diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/Makefile b/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/Makefile
index ed1d17b..1b43d77 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/Makefile
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/Makefile
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_BSDAPP) += eal_common_dev.c
 SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_BSDAPP) += eal_common_options.c
 SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_BSDAPP) += eal_common_thread.c
 SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_BSDAPP) += eal_common_proc.c
+SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_BSDAPP) += eal_common_fbarray.c
 SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_BSDAPP) += rte_malloc.c
 SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_BSDAPP) += malloc_elem.c
 SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_BSDAPP) += malloc_heap.c
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/Makefile b/lib/librte_eal/common/Makefile
index ea824a3..48f870f 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/common/Makefile
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/common/Makefile
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ INC += rte_pci_dev_feature_defs.h rte_pci_dev_features.h
 INC += rte_malloc.h rte_keepalive.h rte_time.h
 INC += rte_service.h rte_service_component.h
 INC += rte_bitmap.h rte_vfio.h rte_hypervisor.h rte_test.h
-INC += rte_reciprocal.h
+INC += rte_reciprocal.h rte_fbarray.h
 
 GENERIC_INC := rte_atomic.h rte_byteorder.h rte_cycles.h rte_prefetch.h
 GENERIC_INC += rte_spinlock.h rte_memcpy.h rte_cpuflags.h rte_rwlock.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_fbarray.c b/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_fbarray.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f65875d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_fbarray.c
@@ -0,0 +1,859 @@
+/* SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+ * Copyright(c) 2017-2018 Intel Corporation
+ */
+
+#include <inttypes.h>
+#include <sys/mman.h>
+#include <stdint.h>
+#include <errno.h>
+#include <sys/file.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+#include <rte_common.h>
+#include <rte_log.h>
+#include <rte_errno.h>
+#include <rte_spinlock.h>
+#include <rte_tailq.h>
+
+#include "eal_filesystem.h"
+#include "eal_private.h"
+
+#include "rte_fbarray.h"
+
+#define MASK_SHIFT 6ULL
+#define MASK_ALIGN (1 << MASK_SHIFT)
+#define MASK_LEN_TO_IDX(x) ((x) >> MASK_SHIFT)
+#define MASK_LEN_TO_MOD(x) ((x) - RTE_ALIGN_FLOOR(x, MASK_ALIGN))
+#define MASK_GET_IDX(idx, mod) ((idx << MASK_SHIFT) + mod)
+
+/*
+ * This is a mask that is always stored at the end of array, to provide fast
+ * way of finding free/used spots without looping through each element.
+ */
+
+struct used_mask {
+	int n_masks;
+	uint64_t data[];
+};
+
+static size_t
+calc_mask_size(int len)
+{
+	/* mask must be multiple of MASK_ALIGN, even though length of array
+	 * itself may not be aligned on that boundary.
+	 */
+	len = RTE_ALIGN_CEIL(len, MASK_ALIGN);
+	return sizeof(struct used_mask) +
+			sizeof(uint64_t) * MASK_LEN_TO_IDX(len);
+}
+
+static size_t
+calc_data_size(size_t page_sz, int elt_sz, int len)
+{
+	size_t data_sz = elt_sz * len;
+	size_t msk_sz = calc_mask_size(len);
+	return RTE_ALIGN_CEIL(data_sz + msk_sz, page_sz);
+}
+
+static struct used_mask *
+get_used_mask(void *data, int elt_sz, int len)
+{
+	return (struct used_mask *) RTE_PTR_ADD(data, elt_sz * len);
+}
+
+static int
+resize_and_map(int fd, void *addr, size_t len)
+{
+	char path[PATH_MAX];
+	void *map_addr;
+
+	if (ftruncate(fd, len)) {
+		RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "Cannot truncate %s\n", path);
+		/* pass errno up the chain */
+		rte_errno = errno;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	map_addr = mmap(addr, len, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE,
+			MAP_SHARED | MAP_FIXED, fd, 0);
+	if (map_addr != addr) {
+		RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "mmap() failed: %s\n", strerror(errno));
+		/* pass errno up the chain */
+		rte_errno = errno;
+		return -1;
+	}
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int
+find_next_n(const struct rte_fbarray *arr, int start, int n, bool used)
+{
+	const struct used_mask *msk = get_used_mask(arr->data, arr->elt_sz,
+			arr->len);
+	int msk_idx, lookahead_idx, first, first_mod;
+	int last, last_mod, last_msk;
+	uint64_t ignore_msk;
+
+	/*
+	 * mask only has granularity of MASK_ALIGN, but start may not be aligned
+	 * on that boundary, so construct a special mask to exclude anything we
+	 * don't want to see to avoid confusing ctz.
+	 */
+	first = MASK_LEN_TO_IDX(start);
+	first_mod = MASK_LEN_TO_MOD(start);
+	ignore_msk = ~((1ULL << first_mod) - 1);
+
+	/* array length may not be aligned, so calculate ignore mask for last
+	 * mask index.
+	 */
+	last = MASK_LEN_TO_IDX(arr->len);
+	last_mod = MASK_LEN_TO_MOD(arr->len);
+	last_msk = ~(-(1ULL) << last_mod);
+
+	for (msk_idx = first; msk_idx < msk->n_masks; msk_idx++) {
+		uint64_t cur_msk, lookahead_msk;
+		int run_start, clz, left;
+		bool found = false;
+		/*
+		 * The process of getting n consecutive bits for arbitrary n is
+		 * a bit involved, but here it is in a nutshell:
+		 *
+		 *  1. let n be the number of consecutive bits we're looking for
+		 *  2. check if n can fit in one mask, and if so, do n-1
+		 *     rshift-ands to see if there is an appropriate run inside
+		 *     our current mask
+		 *    2a. if we found a run, bail out early
+		 *    2b. if we didn't find a run, proceed
+		 *  3. invert the mask and count leading zeroes (that is, count
+		 *     how many consecutive set bits we had starting from the
+		 *     end of current mask) as k
+		 *    3a. if k is 0, continue to next mask
+		 *    3b. if k is not 0, we have a potential run
+		 *  4. to satisfy our requirements, next mask must have n-k
+		 *     consecutive set bits right at the start, so we will do
+		 *     (n-k-1) rshift-ands and check if first bit is set.
+		 *
+		 * Step 4 will need to be repeated if (n-k) > MASK_ALIGN until
+		 * we either run out of masks, lose the run, or find what we
+		 * were looking for.
+		 */
+		cur_msk = msk->data[msk_idx];
+		left = n;
+
+		/* if we're looking for free spaces, invert the mask */
+		if (!used)
+			cur_msk = ~cur_msk;
+
+		/* combine current ignore mask with last index ignore mask */
+		if (msk_idx == last)
+			ignore_msk |= last_msk;
+
+		/* if we have an ignore mask, ignore once */
+		if (ignore_msk) {
+			cur_msk &= ignore_msk;
+			ignore_msk = 0;
+		}
+
+		/* if n can fit in within a single mask, do a search */
+		if (n <= MASK_ALIGN) {
+			uint64_t tmp_msk = cur_msk;
+			int s_idx;
+			for (s_idx = 0; s_idx < n - 1; s_idx++)
+				tmp_msk &= tmp_msk >> 1ULL;
+			/* we found what we were looking for */
+			if (tmp_msk != 0) {
+				run_start = __builtin_ctzll(tmp_msk);
+				return MASK_GET_IDX(msk_idx, run_start);
+			}
+		}
+
+		/*
+		 * we didn't find our run within the mask, or n > MASK_ALIGN,
+		 * so we're going for plan B.
+		 */
+
+		/* count leading zeroes on inverted mask */
+		clz = __builtin_clzll(~cur_msk);
+
+		/* if there aren't any runs at the end either, just continue */
+		if (clz == 0)
+			continue;
+
+		/* we have a partial run at the end, so try looking ahead */
+		run_start = MASK_ALIGN - clz;
+		left -= clz;
+
+		for (lookahead_idx = msk_idx + 1; lookahead_idx < msk->n_masks;
+				lookahead_idx++) {
+			int s_idx, need;
+			lookahead_msk = msk->data[lookahead_idx];
+
+			/* if we're looking for free space, invert the mask */
+			if (!used)
+				lookahead_msk = ~lookahead_msk;
+
+			/* figure out how many consecutive bits we need here */
+			need = RTE_MIN(left, MASK_ALIGN);
+
+			for (s_idx = 0; s_idx < need - 1; s_idx++)
+				lookahead_msk &= lookahead_msk >> 1ULL;
+
+			/* if first bit is not set, we've lost the run */
+			if ((lookahead_msk & 1) == 0) {
+				/*
+				 * we've scanned this far, so we know there are
+				 * no runs in the space we've lookahead-scanned
+				 * as well, so skip that on next iteration.
+				 */
+				ignore_msk = ~((1ULL << need) - 1);
+				msk_idx = lookahead_idx;
+				break;
+			}
+
+			left -= need;
+
+			/* check if we've found what we were looking for */
+			if (left == 0) {
+				found = true;
+				break;
+			}
+		}
+
+		/* we didn't find anything, so continue */
+		if (!found)
+			continue;
+
+		return MASK_GET_IDX(msk_idx, run_start);
+	}
+	/* we didn't find anything */
+	rte_errno = used ? -ENOENT : -ENOSPC;
+	return -1;
+}
+
+static int
+find_next(const struct rte_fbarray *arr, int start, bool used)
+{
+	const struct used_mask *msk = get_used_mask(arr->data, arr->elt_sz,
+			arr->len);
+	int idx, first, first_mod;
+	int last, last_mod, last_msk;
+	uint64_t ignore_msk;
+
+	/*
+	 * mask only has granularity of MASK_ALIGN, but start may not be aligned
+	 * on that boundary, so construct a special mask to exclude anything we
+	 * don't want to see to avoid confusing ctz.
+	 */
+	first = MASK_LEN_TO_IDX(start);
+	first_mod = MASK_LEN_TO_MOD(start);
+	ignore_msk = ~((1ULL << first_mod) - 1ULL);
+
+	/* array length may not be aligned, so calculate ignore mask for last
+	 * mask index.
+	 */
+	last = MASK_LEN_TO_IDX(arr->len);
+	last_mod = MASK_LEN_TO_MOD(arr->len);
+	last_msk = ~(-(1ULL) << last_mod);
+
+	for (idx = first; idx < msk->n_masks; idx++) {
+		uint64_t cur = msk->data[idx];
+		int found;
+
+		/* if we're looking for free entries, invert mask */
+		if (!used)
+			cur = ~cur;
+
+		if (idx == last)
+			cur &= last_msk;
+
+		/* ignore everything before start on first iteration */
+		if (idx == first)
+			cur &= ignore_msk;
+
+		/* check if we have any entries */
+		if (cur == 0)
+			continue;
+
+		/*
+		 * find first set bit - that will correspond to whatever it is
+		 * that we're looking for.
+		 */
+		found = __builtin_ctzll(cur);
+		return MASK_GET_IDX(idx, found);
+	}
+	/* we didn't find anything */
+	rte_errno = used ? -ENOENT : -ENOSPC;
+	return -1;
+}
+
+static int
+find_contig(const struct rte_fbarray *arr, int start, bool used)
+{
+	const struct used_mask *msk = get_used_mask(arr->data, arr->elt_sz,
+			arr->len);
+	int idx, first, first_mod;
+	int last, last_mod, last_msk;
+	int need_len, result = 0;
+
+	/* array length may not be aligned, so calculate ignore mask for last
+	 * mask index.
+	 */
+	last = MASK_LEN_TO_IDX(arr->len);
+	last_mod = MASK_LEN_TO_MOD(arr->len);
+	last_msk = ~(-(1ULL) << last_mod);
+
+	first = MASK_LEN_TO_IDX(start);
+	first_mod = MASK_LEN_TO_MOD(start);
+	for (idx = first; idx < msk->n_masks; idx++, result += need_len) {
+		uint64_t cur = msk->data[idx];
+		int run_len;
+
+		need_len = MASK_ALIGN;
+
+		/* if we're looking for free entries, invert mask */
+		if (!used)
+			cur = ~cur;
+
+		/* if this is last mask, ignore everything after last bit */
+		if (idx == last)
+			cur &= last_msk;
+
+		/* ignore everything before start on first iteration */
+		if (idx == first) {
+			cur >>= first_mod;
+			/* at the start, we don't need the full mask len */
+			need_len -= first_mod;
+		}
+
+		/* we will be looking for zeroes, so invert the mask */
+		cur = ~cur;
+
+		/* if mask is zero, we have a complete run */
+		if (cur == 0)
+			continue;
+
+		/*
+		 * see if current run ends before mask end.
+		 */
+		run_len = __builtin_ctzll(cur);
+
+		/* add however many zeroes we've had in the last run and quit */
+		if (run_len < need_len) {
+			result += run_len;
+			break;
+		}
+	}
+	return result;
+}
+
+static int
+set_used(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int idx, bool used)
+{
+	struct used_mask *msk = get_used_mask(arr->data, arr->elt_sz, arr->len);
+	uint64_t msk_bit = 1ULL << MASK_LEN_TO_MOD(idx);
+	int msk_idx = MASK_LEN_TO_IDX(idx);
+	bool already_used;
+	int ret = -1;
+
+	if (arr == NULL || idx < 0 || idx >= arr->len) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
+	ret = 0;
+
+	/* prevent array from changing under us */
+	rte_rwlock_write_lock(&arr->rwlock);
+
+	already_used = (msk->data[msk_idx] & msk_bit) != 0;
+
+	/* nothing to be done */
+	if (used == already_used)
+		goto out;
+
+	if (used) {
+		msk->data[msk_idx] |= msk_bit;
+		arr->count++;
+	} else {
+		msk->data[msk_idx] &= ~msk_bit;
+		arr->count--;
+	}
+out:
+	rte_rwlock_write_unlock(&arr->rwlock);
+
+	return ret;
+}
+
+static int
+fully_validate(const char *name, unsigned int elt_sz, unsigned int len)
+{
+	if (name == NULL || elt_sz == 0 || len == 0) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	if (strnlen(name, RTE_FBARRAY_NAME_LEN) == RTE_FBARRAY_NAME_LEN) {
+		rte_errno = ENAMETOOLONG;
+		return -1;
+	}
+	return 0;
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_init(struct rte_fbarray *arr, const char *name, int len, int elt_sz)
+{
+	size_t page_sz, mmap_len;
+	char path[PATH_MAX];
+	struct used_mask *msk;
+	void *data = NULL;
+	int fd = -1;
+
+	if (arr == NULL) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	if (fully_validate(name, elt_sz, len))
+		return -1;
+
+	page_sz = sysconf(_SC_PAGESIZE);
+
+	/* calculate our memory limits */
+	mmap_len = calc_data_size(page_sz, elt_sz, len);
+
+	data = eal_get_virtual_area(NULL, &mmap_len, page_sz, 0, 0);
+	if (data == NULL)
+		goto fail;
+
+	eal_get_fbarray_path(path, sizeof(path), name);
+
+	/*
+	 * Each fbarray is unique to process namespace, i.e. the filename
+	 * depends on process prefix. Try to take out a lock and see if we
+	 * succeed. If we don't, someone else is using it already.
+	 */
+	fd = open(path, O_CREAT | O_RDWR, 0600);
+	if (fd < 0) {
+		RTE_LOG(DEBUG, EAL, "%s(): couldn't open %s: %s\n", __func__,
+				path, strerror(errno));
+		rte_errno = errno;
+		goto fail;
+	} else if (flock(fd, LOCK_EX | LOCK_NB)) {
+		RTE_LOG(DEBUG, EAL, "%s(): couldn't lock %s: %s\n", __func__,
+				path, strerror(errno));
+		rte_errno = EBUSY;
+		goto fail;
+	}
+
+	/* take out a non-exclusive lock, so that other processes could still
+	 * attach to it, but no other process could reinitialize it.
+	 */
+	if (flock(fd, LOCK_SH | LOCK_NB)) {
+		rte_errno = errno;
+		goto fail;
+	}
+
+	if (resize_and_map(fd, data, mmap_len))
+		goto fail;
+
+	/* we've mmap'ed the file, we can now close the fd */
+	close(fd);
+
+	/* initialize the data */
+	memset(data, 0, mmap_len);
+
+	/* populate data structure */
+	snprintf(arr->name, sizeof(arr->name), "%s", name);
+	arr->data = data;
+	arr->len = len;
+	arr->elt_sz = elt_sz;
+	arr->count = 0;
+
+	msk = get_used_mask(data, elt_sz, len);
+	msk->n_masks = MASK_LEN_TO_IDX(RTE_ALIGN_CEIL(len, MASK_ALIGN));
+
+	rte_rwlock_init(&arr->rwlock);
+
+	return 0;
+fail:
+	if (data)
+		munmap(data, mmap_len);
+	if (fd >= 0)
+		close(fd);
+	return -1;
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_attach(struct rte_fbarray *arr)
+{
+	size_t page_sz, mmap_len;
+	char path[PATH_MAX];
+	void *data = NULL;
+	int fd = -1;
+
+	if (arr == NULL) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * we don't need to synchronize attach as two values we need (element
+	 * size and array length) are constant for the duration of life of
+	 * the array, so the parts we care about will not race.
+	 */
+
+	if (fully_validate(arr->name, arr->elt_sz, arr->len))
+		return -1;
+
+	page_sz = sysconf(_SC_PAGESIZE);
+
+	mmap_len = calc_data_size(page_sz, arr->elt_sz, arr->len);
+
+	data = eal_get_virtual_area(arr->data, &mmap_len, page_sz, 0, 0);
+	if (data == NULL)
+		goto fail;
+
+	eal_get_fbarray_path(path, sizeof(path), arr->name);
+
+	fd = open(path, O_RDWR);
+	if (fd < 0) {
+		rte_errno = errno;
+		goto fail;
+	}
+
+	/* lock the file, to let others know we're using it */
+	if (flock(fd, LOCK_SH | LOCK_NB)) {
+		rte_errno = errno;
+		goto fail;
+	}
+
+	if (resize_and_map(fd, data, mmap_len))
+		goto fail;
+
+	close(fd);
+
+	/* we're done */
+
+	return 0;
+fail:
+	if (data)
+		munmap(data, mmap_len);
+	if (fd >= 0)
+		close(fd);
+	return -1;
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_detach(struct rte_fbarray *arr)
+{
+	if (arr == NULL) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * we don't need to synchronize detach as two values we need (element
+	 * size and total capacity) are constant for the duration of life of
+	 * the array, so the parts we care about will not race. if the user is
+	 * detaching while doing something else in the same process, we can't
+	 * really do anything about it, things will blow up either way.
+	 */
+
+	size_t page_sz = sysconf(_SC_PAGESIZE);
+
+	/* this may already be unmapped (e.g. repeated call from previously
+	 * failed destroy(), but this is on user, we can't (easily) know if this
+	 * is still mapped.
+	 */
+	munmap(arr->data, calc_data_size(page_sz, arr->elt_sz, arr->len));
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_destroy(struct rte_fbarray *arr)
+{
+	int fd, ret;
+	char path[PATH_MAX];
+
+	ret = rte_fbarray_detach(arr);
+	if (ret)
+		return ret;
+
+	/* try deleting the file */
+	eal_get_fbarray_path(path, sizeof(path), arr->name);
+
+	fd = open(path, O_RDONLY);
+	if (flock(fd, LOCK_EX | LOCK_NB)) {
+		RTE_LOG(DEBUG, EAL, "Cannot destroy fbarray - another process is using it\n");
+		rte_errno = EBUSY;
+		ret = -1;
+	} else {
+		ret = 0;
+		unlink(path);
+		memset(arr, 0, sizeof(*arr));
+	}
+	close(fd);
+
+	return ret;
+}
+
+void * __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_get(const struct rte_fbarray *arr, int idx)
+{
+	void *ret = NULL;
+	if (arr == NULL || idx < 0) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return NULL;
+	}
+
+	if (idx >= arr->len) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return NULL;
+	}
+
+	ret = RTE_PTR_ADD(arr->data, idx * arr->elt_sz);
+
+	return ret;
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_set_used(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int idx)
+{
+	return set_used(arr, idx, true);
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_set_free(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int idx)
+{
+	return set_used(arr, idx, false);
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_is_used(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int idx)
+{
+	struct used_mask *msk;
+	int msk_idx;
+	uint64_t msk_bit;
+	int ret = -1;
+
+	if (arr == NULL || idx < 0 || idx >= arr->len) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	/* prevent array from changing under us */
+	rte_rwlock_read_lock(&arr->rwlock);
+
+	msk = get_used_mask(arr->data, arr->elt_sz, arr->len);
+	msk_idx = MASK_LEN_TO_IDX(idx);
+	msk_bit = 1ULL << MASK_LEN_TO_MOD(idx);
+
+	ret = (msk->data[msk_idx] & msk_bit) != 0;
+
+	rte_rwlock_read_unlock(&arr->rwlock);
+
+	return ret;
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_next_free(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int start)
+{
+	int ret = -1;
+
+	if (arr == NULL || start < 0 || start >= arr->len) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	/* prevent array from changing under us */
+	rte_rwlock_read_lock(&arr->rwlock);
+
+	if (arr->len == arr->count) {
+		rte_errno = ENOSPC;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = find_next(arr, start, false);
+out:
+	rte_rwlock_read_unlock(&arr->rwlock);
+	return ret;
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_next_used(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int start)
+{
+	int ret = -1;
+
+	if (arr == NULL || start < 0 || start >= arr->len) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	/* prevent array from changing under us */
+	rte_rwlock_read_lock(&arr->rwlock);
+
+	if (arr->count == 0) {
+		rte_errno = ENOENT;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = find_next(arr, start, true);
+out:
+	rte_rwlock_read_unlock(&arr->rwlock);
+	return ret;
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_next_n_free(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int start, int n)
+{
+	int ret = -1;
+
+	if (arr == NULL || start < 0 || start >= arr->len ||
+			n < 0 || n > arr->len) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	/* prevent array from changing under us */
+	rte_rwlock_read_lock(&arr->rwlock);
+
+	if (arr->len == arr->count || arr->len - arr->count < n) {
+		rte_errno = ENOSPC;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = find_next_n(arr, start, n, false);
+out:
+	rte_rwlock_read_unlock(&arr->rwlock);
+	return ret;
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_next_n_used(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int start, int n)
+{
+	int ret = -1;
+
+	if (arr == NULL || start < 0 || start >= arr->len ||
+			n < 0 || n > arr->len) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	/* prevent array from changing under us */
+	rte_rwlock_read_lock(&arr->rwlock);
+
+	if (arr->count < n) {
+		rte_errno = ENOENT;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = find_next_n(arr, start, n, true);
+out:
+	rte_rwlock_read_unlock(&arr->rwlock);
+	return ret;
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_contig_free(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int start)
+{
+	int ret = -1;
+
+	if (arr == NULL || start < 0 || start >= arr->len) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	/* prevent array from changing under us */
+	rte_rwlock_read_lock(&arr->rwlock);
+
+	if (arr->len == arr->count) {
+		rte_errno = ENOSPC;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	if (arr->count == 0) {
+		ret = arr->len - start;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = find_contig(arr, start, false);
+out:
+	rte_rwlock_read_unlock(&arr->rwlock);
+	return ret;
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_contig_used(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int start)
+{
+	int ret = -1;
+
+	if (arr == NULL || start < 0 || start >= arr->len) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	/* prevent array from changing under us */
+	rte_rwlock_read_lock(&arr->rwlock);
+
+	ret = find_contig(arr, start, true);
+
+	rte_rwlock_read_unlock(&arr->rwlock);
+	return ret;
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_idx(const struct rte_fbarray *arr, const void *elt)
+{
+	void *end;
+	int ret = -1;
+
+	/*
+	 * no need to synchronize as it doesn't matter if underlying data
+	 * changes - we're doing pointer arithmetic here.
+	 */
+
+	if (arr == NULL || elt == NULL) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
+	end = RTE_PTR_ADD(arr->data, arr->elt_sz * arr->len);
+	if (elt < arr->data || elt >= end) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	ret = RTE_PTR_DIFF(elt, arr->data) / arr->elt_sz;
+
+	return ret;
+}
+
+void __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_dump_metadata(struct rte_fbarray *arr, FILE *f)
+{
+	struct used_mask *msk;
+	int i;
+
+	if (arr == NULL || f == NULL) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return;
+	}
+
+	if (fully_validate(arr->name, arr->elt_sz, arr->len)) {
+		fprintf(f, "Invalid file-backed array\n");
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	/* prevent array from changing under us */
+	rte_rwlock_read_lock(&arr->rwlock);
+
+	fprintf(f, "File-backed array: %s\n", arr->name);
+	fprintf(f, "size: %i occupied: %i elt_sz: %i\n",
+			arr->len, arr->count, arr->elt_sz);
+
+	msk = get_used_mask(arr->data, arr->elt_sz, arr->len);
+
+	for (i = 0; i < msk->n_masks; i++)
+		fprintf(f, "msk idx %i: 0x%016" PRIx64 "\n", i, msk->data[i]);
+out:
+	rte_rwlock_read_unlock(&arr->rwlock);
+}
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_filesystem.h b/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_filesystem.h
index 4708dd5..1c6048b 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_filesystem.h
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_filesystem.h
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 
 /** Path of rte config file. */
 #define RUNTIME_CONFIG_FMT "%s/.%s_config"
+#define FBARRAY_FMT "%s/%s_%s"
 
 #include <stdint.h>
 #include <limits.h>
@@ -55,6 +56,18 @@ eal_mp_socket_path(void)
 	return buffer;
 }
 
+static inline const char *
+eal_get_fbarray_path(char *buffer, size_t buflen, const char *name) {
+	const char *directory = "/tmp";
+	const char *home_dir = getenv("HOME");
+
+	if (getuid() != 0 && home_dir != NULL)
+		directory = home_dir;
+	snprintf(buffer, buflen - 1, FBARRAY_FMT, directory,
+			internal_config.hugefile_prefix, name);
+	return buffer;
+}
+
 /** Path of hugepage info file. */
 #define HUGEPAGE_INFO_FMT "%s/.%s_hugepage_info"
 
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_fbarray.h b/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_fbarray.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c45ac0b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_fbarray.h
@@ -0,0 +1,353 @@
+/* SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+ * Copyright(c) 2017-2018 Intel Corporation
+ */
+
+#ifndef RTE_FBARRAY_H
+#define RTE_FBARRAY_H
+
+/**
+ * @file
+ *
+ * File-backed shared indexed array for DPDK.
+ *
+ * Basic workflow is expected to be the following:
+ *  1) Allocate array either using ``rte_fbarray_init()`` or
+ *     ``rte_fbarray_attach()`` (depending on whether it's shared between
+ *     multiple DPDK processes)
+ *  2) find free spots using ``rte_fbarray_find_next_free()``
+ *  3) get pointer to data in the free spot using ``rte_fbarray_get()``, and
+ *     copy data into the pointer (element size is fixed)
+ *  4) mark entry as used using ``rte_fbarray_set_used()``
+ *
+ * Calls to ``rte_fbarray_init()`` and ``rte_fbarray_destroy()`` will have
+ * consequences for all processes, while calls to ``rte_fbarray_attach()`` and
+ * ``rte_fbarray_detach()`` will only have consequences within a single process.
+ * Therefore, it is safe to call ``rte_fbarray_attach()`` or
+ * ``rte_fbarray_detach()`` while another process is using ``rte_fbarray``,
+ * provided no other thread within the same process will try to use
+ * ``rte_fbarray`` before attaching or after detaching. It is not safe to call
+ * ``rte_fbarray_init()`` or ``rte_fbarray_destroy()`` while another thread or
+ * another process is using ``rte_fbarray``.
+ */
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+extern "C" {
+#endif
+
+#include <stdbool.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+
+#include <rte_compat.h>
+#include <rte_rwlock.h>
+
+#define RTE_FBARRAY_NAME_LEN 64
+
+struct rte_fbarray {
+	char name[RTE_FBARRAY_NAME_LEN]; /**< name associated with an array */
+	int count;                       /**< number of entries stored */
+	int len;                         /**< current length of the array */
+	int elt_sz;                      /**< size of each element */
+	void *data;                      /**< data pointer */
+	rte_rwlock_t rwlock;             /**< multiprocess lock */
+};
+
+/**
+ * Set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure and allocate underlying resources.
+ *
+ * Call this function to correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` and allocate
+ * underlying files that will be backing the data in the current process. Note
+ * that in order to use and share ``rte_fbarray`` between multiple processes,
+ * data pointed to by ``arr`` pointer must itself be allocated in shared memory.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @param name
+ *   Unique name to be assigned to this array.
+ *
+ * @param len
+ *   Number of elements initially available in the array.
+ *
+ * @param elt_sz
+ *   Size of each element.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - 0 on success.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_init(struct rte_fbarray *arr, const char *name, int len,
+		int elt_sz);
+
+
+/**
+ * Attach to a file backing an already allocated and correctly set up
+ * ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * Call this function to attach to file that will be backing the data in the
+ * current process. The structure must have been previously correctly set up
+ * with a call to ``rte_fbarray_init()``. Calls to ``rte_fbarray_attach()`` are
+ * usually meant to be performed in a multiprocessing scenario, with data
+ * pointed to by ``arr`` pointer allocated in shared memory.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up rte_fbarray structure.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - 0 on success.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_attach(struct rte_fbarray *arr);
+
+
+/**
+ * Deallocate resources for an already allocated and correctly set up
+ * ``rte_fbarray`` structure, and remove the underlying file.
+ *
+ * Call this function to deallocate all resources associated with an
+ * ``rte_fbarray`` structure within the current process. This will also
+ * zero-fill data pointed to by ``arr`` pointer and remove the underlying file
+ * backing the data, so it is expected that by the time this function is called,
+ * all other processes have detached from this ``rte_fbarray``.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - 0 on success.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_destroy(struct rte_fbarray *arr);
+
+
+/**
+ * Deallocate resources for an already allocated and correctly set up
+ * ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * Call this function to deallocate all resources associated with an
+ * ``rte_fbarray`` structure within current process.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - 0 on success.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_detach(struct rte_fbarray *arr);
+
+
+/**
+ * Get pointer to element residing at specified index.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @param idx
+ *   Index of an element to get a pointer to.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - non-NULL pointer on success.
+ *  - NULL on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+void * __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_get(const struct rte_fbarray *arr, int idx);
+
+
+/**
+ * Find index of a specified element within the array.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @param elt
+ *   Pointer to element to find index to.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - non-negative integer on success.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_idx(const struct rte_fbarray *arr, const void *elt);
+
+
+/**
+ * Mark specified element as used.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @param idx
+ *   Element index to mark as used.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - 0 on success.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_set_used(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int idx);
+
+
+/**
+ * Mark specified element as free.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @param idx
+ *   Element index to mark as free.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - 0 on success.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_set_free(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int idx);
+
+
+/**
+ * Check whether element at specified index is marked as used.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @param idx
+ *   Element index to check as used.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - 1 if element is used.
+ *  - 0 if element is unused.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_is_used(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int idx);
+
+
+/**
+ * Find index of next free element, starting at specified index.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @param start
+ *   Element index to start search from.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - non-negative integer on success.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_next_free(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int start);
+
+
+/**
+ * Find index of next used element, starting at specified index.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @param start
+ *   Element index to start search from.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - non-negative integer on success.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_next_used(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int start);
+
+
+/**
+ * Find index of next chunk of ``n`` free elements, starting at specified index.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @param start
+ *   Element index to start search from.
+ *
+ * @param n
+ *   Number of free elements to look for.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - non-negative integer on success.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_next_n_free(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int start, int n);
+
+
+/**
+ * Find index of next chunk of ``n`` used elements, starting at specified index.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @param start
+ *   Element index to start search from.
+ *
+ * @param n
+ *   Number of used elements to look for.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - non-negative integer on success.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_next_n_used(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int start, int n);
+
+
+/**
+ * Find how many more free entries there are, starting at specified index.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @param start
+ *   Element index to start search from.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - non-negative integer on success.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_contig_free(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int start);
+
+
+/**
+ * Find how many more used entries there are, starting at specified index.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @param start
+ *   Element index to start search from.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - non-negative integer on success.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_contig_used(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int start);
+
+
+/**
+ * Dump ``rte_fbarray`` metadata.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @param f
+ *   File object to dump information into.
+ */
+void __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_dump_metadata(struct rte_fbarray *arr, FILE *f);
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+}
+#endif
+
+#endif // RTE_FBARRAY_H
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/meson.build b/lib/librte_eal/common/meson.build
index 82b8910..7d02191 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/common/meson.build
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/common/meson.build
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ common_sources = files(
 	'eal_common_devargs.c',
 	'eal_common_dev.c',
 	'eal_common_errno.c',
+	'eal_common_fbarray.c',
 	'eal_common_hexdump.c',
 	'eal_common_launch.c',
 	'eal_common_lcore.c',
@@ -51,6 +52,7 @@ common_headers = files(
 	'include/rte_eal_memconfig.h',
 	'include/rte_eal_interrupts.h',
 	'include/rte_errno.h',
+	'include/rte_fbarray.h',
 	'include/rte_hexdump.h',
 	'include/rte_interrupts.h',
 	'include/rte_keepalive.h',
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/Makefile b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/Makefile
index b9c7727..c407a43 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/Makefile
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/Makefile
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_LINUXAPP) += eal_common_dev.c
 SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_LINUXAPP) += eal_common_options.c
 SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_LINUXAPP) += eal_common_thread.c
 SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_LINUXAPP) += eal_common_proc.c
+SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_LINUXAPP) += eal_common_fbarray.c
 SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_LINUXAPP) += rte_malloc.c
 SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_LINUXAPP) += malloc_elem.c
 SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_LINUXAPP) += malloc_heap.c
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/rte_eal_version.map b/lib/librte_eal/rte_eal_version.map
index 76209f9..0f542b1 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/rte_eal_version.map
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/rte_eal_version.map
@@ -221,6 +221,22 @@ EXPERIMENTAL {
 	rte_eal_hotplug_add;
 	rte_eal_hotplug_remove;
 	rte_eal_mbuf_user_pool_ops;
+	rte_fbarray_attach;
+	rte_fbarray_destroy;
+	rte_fbarray_detach;
+	rte_fbarray_dump_metadata;
+	rte_fbarray_find_idx;
+	rte_fbarray_find_next_free;
+	rte_fbarray_find_next_used;
+	rte_fbarray_find_next_n_free;
+	rte_fbarray_find_next_n_used;
+	rte_fbarray_find_contig_free;
+	rte_fbarray_find_contig_used;
+	rte_fbarray_get;
+	rte_fbarray_init;
+	rte_fbarray_is_used;
+	rte_fbarray_set_free;
+	rte_fbarray_set_used;
 	rte_log_register_type_and_pick_level;
 	rte_malloc_dump_heaps;
 	rte_mem_iova2virt;
