Plumbing SDXI into Linux - From DMA Engine to User-Space Offloads

Explore the integration of Smart Data Accelerator Interface (SDXI) into the Linux kernel through this 20-minute conference talk from the Linux Plumbers Conference. Learn about SDXI, a new SNIA standard that extends traditional DMA engines with support for multiple address spaces, user-space ownership, and extensible offloads such as memory data movement. Discover the two-phase Linux enablement approach, including an initial DMA-engine integration already upstream for review and a comprehensive SDXI 1.0 implementation featuring a user ABI and supporting library. Examine the current IOCTL-based UAPI design and understand key trade-offs in ABI shaping, kernel/user coordination, and address space isolation. See demonstrations of early user-space workloads including inter-VM memory copy operations and review preliminary findings with evaluation methodology. Engage with discussions on critical open issues including subsystem placement, security considerations, and virtualization support, while exploring integration strategies, optimization approaches, UAPI evolution, and emerging SDXI use cases across various Linux subsystems.