RE: [lwip-users] Zero Copy Ethernet interface

[Goldschmidt Simon]

[re jifl's mail:]
> > For output:
> > I get passed a chain of pbufs:
> >  - Because I want to hang on to these until an interrupt 
> has fired, I
> >    guess I need to call pbuf_ref()?
> 
> [..]
> 
> For you, if you can impose a constraint on your applications 
> that they are not allowed to modify pbufs after transmission 
> (except to free them) then you can get away with just a 
> pbuf_ref() (and consequent pbuf_free() when the transmission 
> completes).
> 

Note that for UDP sockets, PBUF_REFs are used, so you also have
to make sure that socket applications don't change the buffer they
passed to lwip_send afterwards.


[re andrew's mail:]

> input_thread_loop:
>     pbuf_alloc() 1514 bytes
>     pass pbuf to driver and block waiting for packet then DMA from
device
>     pbuf_realloc() <- trim to actual length
>     netif->input()

Which pbuf type do you use here? If you use PBUF_POOL, then
pbuf_realloc()
effectively only adjuts the length information, so small packets still
waste
a significant amount of memory.

Simon