diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/eal.c b/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/eal.c
index 58f00fd..c4b75a4 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/eal.c
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/eal.c
@@ -354,8 +354,7 @@ eal_parse_args(int argc, char **argv)
 		if (opt == '?')
 			return -1;
 
-		ret = eal_parse_common_option(opt, optarg, option_index,
-					      &internal_config);
+		ret = eal_parse_common_option(opt, optarg, &internal_config);
 		/* common parser is not happy */
 		if (ret < 0) {
 			eal_usage(prgname);
@@ -371,21 +370,15 @@ eal_parse_args(int argc, char **argv)
 		}
 
 		switch (opt) {
-		/* long options */
-		case 0:
-			{
-				RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "Option %s is not supported "
-					"on FreeBSD\n",
-					eal_long_options[option_index].name);
-				eal_usage(prgname);
-				return -1;
-			}
-			break;
-
 		default:
-			if (isprint(opt)) {
+			if (opt < OPT_LONG_MIN_NUM && isprint(opt)) {
 				RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "Option %c is not supported "
 					"on FreeBSD\n", opt);
+			} else if (opt >= OPT_LONG_MIN_NUM &&
+				   opt < OPT_LONG_MAX_NUM) {
+				RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "Option %s is not supported "
+					"on FreeBSD\n",
+					eal_long_options[option_index].name);
 			} else {
 				RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "Option %d is not supported "
 					"on FreeBSD\n", opt);
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_options.c b/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_options.c
index ead4300..4009f02 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_options.c
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_options.c
@@ -63,24 +63,24 @@ eal_short_options[] =
 
 const struct option
 eal_long_options[] = {
-	{OPT_HUGE_DIR, 1, 0, 0},
-	{OPT_PROC_TYPE, 1, 0, 0},
-	{OPT_NO_SHCONF, 0, 0, 0},
-	{OPT_NO_HPET, 0, 0, 0},
-	{OPT_VMWARE_TSC_MAP, 0, 0, 0},
-	{OPT_NO_PCI, 0, 0, 0},
-	{OPT_NO_HUGE, 0, 0, 0},
-	{OPT_FILE_PREFIX, 1, 0, 0},
-	{OPT_SOCKET_MEM, 1, 0, 0},
-	{OPT_PCI_WHITELIST, 1, 0, 'w'},
-	{OPT_PCI_BLACKLIST, 1, 0, 'b'},
-	{OPT_VDEV, 1, 0, 0},
-	{OPT_SYSLOG, 1, NULL, 0},
-	{OPT_LOG_LEVEL, 1, NULL, 0},
-	{OPT_BASE_VIRTADDR, 1, 0, 0},
-	{OPT_XEN_DOM0, 0, 0, 0},
-	{OPT_CREATE_UIO_DEV, 1, NULL, 0},
-	{OPT_VFIO_INTR, 1, NULL, 0},
+	{OPT_HUGE_DIR, 1, 0, OPT_HUGE_DIR_NUM},
+	{OPT_PROC_TYPE, 1, 0, OPT_PROC_TYPE_NUM},
+	{OPT_NO_SHCONF, 0, 0, OPT_NO_SHCONF_NUM},
+	{OPT_NO_HPET, 0, 0, OPT_NO_HPET_NUM},
+	{OPT_VMWARE_TSC_MAP, 0, 0, OPT_VMWARE_TSC_MAP_NUM},
+	{OPT_NO_PCI, 0, 0, OPT_NO_PCI_NUM},
+	{OPT_NO_HUGE, 0, 0, OPT_NO_HUGE_NUM},
+	{OPT_FILE_PREFIX, 1, 0, OPT_FILE_PREFIX_NUM},
+	{OPT_SOCKET_MEM, 1, 0, OPT_SOCKET_MEM_NUM},
+	{OPT_PCI_WHITELIST, 1, 0, OPT_PCI_WHITELIST_NUM},
+	{OPT_PCI_BLACKLIST, 1, 0, OPT_PCI_BLACKLIST_NUM},
+	{OPT_VDEV, 1, 0, OPT_VDEV_NUM},
+	{OPT_SYSLOG, 1, NULL, OPT_SYSLOG_NUM},
+	{OPT_LOG_LEVEL, 1, NULL, OPT_LOG_LEVEL_NUM},
+	{OPT_BASE_VIRTADDR, 1, 0, OPT_BASE_VIRTADDR_NUM},
+	{OPT_XEN_DOM0, 0, 0, OPT_XEN_DOM0_NUM},
+	{OPT_CREATE_UIO_DEV, 1, NULL, OPT_CREATE_UIO_DEV_NUM},
+	{OPT_VFIO_INTR, 1, NULL, OPT_VFIO_INTR_NUM},
 	{0, 0, 0, 0}
 };
 
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ eal_parse_proc_type(const char *arg)
 }
 
 int
-eal_parse_common_option(int opt, const char *optarg, int longindex,
+eal_parse_common_option(int opt, const char *optarg,
 			struct internal_config *conf)
 {
 	switch (opt) {
@@ -296,32 +296,46 @@ eal_parse_common_option(int opt, const char *optarg, int longindex,
 		break;
 
 	/* long options */
-	case 0:
-		if (!strcmp(eal_long_options[longindex].name, OPT_NO_HUGE)) {
+	case OPT_NO_HUGE_NUM:
 			conf->no_hugetlbfs = 1;
-		} else if (!strcmp(eal_long_options[longindex].name, OPT_NO_PCI)) {
+		break;
+
+	case OPT_NO_PCI_NUM:
 			conf->no_pci = 1;
-		} else if (!strcmp(eal_long_options[longindex].name, OPT_NO_HPET)) {
+		break;
+
+	case OPT_NO_HPET_NUM:
 			conf->no_hpet = 1;
-		} else if (!strcmp(eal_long_options[longindex].name, OPT_VMWARE_TSC_MAP)) {
+		break;
+
+	case OPT_VMWARE_TSC_MAP_NUM:
 			conf->vmware_tsc_map = 1;
-		} else if (!strcmp(eal_long_options[longindex].name, OPT_NO_SHCONF)) {
+		break;
+
+	case OPT_NO_SHCONF_NUM:
 			conf->no_shconf = 1;
-		} else if (!strcmp(eal_long_options[longindex].name, OPT_PROC_TYPE)) {
+		break;
+
+	case OPT_PROC_TYPE_NUM:
 			conf->process_type = eal_parse_proc_type(optarg);
-		} else if (!strcmp(eal_long_options[longindex].name, OPT_VDEV)) {
+		break;
+
+	case OPT_VDEV_NUM:
 			if (rte_eal_devargs_add(RTE_DEVTYPE_VIRTUAL,
 					optarg) < 0) {
 				return -1;
 			}
-		} else if (!strcmp(eal_long_options[longindex].name, OPT_SYSLOG)) {
+		break;
+
+	case OPT_SYSLOG_NUM:
 			if (eal_parse_syslog(optarg, conf) < 0) {
 				RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "invalid parameters for --"
 						OPT_SYSLOG "\n");
 				return -1;
 			}
-		} else if (!strcmp(eal_long_options[longindex].name,
-				 OPT_LOG_LEVEL)) {
+		break;
+
+	case OPT_LOG_LEVEL_NUM: {
 			uint32_t log;
 
 			if (eal_parse_log_level(optarg, &log) < 0) {
@@ -331,9 +345,8 @@ eal_parse_common_option(int opt, const char *optarg, int longindex,
 				return -1;
 			}
 			conf->log_level = log;
-		}
-
 		break;
+		}
 
 	/* don't know what to do, leave this to caller */
 	default:
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/eal_options.h b/lib/librte_eal/common/include/eal_options.h
index 4e6b90d..22819ec 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/eal_options.h
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/common/include/eal_options.h
@@ -30,29 +30,55 @@
  *   OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
  */
 
+
+enum {
+	/* long options mapped to a short option */
 #define OPT_PCI_WHITELIST "pci-whitelist"
+	OPT_PCI_WHITELIST_NUM = 'w',
 #define OPT_PCI_BLACKLIST "pci-blacklist"
+	OPT_PCI_BLACKLIST_NUM = 'b',
 
+	/* first long only option value must be >= 256, so that we won't
+	 * conflict with short options */
+	OPT_LONG_MIN_NUM = 256,
 #define OPT_HUGE_DIR    "huge-dir"
+	OPT_HUGE_DIR_NUM = OPT_LONG_MIN_NUM,
 #define OPT_PROC_TYPE   "proc-type"
+	OPT_PROC_TYPE_NUM,
 #define OPT_NO_SHCONF   "no-shconf"
+	OPT_NO_SHCONF_NUM,
 #define OPT_NO_HPET     "no-hpet"
+	OPT_NO_HPET_NUM,
 #define OPT_VMWARE_TSC_MAP   "vmware-tsc-map"
+	OPT_VMWARE_TSC_MAP_NUM,
 #define OPT_NO_PCI      "no-pci"
+	OPT_NO_PCI_NUM,
 #define OPT_NO_HUGE     "no-huge"
+	OPT_NO_HUGE_NUM,
 #define OPT_FILE_PREFIX "file-prefix"
+	OPT_FILE_PREFIX_NUM,
 #define OPT_SOCKET_MEM  "socket-mem"
+	OPT_SOCKET_MEM_NUM,
 #define OPT_VDEV        "vdev"
+	OPT_VDEV_NUM,
 #define OPT_SYSLOG      "syslog"
+	OPT_SYSLOG_NUM,
 #define OPT_LOG_LEVEL   "log-level"
+	OPT_LOG_LEVEL_NUM,
 #define OPT_BASE_VIRTADDR   "base-virtaddr"
+	OPT_BASE_VIRTADDR_NUM,
 #define OPT_XEN_DOM0    "xen-dom0"
+	OPT_XEN_DOM0_NUM,
 #define OPT_CREATE_UIO_DEV "create-uio-dev"
+	OPT_CREATE_UIO_DEV_NUM,
 #define OPT_VFIO_INTR    "vfio-intr"
+	OPT_VFIO_INTR_NUM,
+	OPT_LONG_MAX_NUM
+};
 
 extern const char eal_short_options[];
 extern const struct option eal_long_options[];
 
-int eal_parse_common_option(int opt, const char *argv, int longindex,
+int eal_parse_common_option(int opt, const char *argv,
 			    struct internal_config *conf);
 void eal_common_usage(void);
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/eal.c b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/eal.c
index d82debf..1d468dd 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/eal.c
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/eal.c
@@ -553,8 +553,7 @@ eal_parse_args(int argc, char **argv)
 		if (opt == '?')
 			return -1;
 
-		ret = eal_parse_common_option(opt, optarg, option_index,
-					      &internal_config);
+		ret = eal_parse_common_option(opt, optarg, &internal_config);
 		/* common parser is not happy */
 		if (ret < 0) {
 			eal_usage(prgname);
@@ -584,8 +583,7 @@ eal_parse_args(int argc, char **argv)
 			break;
 
 		/* long options */
-		case 0:
-			if (!strcmp(eal_long_options[option_index].name, OPT_XEN_DOM0)) {
+		case OPT_XEN_DOM0_NUM:
 		#ifdef RTE_LIBRTE_XEN_DOM0
 				internal_config.xen_dom0_support = 1;
 		#else
@@ -594,46 +592,56 @@ eal_parse_args(int argc, char **argv)
 					" RTE_LIBRTE_XEN_DOM0=y\n");
 				return -1;
 		#endif
-			} else if (!strcmp(eal_long_options[option_index].name, OPT_HUGE_DIR)) {
+			break;
+
+		case OPT_HUGE_DIR_NUM:
 				internal_config.hugepage_dir = optarg;
-			} else if (!strcmp(eal_long_options[option_index].name, OPT_FILE_PREFIX)) {
+			break;
+
+		case OPT_FILE_PREFIX_NUM:
 				internal_config.hugefile_prefix = optarg;
-			} else if (!strcmp(eal_long_options[option_index].name, OPT_SOCKET_MEM)) {
+			break;
+
+		case OPT_SOCKET_MEM_NUM:
 				if (eal_parse_socket_mem(optarg) < 0) {
 					RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "invalid parameters for --"
 							OPT_SOCKET_MEM "\n");
 					eal_usage(prgname);
 					return -1;
 				}
-			} else if (!strcmp(eal_long_options[option_index].name, OPT_BASE_VIRTADDR)) {
+			break;
+
+		case OPT_BASE_VIRTADDR_NUM:
 				if (eal_parse_base_virtaddr(optarg) < 0) {
 					RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "invalid parameter for --"
 							OPT_BASE_VIRTADDR "\n");
 					eal_usage(prgname);
 					return -1;
 				}
-			} else if (!strcmp(eal_long_options[option_index].name, OPT_VFIO_INTR)) {
+			break;
+
+		case OPT_VFIO_INTR_NUM:
 				if (eal_parse_vfio_intr(optarg) < 0) {
 					RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "invalid parameters for --"
 							OPT_VFIO_INTR "\n");
 					eal_usage(prgname);
 					return -1;
 				}
-			} else if (!strcmp(eal_long_options[option_index].name, OPT_CREATE_UIO_DEV)) {
+			break;
+
+		case OPT_CREATE_UIO_DEV_NUM:
 				internal_config.create_uio_dev = 1;
-			} else {
-				RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "Option %s is not supported "
-					"on Linux\n",
-					eal_long_options[option_index].name);
-				eal_usage(prgname);
-				return -1;
-			}
 			break;
 
 		default:
-			if (isprint(opt)) {
+			if (opt < OPT_LONG_MIN_NUM && isprint(opt)) {
 				RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "Option %c is not supported "
 					"on Linux\n", opt);
+			} else if (opt >= OPT_LONG_MIN_NUM &&
+				   opt < OPT_LONG_MAX_NUM) {
+				RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "Option %s is not supported "
+					"on Linux\n",
+					eal_long_options[option_index].name);
 			} else {
 				RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "Option %d is not supported "
 					"on Linux\n", opt);
