Linux: Configuring RX POLLING (NAPI)

The Receive Polling (Rx Polling, or NAPI) feature in Linux allows the network driver to process incoming packets in a more efficient manner. When enabled, NAPI allows the network driver to poll the network interface for incoming packets rather than relying on interrupts. This can help to reduce CPU usage and improve network performance.

To configure Rx Polling (NAPI) on a Linux system, you will need to follow these steps:

1. Load the napi module: If the napi module is not already loaded, you can load it using the modprobe command:

modprobe napi

2. Edit the network interface configuration: Open the network interface configuration file, such as /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0, in a text editor.

3. Add the NAPI=yes option: Add the NAPI=yes option to the configuration file:

NAPI=yes

4. Save the file and restart the network service: Save the changes to the configuration file and exit the text editor. Then, restart the network service by running the following command:

systemctl restart network

This will apply the changes and enable NAPI for the network interface.

Keep in mind that you will need to have root privileges (or be a member of the sudo group) in order to edit the network interface configuration and restart the network service.

You can verify that NAPI is enabled for the network interface by running the ethtool command:

ethtool -k eth0

This will display a list of options for the eth0 interface, including the rx-polling option. If rx-polling is set to on, NAPI is enabled .