QAT intree driver support on FreeBSD 14 for QATlib 23.09.0

[JZ8211]

We are trying to use QATlib version 23.9.0 on FreeBSD 14. It is not compatible with the intree driver. Does Intel has any plans to support the driver in the future ?

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi JZ8211,

Currently the QAT engine does not provide support for QAT_SW acceleration on FreeBSD*. However, we do offer support for QAT_HW acceleration on the FreeBSD14 driver through the use of the qatlib in-tree driver for FreeBSD.

For further details, please consult the documentation available at: https://github.com/intel/qatlib-freebsd?tab=readme-ov-file

Let me know if you need any additional information.

Regards,

Ronny G

[JZ8211]

Ronny,

Thank you for your prompt response.

We are exploring the use of QAT_HW accelerators for compression/decompression and encryption in our applications. For testing, we deployed QATlib v23.9.0 on FreeBSD 14 with Atom P5322 and Atom C5325 CPUs.

During validation, the cpa_sample_code test program returned the following error:
qaeMemInit started
icp_sal_userStartMultiProcess("SSL") started
There are no cr*pto instances
There are no compression instances Sample code completed successfully

Based on this output, it seems the QAT hardware in the Atom P5322 and C5325 may not be supported by the current QATlib FreeBSD version.

Could you confirm if this is a compatibility limitation? If so, does Intel plan to add driver support for these QAT devices in these CPUs  in future QATlib updates for FreeBSD ?

Best regards,

Jianhua Z.

[Ronny_G_Intel · Accepted solution]

Hi Jianhua,

Please refer to FreeBSD Supported Devices https://github.com/intel/qatlib-freebsd?tab=readme-ov-file#supported-devices

Only 4xxx (QAT gen 4 devices) which are based on Sapphire Rapids are supported for now. See https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/codename/126212/products-formerly-sapphire-rapids.html

Earlier generations of QAT devices (e.g. c62x, dh895xxcc, etc.) are not supported, and you mentioned Atom P5322 and C5325 which are previous to 4xxx, unfortunately not supported, and currently we have no plans to extend FreeBSD QATlib support to these devices.

Please let me know if you have any other question.

Regards,

Ronny G

[JZ8211]

Ronny,

Thank you for the insightful answer, I truly appreciate the clarity and depth!

Best regards,

Jianhua Z

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi Jianhua,

Thanks for your comments, I am here to help.

I will be closing the internal ticket I opened for this issue, the community post will remain accessible, but I will no longer be monitoring it for updates.

If you have any further concerns or questions, please feel free to start a new community post.

Regards,

Ronny G