[PATCH net-next 00/11] net: devmem: support devmem with netkit devices

Bobby Eshleman
2026-04-28T22:42:10Z

This series enables TCP devmem TX through netkit devices.

Netkit now supports queue leasing. A physical NIC's RX queue can be
leased to a netkit guest interface inside a container namespace. This
gives the container a devmem-capable data path on the RX side (bind-rx,
etc...). On the TX side, the container process binds to its netkit guest
interface and sends traffic that netkit redirects (via BPF or ip
forwarding) to the physical NIC for DMA.

Two things in the existing devmem TX path prevent this from working:

1. validate_xmit_unreadable_skb() requires dev->netmem_tx before it will
forward a dmabuf-backed (unreadable) skb. This protects skbs from
landing on devices that don't have the IOMMU mappings for the backing
dmabuf or that don't speak netmem. Netkit, however, does not support
DMA, doesn't attempt to read unreadable skb pages and so doesn't
break netmem (it is pure skb routing and redirection). It is
functionally capable of routing unreadable skbs, but there is no way
for the TX validation pathway to distinguish between a device that
will actually attempt DMA-ing the skb and another device
(like netkit) that does not DMA but also does not break
netmem.

2. bind_tx_doit uses the bound device as the DMA device. When the user
binds devmem TX to the netkit guest, the bind handler attempts to
create DMA mappings against netkit, which has no DMA capability and
no IOMMU mappings.

This series solves these problems as follows:

1. Extend netmem_tx to two bits, assigned to one of three values:

NETMEM_TX_NONE - netmem not supported
NETMEM_TX_DMA - netmem supported and performs DMA
NETMEM_TX_NO_DMA - netmem supported, but does not DMA

With these bits, phys devices can set NETMEM_TX_DMA and devices like
netkit set NETMEM_TX_NO_DMA. The validation TX path ensures that any
DMA-capable netdev exactly matches the bound device, guarantee the
correct mapping of the bound dmabuf. The validation TX path also
allows devices with NETMEM_TX_NO_DMA to pass, knowing these devices
will not misuse netmem or run into IOMMU faults. After redirection or
routing and the skb finally makes its way through the stack to a
physical device's TX path, the above NETMEM_TX_DMA check is performed
again to guarantee the device has the appropriate binding/mappings.

2. On TX bind, the bind handler recognizes NETMEM_TX_NO_DMA devices and
finds the phys TX device and binds to that instead. For the netkit
case, if it has been leased a queue from a DMA-capable device
already, then the bind action is performed on the DMA-capable device
instead and the dmabuf is mapped correctly.

Signed-off-by: Bobby Eshleman <bobbyeshleman@meta.com>
---
Bobby Eshleman (11):
net: add netmem_tx modes that indicate dma capability
net: bnxt: convert netmem_tx from bool to NETMEM_TX_DMA enum
gve: convert netmem_tx from bool to NETMEM_TX_DMA enum
net/mlx5e: convert netmem_tx from bool to NETMEM_TX_DMA enum
eth: fbnic: convert netmem_tx from bool to NETMEM_TX_DMA enum
netkit: set NETMEM_TX_NO_DMA for unreadable skb passthrough
net: devmem: support TX over NETMEM_TX_NO_DMA devices
selftests: drv-net: ncdevmem: add -n flag to skip NIC configuration
selftests: drv-net: refactor devmem command builders into lib module
selftests: drv-net: add primary_rx_redirect support to NetDrvContEnv
selftests: drv-net: add netkit devmem tests

.../networking/net_cachelines/net_device.rst | 2 +-
Documentation/networking/netmem.rst | 8 +-
.../translations/zh_CN/networking/netmem.rst | 7 +-
drivers/net/ethernet/broadcom/bnxt/bnxt.c | 2 +-
drivers/net/ethernet/google/gve/gve_main.c | 2 +-
drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/en_main.c | 2 +-
drivers/net/ethernet/meta/fbnic/fbnic_netdev.c | 2 +-
drivers/net/netkit.c | 1 +
include/linux/netdevice.h | 11 +-
net/core/dev.c | 24 ++-
net/core/devmem.c | 6 +-
net/core/devmem.h | 9 +-
net/core/netdev-genl.c | 53 ++++-
tools/testing/selftests/drivers/net/hw/devmem.py | 73 +------
.../selftests/drivers/net/hw/lib/py/devmem.py | 215 +++++++++++++++++++++
tools/testing/selftests/drivers/net/hw/ncdevmem.c | 58 +++---
.../testing/selftests/drivers/net/hw/nk_devmem.py | 40 ++++
.../drivers/net/hw/nk_primary_rx_redirect.bpf.c | 41 ++++
tools/testing/selftests/drivers/net/lib/py/env.py | 67 +++++--
19 files changed, 498 insertions(+), 125 deletions(-)
---
base-commit: 790ead9394860e7d70c5e0e50a35b243e909a618
change-id: 20260423-tcp-dm-netkit-2bd78b638d30

Best regards,
--
Bobby Eshleman <bobbyeshleman@meta.com>