Neil,
Thanks a lot for a pedagogical reply. You are correct on (b). I am not using CPU pinning,
that's a requirement I can't change. For (a), I didn't understand your point
about 'sriov' ? What is that ? I am using virtio driver for the bridged ethernet.
I see what you are saying about irqbalance. Can I ask, if there are any formal
recommendation on CPU pinning for Fedora or red hat derivatives ?
In a follow up question, what kernel config options are desirable for non-CPU pinning ?