f-stack tools add root user check #829

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1. jfb8856606 commented on Mar 18, 2026

   

   jfb8856606

   on Mar 18, 2026

   Contributor

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   This is a known DPDK behavior: when running as a non-root user, DPDK uses a per-user runtime directory (/run/user/<uid>/dpdk/) instead of the system-wide /var/run/dpdk/. Since the F-Stack primary process is typically started as root, the shared memory config ends up in /var/run/dpdk/rte/config, and a non-root secondary process looks in the wrong place — causing the Cannot open rte_mem_config error.

   The root cause is straightforward: F-Stack applications and their tools must all be run as root (or the same user that started the primary process) so they share the same DPDK runtime directory.

   Suggestion for improvement: It would be helpful if the tools printed a clearer error message when they detect they are not running as root, e.g.:

   Error: F-Stack tools require root privileges. Please run with sudo or as root.
   

   A simple check at the start of ff_ipc_init() or in each tool's main():

   if (getuid() != 0) {
       fprintf(stderr, "Error: F-Stack tools must be run as root.
   ");
       exit(1);
   }

   This would save users from debugging cryptic DPDK EAL errors. Pull requests for this improvement are welcome.
2. jfb8856606

   added a commit that references this issue on Mar 18, 2026

   tools/compat: add root privilege check in ff_ipc_init() (#829)

   920daf2
3. jfb8856606 commented on Mar 18, 2026

   

   jfb8856606

   on Mar 18, 2026

   Contributor

   More actions

   A fix has been submitted in PR #1049. The root privilege check is added at the start of ff_ipc_init() in tools/compat/ff_ipc.c, so non-root users will now see a clear error message instead of the cryptic DPDK EAL failure.
4. jfb8856606

   closed this as completedin #1049on Mar 18, 2026