Driver Optimisation and DPDK Porting
Explore how we redesigned legacy drivers and ported DPDK to proprietary hardware to increase throughput and reliability.
CHALLENGE
A memory manufacturer’s advanced computing group, faced performance bottlenecks and outdated device‑driver code in hardware accelerators and memory subsystems. We inherited legacy device‑driver code riddled with memory leaks and inefficient kernel descriptors. Leadership later asked the team to evaluate the Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) on proprietary hardware, a high‑risk task that senior staff declined.
SOLUTION
Using Valgrind to diagnose leaks, we redesigned the driver to double‑buffer descriptors via interrupts, letting the host queue work while the FPGA processed current data. This delivered a 20 % throughput improvement. When the DPDK project emerged, we volunteered, collaborated with Xilinx to fix firmware and driver bugs, and ported DPDK to the client’s hardware.
Impact
The driver optimization built trust and improved performance, and the DPDK proof‑of‑concept secured a high‑volume partnership. Together, these initiatives demonstrate our bias for action and ability to bridge software and hardware.
