libvfn: A Low-level NVMe Application and VFIO Driver Framework

Explore a 42-minute technical conference talk from the Storage Developer Conference 2023 that delves into libvfn, an innovative open-source library for PCIe-based NVMe devices using VFIO. Learn about the library's exceptionally low-level architecture designed for NVMe controller verification and testing, allowing direct interaction with devices at register and queue levels. Discover how the production-ready NVMe driver with its high-level API differs from the Storage Performance Development Kit, while understanding the library's extensive VFIO functionality for implementing custom PCIe device drivers. Master the fundamentals of PCIe and NVMe in relation to VFIO-based user-space drivers, examine the technical implementation of the included NVMe driver, and understand its successful integration into projects like xNVMe. Gain practical insights into VFIO-based user-space drivers for PCIe devices, NVMe driver implementation techniques, and methods for developing safe user-space drivers for NVMe devices with vendor-specific features, all while achieving performance comparable to SPDK.