[EXTERNAL] [PATCH v2 5/6] crypto/dpaa2_sec: add support for env variables

[Gagandeep Singh]

Hi,


NXP Confidential
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Akhil Goyal <gakhil at marvell.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 6, 2026 12:08 AM
> To: Gagandeep Singh <G.Singh at nxp.com>; dev at dpdk.org
> Cc: Hemant Agrawal <hemant.agrawal at nxp.com>; Stephen Hemminger
> <stephen at networkplumber.org>
> Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] [PATCH v2 5/6] crypto/dpaa2_sec: add support for env
> variables
>
> > Allow driver configuration via environment variables as a fallback
> > when devargs are not provided. After processing devargs (or when
> > devargs are absent), check DRIVER_STRICT_ORDER and DRIVER_DUMP_MODE
> > environment variables to set en_loose_ordered and dpaa2_sec_dp_dump.
> >
> > This lets users configure the driver without modifying EAL arguments,
> > useful in environments where command-line access is restricted.
> >
> > Signed-off-by: Gagandeep Singh <g.singh at nxp.com>
> > ---
> >  doc/guides/cryptodevs/dpaa2_sec.rst         | 12 ++++++++-
> >  drivers/crypto/dpaa2_sec/dpaa2_sec_dpseci.c | 27
> > ++++++++++++++++++---
> >  2 files changed, 34 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)
> >
> > diff --git a/doc/guides/cryptodevs/dpaa2_sec.rst
> > b/doc/guides/cryptodevs/dpaa2_sec.rst
> > index f95c6282bb..925d3371bf 100644
> > --- a/doc/guides/cryptodevs/dpaa2_sec.rst
> > +++ b/doc/guides/cryptodevs/dpaa2_sec.rst
> > @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
> >  ..  SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
> > -    Copyright 2016 NXP
> > +    Copyright 2016,2026 NXP
> >
> >
> >
> > @@ -188,9 +188,19 @@ along with other useful debugging information
> > like session, queue, descriptor  data.
> >  e.g. ``fslmc:dpseci.1,drv_dump_mode=1``
> >
> > +Alternatively, set the environment variable ``drv_dump_mode`` to the
> > +desired mode value. The environment variable is used as a fallback
> > +when the devarg is not provided, which is useful in production
> > +environments where modifying EAL command-line arguments is not practical.
> > +e.g. ``export drv_dump_mode=1``
> > +
>
> I think Stephen has pointed out that this is bad precedent.
> DPDK has already a way to configure to avoid env variables.
> It is not clear why we need this?
> While there is a way to set env variable, but cannot change command line args?
> Is this a debug thing?

This is mainly intended for debug/diagnostic use. Many of our customers do not expose DPDK command-line arguments and instead use a fixed set of EAL parameters built into the application or deployment framework. In such cases, an environment variable provides a simple way to enable temporary diagnostics in the fields.

That said, I understand the concern about introducing an alternative configuration mechanism. If the preference is to keep configuration strictly through devargs, I can remove this patch.