netmap versus routing/firewalling and confusion

[John Jasen]

Is there a complete idiot's guide to netmap, that I've not stumbled upon
as of yet?

I'm interested in trying to cook up a router/firewall leveraging netmap,
but I'm stuck as to how to use it.

For example, the cards I'm using, Chelsio 40GbE adapters, create
ncxl$number virtual interfaces when netmap is compiled into the kernel,
but these appear to only make things easier when using netmap-enabled
code (such as pkt-gen).

I've read some of the postings and papers on netmap and vale, especially
interesting in netmap-ipfw, but I get lost in the examples using vale.

IE: it seems I can use vale to create virtual ethernet devices, but I've
not figured out how to attach physical ones to it.

Any pointers, or free gifts of clue kindly appreciated.