, 57 insertions(+), 16 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c
> b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c
> index 465d3cd..bcfb87b 100644
> --- a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c
> +++ b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c
> @@ -359,12 +359,15 @@ int virtio_dev_queue_setup(struct rte_eth_dev
> *dev,
>  	if (queue_type == VTNET_TQ) {
>  		/*
>  		 * For each xmit packet, allocate a virtio_net_hdr
> +		 * and indirect ring elements
>  		 */
>  		snprintf(vq_name, sizeof(vq_name),
> "port%d_tvq%d_hdrzone",
> -			dev->data->port_id, queue_idx);
> -		vq->virtio_net_hdr_mz =
> rte_memzone_reserve_aligned(vq_name,
> -			vq_size * hw->vtnet_hdr_size,
> -			socket_id, 0, RTE_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
> +			 dev->data->port_id, queue_idx);
> +
> +		vq->virtio_net_hdr_mz =
> +			rte_memzone_reserve_aligned(vq_name,
> +						    vq_size * sizeof(struct
> virtio_tx_region),
> +						    socket_id, 0,
> RTE_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
>  		if (vq->virtio_net_hdr_mz == NULL) {
>  			if (rte_errno == EEXIST)
>  				vq->virtio_net_hdr_mz =
> diff --git a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.h
> b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.h
> index 9026d42..07a9265 100644
> --- a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.h
> +++ b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.h
> @@ -64,7 +64,8 @@
>  	 1u << VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_VQ	  |	\
>  	 1u << VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_RX	  |	\
>  	 1u << VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_VLAN	  |	\
> -	 1u << VIRTIO_NET_F_MRG_RXBUF)
> +	 1u << VIRTIO_NET_F_MRG_RXBUF     |	\
> +	 1u << VIRTIO_RING_F_INDIRECT_DESC)
> 
>  /*
>   * CQ function prototype
> diff --git a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_rxtx.c b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_rxtx.c
> index dbe6665..8979695 100644
> --- a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_rxtx.c
> +++ b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_rxtx.c
> @@ -199,14 +199,15 @@ virtqueue_enqueue_recv_refill(struct virtqueue
> *vq, struct rte_mbuf *cookie)  }
> 
>  static int
> -virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(struct virtqueue *txvq, struct rte_mbuf *cookie)
> +virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(struct virtqueue *txvq, struct rte_mbuf *cookie,
> +		       int use_indirect)
>  {
>  	struct vq_desc_extra *dxp;
>  	struct vring_desc *start_dp;
>  	uint16_t seg_num = cookie->nb_segs;
> -	uint16_t needed = 1 + seg_num;
> +	uint16_t needed = use_indirect ? 1 : 1 + seg_num;
>  	uint16_t head_idx, idx;
> -	uint16_t head_size = txvq->hw->vtnet_hdr_size;
> +	unsigned long offs;
> 
>  	if (unlikely(txvq->vq_free_cnt == 0))
>  		return -ENOSPC;
> @@ -220,11 +221,26 @@ virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(struct virtqueue *txvq,
> struct rte_mbuf *cookie)
>  	dxp = &txvq->vq_descx[idx];
>  	dxp->cookie = (void *)cookie;
>  	dxp->ndescs = needed;
> -
>  	start_dp = txvq->vq_ring.desc;
> -	start_dp[idx].addr =
> -		txvq->virtio_net_hdr_mem + idx * head_size;
> -	start_dp[idx].len = (uint32_t)head_size;
> +
> +	if (use_indirect) {
> +		offs = offsetof(struct virtio_tx_region, tx_indir)
> +			+ idx * sizeof(struct virtio_tx_region);
> +
> +		start_dp[idx].addr = txvq->virtio_net_hdr_mem + offs;
> +		start_dp[idx].len = sizeof(struct vring_desc);

Should the length be N * sizeof(struct vring_desc)?

> +		start_dp[idx].flags = VRING_DESC_F_INDIRECT;
> +
> +		start_dp = (struct vring_desc *)
> +			((char *)txvq->virtio_net_hdr_mz->addr + offs);
> +		idx = 0;
> +	}
> +
> +	offs = offsetof(struct virtio_tx_region, tx_hdr)
> +		+ idx * sizeof(struct virtio_tx_region);
> +
> +	start_dp[idx].addr = txvq->virtio_net_hdr_mem + offs;
> +	start_dp[idx].len = txvq->hw->vtnet_hdr_size;
>  	start_dp[idx].flags = VRING_DESC_F_NEXT;
> 
>  	for (; ((seg_num > 0) && (cookie != NULL)); seg_num--) { @@ -236,7
> +252,12 @@ virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(struct virtqueue *txvq, struct
> rte_mbuf *cookie)
>  	}
> 
>  	start_dp[idx].flags &= ~VRING_DESC_F_NEXT;
> -	idx = start_dp[idx].next;
> +
> +	if (use_indirect)
> +		idx = txvq->vq_ring.desc[head_idx].next;
> +	else
> +		idx = start_dp[idx].next;
> +
>  	txvq->vq_desc_head_idx = idx;
>  	if (txvq->vq_desc_head_idx == VQ_RING_DESC_CHAIN_END)
>  		txvq->vq_desc_tail_idx = idx;
> @@ -760,7 +781,15 @@ virtio_xmit_pkts(void *tx_queue, struct rte_mbuf
> **tx_pkts, uint16_t nb_pkts)
> 
>  	for (nb_tx = 0; nb_tx < nb_pkts; nb_tx++) {
>  		struct rte_mbuf *txm = tx_pkts[nb_tx];
> -		int need = txm->nb_segs - txvq->vq_free_cnt + 1;
> +		int use_indirect, slots, need;
> +
> +		use_indirect = vtpci_with_feature(txvq->hw,
> +
> VIRTIO_RING_F_INDIRECT_DESC)
> +			&& (txm->nb_segs < VIRTIO_MAX_TX_INDIRECT);
> +
> +		/* How many ring entries are needed to this Tx? */
> +		slots = use_indirect ? 1 : 1 + txm->nb_segs;
> +		need = slots - txvq->vq_free_cnt;
> 
>  		/* Positive value indicates it need free vring descriptors */
>  		if (need > 0) {
> @@ -769,7 +798,7 @@ virtio_xmit_pkts(void *tx_queue, struct rte_mbuf
> **tx_pkts, uint16_t nb_pkts)
>  			need = RTE_MIN(need, (int)nb_used);
> 
>  			virtio_xmit_cleanup(txvq, need);
> -			need = txm->nb_segs - txvq->vq_free_cnt + 1;
> +			need = slots - txvq->vq_free_cnt;
>  			if (unlikely(need > 0)) {
>  				PMD_TX_LOG(ERR,
>  					   "No free tx descriptors to transmit");
> @@ -787,7 +816,7 @@ virtio_xmit_pkts(void *tx_queue, struct rte_mbuf
> **tx_pkts, uint16_t nb_pkts)
>  		}
> 
>  		/* Enqueue Packet buffers */
> -		error = virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(txvq, txm);
> +		error = virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(txvq, txm, use_indirect);
>  		if (unlikely(error)) {
>  			if (error == ENOSPC)
>  				PMD_TX_LOG(ERR, "virtqueue_enqueue
> Free count = 0"); diff --git a/drivers/net/virtio/virtqueue.h
> b/drivers/net/virtio/virtqueue.h index 7789411..a9410b4 100644
> --- a/drivers/net/virtio/virtqueue.h
> +++ b/drivers/net/virtio/virtqueue.h
> @@ -237,6 +237,14 @@ struct virtio_net_hdr_mrg_rxbuf {
>  	uint16_t num_buffers; /**< Number of merged rx buffers */  };
> 
> +/* Region reserved to allow for transmit header and indirect ring */
> +#define VIRTIO_MAX_TX_INDIRECT 8 struct virtio_tx_region {
> +	struct virtio_net_hdr_mrg_rxbuf tx_hdr;
> +	struct vring_desc tx_indir[VIRTIO_MAX_TX_INDIRECT]
> +			   __attribute__((__aligned__(16))); };
> +
>  /**
>   * Tell the backend not to interrupt us.
>   */
> --
> 2.1.4
  
Stephen Hemminger Sept. 6, 2015, 6:42 p.m. UTC | #3
On Sun, 6 Sep 2015 08:36:10 +0000
"Ouyang, Changchun" <changchun.ouyang@intel.com> wrote:

> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Stephen Hemminger [mailto:stephen@networkplumber.org]
> > Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2015 4:58 AM
> > To: Xie, Huawei; Ouyang, Changchun
> > Cc: dev@dpdk.org; Stephen Hemminger
> > Subject: [PATCH 3/4] virtio: use indirect ring elements
> > 
> > The virtio ring in QEMU/KVM is usually limited to 256 entries and the normal
> > way that virtio driver was queuing mbufs required nsegs + 1 ring elements.
> > By using the indirect ring element feature if available, each packet will take
> > only one ring slot even for multi-segment packets.
> > 
> > Signed-off-by: Stephen Hemminger <stephen@networkplumber.org>
> > ---
> >  drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c | 11 +++++---
> > drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.h |  3 ++-
> >  drivers/net/virtio/virtio_rxtx.c   | 51 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
> > -------
> >  drivers/net/virtio/virtqueue.h     |  8 ++++++
> >  4 files changed, 57 insertions(+), 16 deletions(-)
> > 
> > diff --git a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c
> > b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c
> > index 465d3cd..bcfb87b 100644
> > --- a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c
> > +++ b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c
> > @@ -359,12 +359,15 @@ int virtio_dev_queue_setup(struct rte_eth_dev
> > *dev,
> >  	if (queue_type == VTNET_TQ) {  
> 
> Do we also need implement indirect ring elements for RX path?

No. Look at Linux driver, indirect elements are never passed to RX driver.
  
Stephen Hemminger Sept. 6, 2015, 6:43 p.m. UTC | #4
On Sun, 6 Sep 2015 08:40:44 +0000
"Ouyang, Changchun" <changchun.ouyang@intel.com> wrote:

> > @@ -220,11 +221,26 @@ virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(struct virtqueue *txvq,
> > struct rte_mbuf *cookie)
> >  	dxp = &txvq->vq_descx[idx];
> >  	dxp->cookie = (void *)cookie;
> >  	dxp->ndescs = needed;
> > -
> >  	start_dp = txvq->vq_ring.desc;
> > -	start_dp[idx].addr =
> > -		txvq->virtio_net_hdr_mem + idx * head_size;
> > -	start_dp[idx].len = (uint32_t)head_size;
> > +
> > +	if (use_indirect) {
> > +		offs = offsetof(struct virtio_tx_region, tx_indir)
> > +			+ idx * sizeof(struct virtio_tx_region);
> > +
> > +		start_dp[idx].addr = txvq->virtio_net_hdr_mem + offs;
> > +		start_dp[idx].len = sizeof(struct vring_desc);  
> 
> Should the length be N * sizeof(struct vring_desc)?

Yes.
  
Thomas Monjalon Sept. 7, 2015, 7:24 a.m. UTC | #5
General comment after reading this page:
	http://dpdk.org/dev/patchwork/patch/6905/
Please remove useless context when replying to make answers shorter
and easier to read.
Thanks
  

Patch

diff --git a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c
index 465d3cd..bcfb87b 100644
--- a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c
+++ b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.c
@@ -359,12 +359,15 @@  int virtio_dev_queue_setup(struct rte_eth_dev *dev,
 	if (queue_type == VTNET_TQ) {
 		/*
 		 * For each xmit packet, allocate a virtio_net_hdr
+		 * and indirect ring elements
 		 */
 		snprintf(vq_name, sizeof(vq_name), "port%d_tvq%d_hdrzone",
-			dev->data->port_id, queue_idx);
-		vq->virtio_net_hdr_mz = rte_memzone_reserve_aligned(vq_name,
-			vq_size * hw->vtnet_hdr_size,
-			socket_id, 0, RTE_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
+			 dev->data->port_id, queue_idx);
+
+		vq->virtio_net_hdr_mz =
+			rte_memzone_reserve_aligned(vq_name,
+						    vq_size * sizeof(struct virtio_tx_region),
+						    socket_id, 0, RTE_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
 		if (vq->virtio_net_hdr_mz == NULL) {
 			if (rte_errno == EEXIST)
 				vq->virtio_net_hdr_mz =
diff --git a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.h b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.h
index 9026d42..07a9265 100644
--- a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.h
+++ b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_ethdev.h
@@ -64,7 +64,8 @@ 
 	 1u << VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_VQ	  |	\
 	 1u << VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_RX	  |	\
 	 1u << VIRTIO_NET_F_CTRL_VLAN	  |	\
-	 1u << VIRTIO_NET_F_MRG_RXBUF)
+	 1u << VIRTIO_NET_F_MRG_RXBUF     |	\
+	 1u << VIRTIO_RING_F_INDIRECT_DESC)
 
 /*
  * CQ function prototype
diff --git a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_rxtx.c b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_rxtx.c
index dbe6665..8979695 100644
--- a/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_rxtx.c
+++ b/drivers/net/virtio/virtio_rxtx.c
@@ -199,14 +199,15 @@  virtqueue_enqueue_recv_refill(struct virtqueue *vq, struct rte_mbuf *cookie)
 }
 
 static int
-virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(struct virtqueue *txvq, struct rte_mbuf *cookie)
+virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(struct virtqueue *txvq, struct rte_mbuf *cookie,
+		       int use_indirect)
 {
 	struct vq_desc_extra *dxp;
 	struct vring_desc *start_dp;
 	uint16_t seg_num = cookie->nb_segs;
-	uint16_t needed = 1 + seg_num;
+	uint16_t needed = use_indirect ? 1 : 1 + seg_num;
 	uint16_t head_idx, idx;
-	uint16_t head_size = txvq->hw->vtnet_hdr_size;
+	unsigned long offs;
 
 	if (unlikely(txvq->vq_free_cnt == 0))
 		return -ENOSPC;
@@ -220,11 +221,26 @@  virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(struct virtqueue *txvq, struct rte_mbuf *cookie)
 	dxp = &txvq->vq_descx[idx];
 	dxp->cookie = (void *)cookie;
 	dxp->ndescs = needed;
-
 	start_dp = txvq->vq_ring.desc;
-	start_dp[idx].addr =
-		txvq->virtio_net_hdr_mem + idx * head_size;
-	start_dp[idx].len = (uint32_t)head_size;
+
+	if (use_indirect) {
+		offs = offsetof(struct virtio_tx_region, tx_indir)
+			+ idx * sizeof(struct virtio_tx_region);
+
+		start_dp[idx].addr = txvq->virtio_net_hdr_mem + offs;
+		start_dp[idx].len = sizeof(struct vring_desc);
+		start_dp[idx].flags = VRING_DESC_F_INDIRECT;
+
+		start_dp = (struct vring_desc *)
+			((char *)txvq->virtio_net_hdr_mz->addr + offs);
+		idx = 0;
+	}
+
+	offs = offsetof(struct virtio_tx_region, tx_hdr)
+		+ idx * sizeof(struct virtio_tx_region);
+
+	start_dp[idx].addr = txvq->virtio_net_hdr_mem + offs;
+	start_dp[idx].len = txvq->hw->vtnet_hdr_size;
 	start_dp[idx].flags = VRING_DESC_F_NEXT;
 
 	for (; ((seg_num > 0) && (cookie != NULL)); seg_num--) {
@@ -236,7 +252,12 @@  virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(struct virtqueue *txvq, struct rte_mbuf *cookie)
 	}
 
 	start_dp[idx].flags &= ~VRING_DESC_F_NEXT;
-	idx = start_dp[idx].next;
+
+	if (use_indirect)
+		idx = txvq->vq_ring.desc[head_idx].next;
+	else
+		idx = start_dp[idx].next;
+
 	txvq->vq_desc_head_idx = idx;
 	if (txvq->vq_desc_head_idx == VQ_RING_DESC_CHAIN_END)
 		txvq->vq_desc_tail_idx = idx;
@@ -760,7 +781,15 @@  virtio_xmit_pkts(void *tx_queue, struct rte_mbuf **tx_pkts, uint16_t nb_pkts)
 
 	for (nb_tx = 0; nb_tx < nb_pkts; nb_tx++) {
 		struct rte_mbuf *txm = tx_pkts[nb_tx];
-		int need = txm->nb_segs - txvq->vq_free_cnt + 1;
+		int use_indirect, slots, need;
+
+		use_indirect = vtpci_with_feature(txvq->hw,
+						  VIRTIO_RING_F_INDIRECT_DESC)
+			&& (txm->nb_segs < VIRTIO_MAX_TX_INDIRECT);
+
+		/* How many ring entries are needed to this Tx? */
+		slots = use_indirect ? 1 : 1 + txm->nb_segs;
+		need = slots - txvq->vq_free_cnt;
 
 		/* Positive value indicates it need free vring descriptors */
 		if (need > 0) {
@@ -769,7 +798,7 @@  virtio_xmit_pkts(void *tx_queue, struct rte_mbuf **tx_pkts, uint16_t nb_pkts)
 			need = RTE_MIN(need, (int)nb_used);
 
 			virtio_xmit_cleanup(txvq, need);
-			need = txm->nb_segs - txvq->vq_free_cnt + 1;
+			need = slots - txvq->vq_free_cnt;
 			if (unlikely(need > 0)) {
 				PMD_TX_LOG(ERR,
 					   "No free tx descriptors to transmit");
@@ -787,7 +816,7 @@  virtio_xmit_pkts(void *tx_queue, struct rte_mbuf **tx_pkts, uint16_t nb_pkts)
 		}
 
 		/* Enqueue Packet buffers */
-		error = virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(txvq, txm);
+		error = virtqueue_enqueue_xmit(txvq, txm, use_indirect);
 		if (unlikely(error)) {
 			if (error == ENOSPC)
 				PMD_TX_LOG(ERR, "virtqueue_enqueue Free count = 0");
diff --git a/drivers/net/virtio/virtqueue.h b/drivers/net/virtio/virtqueue.h
index 7789411..a9410b4 100644
--- a/drivers/net/virtio/virtqueue.h
+++ b/drivers/net/virtio/virtqueue.h
@@ -237,6 +237,14 @@  struct virtio_net_hdr_mrg_rxbuf {
 	uint16_t num_buffers; /**< Number of merged rx buffers */
 };
 
+/* Region reserved to allow for transmit header and indirect ring */
+#define VIRTIO_MAX_TX_INDIRECT 8
+struct virtio_tx_region {
+	struct virtio_net_hdr_mrg_rxbuf tx_hdr;
+	struct vring_desc tx_indir[VIRTIO_MAX_TX_INDIRECT]
+			   __attribute__((__aligned__(16)));
+};
+
 /**
  * Tell the backend not to interrupt us.
  */