STRUCT NFP_PF(9)

💖 struct nfp_pf (9) 💖

okay bestie, so this is a page from the Kernel API Manual — yes, the real one, section 9, we're in kernel-doc territory now — and it's literally all about struct nfp_pf, the NFP PF-specific device structure. that's it, that's the whole vibe. NFP PF device lore. pull up a chair 🫶

---

✨ NAME ✨

struct nfp_pf — the NFP PF-specific device structure. like, the big one. the main character struct for a physical function on an NFP. 👑

---

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

struct nfp_pf {
    struct pci_dev *pdev;
    const struct nfp_dev_info *dev_info;
    struct nfp_cpp *cpp;
    struct nfp_app *app;
    struct nfp_cpp_area *data_vnic_bar;
    struct nfp_cpp_area *ctrl_vnic_bar;
    struct nfp_cpp_area *qc_area;
    struct nfp_cpp_area *mac_stats_bar;
    u8 __iomem *mac_stats_mem;
    struct nfp_cpp_area *vf_cfg_bar;
    u8 __iomem *vf_cfg_mem;
    struct nfp_cpp_area *vfcfg_tbl2_area;
    u8 __iomem *vfcfg_tbl2;
    const struct nfp_rtsym *mbox;
    struct msix_entry *irq_entries;
    unsigned int limit_vfs;
    unsigned int num_vfs;
    bool fw_loaded;
    bool unload_fw_on_remove;
    struct nfp_net *ctrl_vnic;
    const struct nfp_mip *mip;
    struct nfp_rtsym_table *rtbl;
    struct nfp_hwinfo *hwinfo;
    struct nfp_dumpspec *dumpspec;
    u32 dump_flag;
    u32 dump_len;
    struct nfp_eth_table *eth_tbl;
    struct nfp_nsp_identify *nspi;
    struct device *hwmon_dev;
    struct dentry *ddir;
    unsigned int max_data_vnics;
    unsigned int num_vnics;
    struct list_head vnics;
    struct list_head ports;
    struct workqueue_struct *wq;
    struct work_struct port_refresh_work;
    struct nfp_shared_buf *shared_bufs;
    unsigned int num_shared_bufs;
 };

no cap, that's a lot of fields. we're gonna go through every single one, because we are thorough in this house 💅

---

🌈 MEMBERS 🌈

here's the member-by-member rundown, and bestie I did not skip a single one:

• pdev — backpointer to the PCI device. it's the "who do I belong to" of the whole struct 🫶
• dev_info — NFP ASIC params. the silicon's little ID card ✨
• cpp — pointer to the CPP handle.
• app — pointer to the APP handle.
• data_vnic_bar — pointer to the CPP area for the data vNICs' BARs.
• ctrl_vnic_bar — pointer to the CPP area for the ctrl vNIC's BAR.
• qc_area — pointer to the CPP area for the queues. queues need a home too 🥺
• mac_stats_bar — pointer to the CPP area for the MAC stats.
• mac_stats_mem — pointer to mapped MAC stats area.
• vf_cfg_bar — pointer to the CPP area for the VF configuration BAR.
• vf_cfg_mem — pointer to mapped VF configuration area.
• vfcfg_tbl2_area — pointer to the CPP area for the VF config table.
• vfcfg_tbl2 — pointer to mapped VF config table.
• mbox — RTSym of per-PCI PF mailbox (under devlink lock). 📬 note the lock, it's important, iykyk
• irq_entries — array of MSI-X entries for all vNICs.
• limit_vfs — number of VFs supported by firmware (~0 for PCI limit). yes literally ~0, that's the special "just use the PCI limit" value 👀
• num_vfs — number of SR-IOV VFs enabled.
• fw_loaded — is the firmware loaded? the eternal question 💀
• unload_fw_on_remove — do we need to unload firmware on driver removal? (it's a bool named like a full sentence and honestly, love that for it)
• ctrl_vnic — pointer to the control vNIC if available.
• mip — MIP handle.
• rtbl — RTsym table.
• hwinfo — HWInfo table.
• dumpspec — debug dump specification. for when things go 📉 and we need the receipts
• dump_flag — store dump flag between set_dump and get_dump_flag. it's literally just holding onto the flag between those two calls, king behavior 👑
• dump_len — store dump length between set_dump and get_dump_flag. same deal, but the length ✨
• eth_tbl — NSP ETH table.
• nspi — NSP identification info.
• hwmon_dev — pointer to hwmon device. lowercase "pointer" in the original, we respect it 🎀
• ddir — per-device debugfs directory.
• max_data_vnics — number of data vNICs app firmware supports.
• num_vnics — number of vNICs spawned.
• vnics — linked list of vNIC structures (struct nfp_net).
• ports — linked list of port structures (struct nfp_port).
• wq — workqueue for running works which need to grab lock. lock-grabbing works, go do your thing 🔥
• port_refresh_work — work entry for taking netdevs out.
• shared_bufs — array of shared buffer structures if FW has any SBs.
• num_shared_bufs — number of elements in shared_bufs.

---

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so here's the one (1) rule of this struct's mutable era: fields which may change after probe are protected by the devlink instance lock. that's the whole description. that's the tea. ☕ (the page does say "proble" instead of "probe" — we stan a typo, but yeah, it means probe 💀)

⚠️ bestie please take the devlink instance lock seriously. the fields that can change after probe are guarded by it — this is the kind of caveat that's lowkey boring until it's 3am and everything is on fire 😭

---

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

• Kernel file ./drivers/net/ethernet/netronome/nfp/nfp_main.h
• struct nfp_dumpspec(9)

---

and that's the page!! no notes, ate, periodt 💅

sign-off time 🎀 — this lil beauty came from ./drivers/net/ethernet/netrono... (yes it's truncated in the footer, that's just how the footer do) and it's dated October 2026. future-coded documentation, obsessed. 🌈⭐💜