--- doc/guides/getting_started_guide/glossary.rst | 75 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 75 insertions(+) create mode 100644 doc/guides/getting_started_guide/glossary.rst
diff --git a/doc/guides/getting_started_guide/glossary.rst b/doc/guides/getting_started_guide/glossary.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..7fcfe16f38 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/guides/getting_started_guide/glossary.rst @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@ +.. SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause + Copyright(c) 2010-2025 Intel Corporation. + +Glossary +======== + +This glossary provides definitions for key terms and concepts used within DPDK. Understanding these terms will help in comprehending the functionality and architecture of DPDK. + +**BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)** + +The firmware used to perform hardware initialization during the booting process and to provide runtime services for operating systems and programs. + +**Bifurcated Driver** + +A driver model that splits functionality between kernel and userspace, often used in high-performance networking. + +**Clang-LLVM** + +A compiler toolchain that includes the Clang C compiler and LLVM linker, used for building DPDK on Windows. + +**contigmem Module** + +A module in FreeBSD that provides physically contiguous memory allocation used by DPDK. + +**DMA (Direct Memory Access)** + +A feature that allows hardware devices to access the main system memory directly, without involving the CPU. + +**EAL (Environment Abstraction Layer)** + +The layer within DPDK that abstracts environmental specifics and provides a standard programming interface. + +**hugepages** + +Large memory pages used by the operating system to manage memory more efficiently, especially in high-performance applications like DPDK. + +**IOMMU (Input-Output Memory Management Unit)** + +A hardware component that translates device-visible virtual addresses to physical addresses, providing memory protection and isolation. + +**MinGW-w64 Toolchain** + +A development environment for creating Windows applications, used as an option for compiling DPDK on Windows. + +**NIC (Network Interface Card)** + +A hardware component that connects a computer to a network. + +**nic_uio Module** + +A UIO driver for network devices in FreeBSD, used by DPDK. + +**NUMA (Non-Uniform Memory Access)** + +A computer memory design used in multiprocessing where the memory access time depends on the memory location relative to the processor. + +**PMD (POLL Mode Driver)** + +A type of driver in DPDK that continuously polls for events rather than relying on interrupts, often used for high-performance networking. + +**SoC (System on a Chip)** + +An integrated circuit that integrates all components of a computer or other electronic system into a single chip. + +**UIO (Userspace I/O)** + +A Linux kernel module that enables user-space applications to access hardware devices directly. + +**VFIO (Virtual Function I/O)** + +A kernel driver that allows a virtual machine to access physical devices directly, used in DPDK for device assignment. + +**VFIO Platform** + +A framework in Linux that allows exposing direct device access to userspace, in a secure, IOMMU-protected way. \ No newline at end of file -- 2.41.0.windows.1
