Regarding the memhook usage in UT:
The test was originally added only to validate the control path
(rte_acl_set_mem_hook / rte_acl_get_mem_hook) rather than memory
semantics. Since this brings little value and may be error-prone, I
will switch the UT to use malloc/free as suggested.

About the API usage notes:
I agree with the recommendation. and will update the documentation.

On 12/8/2025 5:43 PM, Konstantin Ananyev wrote:


Allow users to provide custom
memory allocation hooks for runtime memory in rte_acl_ctx, via
struct rte_acl_mem_hook.

LGTM in general, few extra comments below.

Key changes:
- Added struct rte_acl_mem_hook with zalloc, free, and udata.
- Added rte_acl_set_mem_hook / rte_acl_get_mem_hook to set/get callbacks.
- Default allocation uses existing rte_zmalloc_socket/rte_free.
- Modified ACL code to call callbacks for runtime allocations instead
   of rte_zmalloc_socket/rte_free directly.

v5:
- Remove temporary memory allocation callback for build stage.
- Introduce new API (rte_acl_set_mem_hook / rte_acl_get_mem_hook)
   instead of modifying existing rte_acl_config to preserve
   ABI compatibility.

v6:
- Reworked API to meet consistency and naming conventions.
- Adjusted parameter order for better readability and alignment.
- Renamed internal variables for clarity and code consistency.

Signed-off-by: YongFeng Wang <[email protected]>
---
  app/test/test_acl.c                           | 121 ++++++++++++++++++
  .../prog_guide/packet_classif_access_ctrl.rst |  31 +++++
  lib/acl/acl.h                                 |   1 +
  lib/acl/acl_bld.c                             |   2 +-
  lib/acl/acl_gen.c                             |   4 +-
  lib/acl/rte_acl.c                             |  45 ++++++-
  lib/acl/rte_acl.h                             |  47 +++++++
  7 files changed, 247 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/app/test/test_acl.c b/app/test/test_acl.c
index 43d13b5b0f..3c9a0cb8c0 100644
--- a/app/test/test_acl.c
+++ b/app/test/test_acl.c
@@ -1721,6 +1721,125 @@ test_u32_range(void)
        return rc;
  }

+struct acl_ctx_wrapper {
+       struct rte_acl_ctx *ctx;
+       void *running_buf;
+       bool running_buf_using;
+};
+
+#define ACL_RUNNING_BUF_SIZE (10 * 1024 * 1024)
+
+static void *running_alloc(char *name, size_t size,
+       size_t align, int32_t socket_id, void *udata)
+{
+       RTE_SET_USED(align);
+       RTE_SET_USED(name);
+       RTE_SET_USED(socket_id);
+       if (size > ACL_RUNNING_BUF_SIZE)
+               return NULL;
+       struct acl_ctx_wrapper *acl_ctx = (struct acl_ctx_wrapper *)udata;
+       if (acl_ctx->running_buf_using)
+               return NULL;
+       printf("running memory alloc for acl context, size=%zu, pointer=%p\n",
+               size,
+               acl_ctx->running_buf);
+       memset(acl_ctx->running_buf, 0, size);
+       acl_ctx->running_buf_using = true;
+       return acl_ctx->running_buf;
+}

Is there any point to have such memhook in our UT?
 From one side: it doesn't test anything new, as memory is still allocsted via 
rte_zmalloc().
 From other side it is error prone, as you don't check that pre-allocated buffer
will really satisfy requested  size and alignment parameters.
Might be just use libc malloc/free here?

+
+static void running_free(void *ptr, void *udata)
+{
+       if (!ptr)
+               return;
+       struct acl_ctx_wrapper *acl_ctx = (struct acl_ctx_wrapper *)udata;
+       printf("running memory free, pointer=%p\n", ptr);
+       acl_ctx->running_buf_using = false;
+}
+
+static int
+test_mem_hook(void)
+{
+       int i, ret;
+       struct acl_ctx_wrapper acl_ctx_wrapper = {0};
+       acl_ctx_wrapper.ctx = rte_acl_create(&acl_param);
+       if (acl_ctx_wrapper.ctx == NULL) {
+               printf("Line %i: Error creating ACL context!\n", __LINE__);
+               return -1;
+       }
+       acl_ctx_wrapper.running_buf = rte_zmalloc_socket(
+               "test_acl",
+               ACL_RUNNING_BUF_SIZE,
+               RTE_CACHE_LINE_SIZE,
+               SOCKET_ID_ANY);
+       if (!acl_ctx_wrapper.running_buf) {
+               rte_acl_free(acl_ctx_wrapper.ctx);
+               printf("Line %i: Error allocing running buf for acl context!\n",
__LINE__);
+               return 1;
+       }
+       acl_ctx_wrapper.running_buf_using = false;
+
+       struct rte_acl_mem_hook mhook = {
+               .zalloc = running_alloc,
+               .free = running_free,
+               .udata = &acl_ctx_wrapper
+       };
+       ret = rte_acl_set_mem_hook(acl_ctx_wrapper.ctx, &mhook);
+       if (ret != 0) {
+               printf("Line %i: Error set mem hook for acl context!\n",
__LINE__);
+               rte_acl_free(acl_ctx_wrapper.ctx);
+               rte_free(acl_ctx_wrapper.running_buf);
+               return 1;
+       }
+       struct rte_acl_mem_hook new_hook;
+       memset(&new_hook, 0, sizeof(struct rte_acl_mem_hook));
+       if (rte_acl_get_mem_hook(acl_ctx_wrapper.ctx, &new_hook) != 0
+               || memcmp(&mhook, &new_hook, sizeof(struct
rte_acl_mem_hook)) != 0) {
+               printf("Line %i: Error get mem hook for acl context!\n",
__LINE__);
+               rte_acl_free(acl_ctx_wrapper.ctx);
+               rte_free(acl_ctx_wrapper.running_buf);
+               return 1;
+       }
+       ret = 0;
+       for (i = 0; i < TEST_CLASSIFY_ITER; i++) {
+
+               if ((i & 1) == 0)
+                       rte_acl_reset(acl_ctx_wrapper.ctx);
+               else
+                       rte_acl_reset_rules(acl_ctx_wrapper.ctx);
+
+               ret = test_classify_buid(acl_ctx_wrapper.ctx, acl_test_rules,
+                       RTE_DIM(acl_test_rules));
+               if (ret != 0) {
+                       printf("Line %i, iter: %d: Adding rules to ACL context
failed!\n",
+                               __LINE__, i);
+                       break;
+               }
+
+               ret = test_classify_run(acl_ctx_wrapper.ctx, acl_test_data,
+                       RTE_DIM(acl_test_data));
+               if (ret != 0) {
+                       printf("Line %i, iter: %d: %s failed!\n",
+                               __LINE__, i, __func__);
+                       break;
+               }
+
+               /* reset rules and make sure that classify still works ok. */
+               rte_acl_reset_rules(acl_ctx_wrapper.ctx);
+               ret = test_classify_run(acl_ctx_wrapper.ctx, acl_test_data,
+                       RTE_DIM(acl_test_data));
+               if (ret != 0) {
+                       printf("Line %i, iter: %d: %s failed!\n",
+                               __LINE__, i, __func__);
+                       break;
+               }
+       }
+
+       rte_acl_free(acl_ctx_wrapper.ctx);
+       rte_free(acl_ctx_wrapper.running_buf);
+       return ret;
+}
+
  static int
  test_acl(void)
  {
@@ -1742,6 +1861,8 @@ test_acl(void)
                return -1;
        if (test_u32_range() < 0)
                return -1;
+       if (test_mem_hook() < 0)
+               return -1;

        return 0;
  }
diff --git a/doc/guides/prog_guide/packet_classif_access_ctrl.rst
b/doc/guides/prog_guide/packet_classif_access_ctrl.rst
index 172f443f6e..55b2018db9 100644
--- a/doc/guides/prog_guide/packet_classif_access_ctrl.rst
+++ b/doc/guides/prog_guide/packet_classif_access_ctrl.rst
@@ -359,7 +359,38 @@ For example:
          ret = rte_acl_build(acx, &cfg);
       }

+Custom Memory Hooks
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The ACL library supports custom memory allocation for runtime structures.
+Applications can supply their own memory hooks through:
+
+.. code-block:: c
+
+    int rte_acl_set_mem_hook(struct rte_acl_ctx *ctx,
+                           const struct rte_acl_mem_hook *mhook);
+
+    int rte_acl_get_mem_hook(const struct rte_acl_ctx *ctx,
+                           struct rte_acl_mem_hook *mhook);
+
+The ``rte_acl_mem_hook`` structure defines memory hooks:
+
+.. code-block:: c
+
+    struct rte_acl_mem_hook {
+        /** Allocate zero-initialized memory used during runtime. */
+        void *(*zalloc)(char *name, size_t size, size_t align, int32_t 
socket_id, void
*udata);
+
+        /** Free memory previously allocated by zalloc(). */
+        void (*free)(void *ptr, void *udata);
+
+        /** User-provided context passed to allocation/free hooks. */
+        void *udata;
+    };
+
+Applications may use these hooks to allocate memory from custom pools or
pre-allocated buffers.

+If no memory hook is provided, the ACL library uses rte_zmalloc_socket()
internally.

  Classification methods
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
diff --git a/lib/acl/acl.h b/lib/acl/acl.h
index c8e4e72fab..9c85a3d58a 100644
--- a/lib/acl/acl.h
+++ b/lib/acl/acl.h
@@ -174,6 +174,7 @@ struct rte_acl_ctx {
        uint32_t            max_rules;
        uint32_t            rule_sz;
        uint32_t            num_rules;
+       struct rte_acl_mem_hook mem_hook;
        uint32_t            num_categories;
        uint32_t            num_tries;
        uint32_t            match_index;
diff --git a/lib/acl/acl_bld.c b/lib/acl/acl_bld.c
index 7056b1c117..99d1dbc467 100644
--- a/lib/acl/acl_bld.c
+++ b/lib/acl/acl_bld.c
@@ -779,7 +779,7 @@ acl_merge_trie(struct acl_build_context *context,
  static void
  acl_build_reset(struct rte_acl_ctx *ctx)
  {
-       rte_free(ctx->mem);
+       ctx->mem_hook.free(ctx->mem, ctx->mem_hook.udata);
        memset(&ctx->num_categories, 0,
                sizeof(*ctx) - offsetof(struct rte_acl_ctx, num_categories));
  }
diff --git a/lib/acl/acl_gen.c b/lib/acl/acl_gen.c
index 3c53d24056..77f19dd13a 100644
--- a/lib/acl/acl_gen.c
+++ b/lib/acl/acl_gen.c
@@ -478,8 +478,8 @@ rte_acl_gen(struct rte_acl_ctx *ctx, struct rte_acl_trie
*trie,
                return -ERANGE;
        }

-       mem = rte_zmalloc_socket(ctx->name, total_size,
RTE_CACHE_LINE_SIZE,
-                       ctx->socket_id);
+       mem = ctx->mem_hook.zalloc(ctx->name, total_size,
+                       RTE_CACHE_LINE_SIZE, ctx->socket_id, ctx-
mem_hook.udata);
        if (mem == NULL) {
                ACL_LOG(ERR,
                        "allocation of %zu bytes on socket %d for %s failed",
diff --git a/lib/acl/rte_acl.c b/lib/acl/rte_acl.c
index 8c0ca29618..3f2b194206 100644
--- a/lib/acl/rte_acl.c
+++ b/lib/acl/rte_acl.c
@@ -264,6 +264,20 @@ acl_get_best_alg(void)
        return alg[i];
  }

+static void *
+acl_mem_default_zalloc(char *name, size_t size, size_t align, int32_t 
socket_id,
void *udata)
+{
+       RTE_SET_USED(udata);
+       return rte_zmalloc_socket(name, size, align, socket_id);
+}
+
+static void
+acl_mem_default_free(void *ptr, void *udata)
+{
+       RTE_SET_USED(udata);
+       rte_free(ptr);
+}
+
  RTE_EXPORT_SYMBOL(rte_acl_set_ctx_classify)
  extern int
  rte_acl_set_ctx_classify(struct rte_acl_ctx *ctx, enum rte_acl_classify_alg 
alg)
@@ -362,7 +376,7 @@ rte_acl_free(struct rte_acl_ctx *ctx)

        rte_mcfg_tailq_write_unlock();

-       rte_free(ctx->mem);
+       ctx->mem_hook.free(ctx->mem, ctx->mem_hook.udata);
        rte_free(ctx);
        rte_free(te);
  }
@@ -425,6 +439,9 @@ rte_acl_create(const struct rte_acl_param *param)
                ctx->rule_sz = param->rule_size;
                ctx->socket_id = param->socket_id;
                ctx->alg = acl_get_best_alg();
+               ctx->mem_hook.zalloc = acl_mem_default_zalloc;
+               ctx->mem_hook.free = acl_mem_default_free;
+               ctx->mem_hook.udata = NULL;
                strlcpy(ctx->name, param->name, sizeof(ctx->name));

                te->data = (void *) ctx;
@@ -555,3 +572,29 @@ rte_acl_list_dump(void)
        }
        rte_mcfg_tailq_read_unlock();
  }
+
+/*
+ * Set memory allocation hooks for a given ACL context.
+ */
+RTE_EXPORT_EXPERIMENTAL_SYMBOL(rte_acl_set_mem_hook, 26.03)
+int
+rte_acl_set_mem_hook(struct rte_acl_ctx *acl, const struct rte_acl_mem_hook
*mhook)
+{
+       if (acl == NULL || mhook == NULL || mhook->zalloc  == NULL || mhook-
free == NULL)
+               return -EINVAL;
+       memcpy(&acl->mem_hook, mhook, sizeof(struct rte_acl_mem_hook));
+       return 0;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Retrieve the memory allocation hooks assigned to the ACL context.
+ */
+RTE_EXPORT_EXPERIMENTAL_SYMBOL(rte_acl_get_mem_hook, 26.03)
+int
+rte_acl_get_mem_hook(const struct rte_acl_ctx *acl, struct
rte_acl_mem_hook *mhook)
+{
+       if (acl  == NULL || mhook == NULL)
+               return -EINVAL;
+       memcpy(mhook, &acl->mem_hook, sizeof(struct rte_acl_mem_hook));
+       return 0;
+}
diff --git a/lib/acl/rte_acl.h b/lib/acl/rte_acl.h
index 95354cabb8..5cae733a65 100644
--- a/lib/acl/rte_acl.h
+++ b/lib/acl/rte_acl.h
@@ -136,6 +136,53 @@ struct rte_acl_param {
  /** @internal opaque ACL handle */
  struct rte_acl_ctx;

+/**
+ * Memory allocation hooks for ACL runtime.
+ */
+struct rte_acl_mem_hook {
+       /** Allocate zero-initialized memory used during runtime. */
+       void *(*zalloc)(char *name, size_t size, size_t align, int32_t 
socket_id,
void *udata);
+
+       /** Free memory previously allocated by zalloc(). */
+       void (*free)(void *ptr, void *udata);
+
+       /** User-provided context passed to allocation/free hooks. */
+       void *udata;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Set memory allocation hooks for a given ACL context.
+ *
+ * Applications may use these hooks to allocate memory from custom pools or
pre-allocated buffers.
+ * If no memory hook is provided, the ACL library uses rte_zmalloc_socket()
internally.
+ *
+ * @param acl
+ *   The ACL context.
+ * @param mhook
+ *   Pointer to the memory hook structure

We probably need to mention that it has to be called before acl_build().
And if acl_build() already was invoked (user wants to change mhook after it),
then user has to do the following sequence:
rte_acl_reset(); re_acl_set_mem_hook(); rte_acl_build();

+ *
+ * @return
+ *   0 on success.
+ *   -EINVAL if parameters are invalid.
+ */
+__rte_experimental
+int rte_acl_set_mem_hook(struct rte_acl_ctx *acl, const struct
rte_acl_mem_hook *mhook);
+
+/**
+ * Retrieve the memory allocation hooks assigned to the ACL context.
+ *
+ * @param acl
+ *   The ACL context.
+ * @param mhook
+ *   Output location for the current memory hook structure
+ *
+ * @return
+ *   0 on success.
+ *   -EINVAL if parameters are invalid.
+ */
+__rte_experimental
+int rte_acl_get_mem_hook(const struct rte_acl_ctx *acl, struct
rte_acl_mem_hook *mhook);
+
  /**
   * De-allocate all memory used by ACL context.
   *
--
2.43.0




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