[RFC 0/3] ethdev: introduce device reinitialisation API

[Stephen Hemminger]

On Fri, 17 Oct 2025 11:11:06 +0000
Ciara Loftus <ciara.loftus at intel.com> wrote:

> This RFC arose from a discussion [1] around whether a generic API that
> performs device reset and reinitialisation would be useful. While the
> net effect of a call to such an API can be achieved with a sequence of
> calls to existing APIs (reset, configure, rx/tx queue_setup), the
> benefit of encapsulating this all under one API is twofold:
> 1. the burden is taken off the user for supplying the device
> configuration in the call, we use the existing device conf under the
> hood and only need the port_id as input.
> 2. it can prevent potential unnecessary/repeat reconfiguration steps.
> The PMD dev_reinit ops will only perform the necessary reconfiguration
> steps after the device reset.
> 
> Patch 1 implements the API, Patch 2 implements one example of the reinit
> op for the iavf driver and Patch 3 integrates the API into testpmd.
> 
> [1] https://mails.dpdk.org/archives/dev/2025-October/325386.html
> 
> Ciara Loftus (3):
>   ethdev: introduce device reinitialisation API
>   net/iavf: implement device reinitialisation callback
>   app/testpmd: support port reinitialisation


It is reasonable idea, but unfortunately eth_dev_ops is likely exposed enough
to applications that it could be an ABI change.

Also experimental symbol would have to be a 26.03 version.