DPDK Summit 2026

DPDK-based routing stacks often integrate with Linux by using the kernel as the primary routing and control point, with routing state mirrored into a userspace dataplane. While effective, this model couples the dataplane closely to kernel routing semantics.

This talk explores an alternative architectural approach: treating the DPDK dataplane itself as the routing data plane. Grout is designed to integrate directly with FRRouting (FRR), with routes programmed from FRR straight into Grout, without requiring a kernel FIB.

Using FRR’s dataplane (dplane) API, we developed a Zebra dataplane plugin that intercepts routing operations before kernel installation and translates routes, nexthops, addresses, and VRF information into Grout API calls. This avoids kernel-to-userspace route synchronization and simplifies control/data-plane interactions.

TAP and TUN interfaces provide Linux connectivity for FRR protocol daemons (BGP, OSPF, IS-IS), while packet forwarding remains in DPDK. We also discuss VRF integration, including mapping Linux VRF identifiers to Grout VRF IDs, and present a reusable design pattern for integrating FRR with DPDK-based routing data planes.