lowerODP

lowerODP is a term encountered in discussions of the Open Data Plane (ODP) ecosystem. It denotes the portion of the software stack that sits at the lower end of the data plane, interfacing directly with hardware resources and the operating system, as distinct from higher-level, application-focused or protocol-processing components. Because ODP is implemented across multiple vendors and projects, the exact meaning of lowerODP can vary, and it is not an official standard designation.

Role and responsibilities of lowerODP typically include providing hardware abstraction, implementing drivers, and managing low-level resources. It handles memory management and buffer pools, enables fast-path packet I/O, and may implement hardware offloads. The lowerODP layer often interacts with upper layers through the ODP runtime, supplying the mechanisms necessary for zero-copy data paths, DMA setup, interrupt or poll-based processing, and CPU affinity configuration. Its primary goal is to bridge the gap between software dataplane algorithms and the capabilities of the underlying hardware.

Architecture and structure are generally characterized by a hardware abstraction layer, vendor-specific drivers, and low-level runtime components. This layer exposes APIs or interfaces that the upper layers can use to perform packet I/O, memory management, and offload configuration while ensuring performance and portability across platforms.

Examples and usage notes: in ODP documentation and implementations, lowerODP may refer to the kernel-space or driver-level components, or to platform-specific code that maps ODP API calls to hardware features. The term is more common in internal or architectural discussions than in stable public API references. See also Open Data Plane, data plane development, NIC drivers, and zero-copy packet processing.