Polling device drivers Patches for STABLE posted 2 weeks ago on -net non intrusive, fully backward compatible, no ABI changes basic driver changes very simple (for well-written drivers at least) old drivers work unmodified, new drivers self-register for new operating mode. sysctl net.xorp.polling=1 sysctl net.xorp.poll_burst=10 sysctl net.xorp.poll_in_trap=3 On our test box, peak forwarding rate improved by over 50% while additionally leaving a fully responsive system.