Hi Andrew Thursday, February 8, 2018 5:03 AM, Andrew Theurer: > My understanding is that the vfio-pci kernel module cannot be loaded for > Mellanox adapters, and the mlx5_core must stay loaded in the kernel. Does > that mean there is no IOMMU used?
Yes, the chip set IOMMU is not being used. it can be used, but this is not a strict requirement to enforce memory protection. Memory protection and isolation are enforced by the kernel driver and the device. Mellanox devices has translation engine from VA->PA for registered addresses. The PMD is working with VA, and registering them to the device through mlx5_core which enforce the protection, pin the memory (If needed) and provide the PA to the device. > > Thanks, > > -Andrew
